Definition of hickory. plural. hickories. 1a : any of a genus (Carya) of North American hardwood trees of the walnut family that often have sweet edible nutsb : the usually tough wood of a hickory. 2 : a switch or cane (as of hickory wood) used especially for punishing a child.
Size matters, but it's not everything The largest brain on earth belongs to the sperm whale, the same species as the main character in Melville's yarn. The adult sperm whale brain is 8,000 cubic centimeters.Our brain is about 1300 cubic centimeters. This is equivalent to the difference in engine displacement (the space in the cylinders) of a 1960s VW beetle compared with two and a half Formula One race cars.he frontal lobes of the dolphin brain are comparatively smaller than in other mammals, but the researchers found that the neocortex of the Minke whale was surprisingly thick. The whale neocortex is thicker than that of other mammals and roughly equal to that of humans (2.63 mm).
1 This work has identified another remarkable example of convergence in the biological realm and, with it, raises questions about the validity of the evolutionary paradigm. Sperm Whale Bouyancy. The spermaceti, a large organ in the sperm whaleâs head, helps control this behemothâs buoyancy in the water.The organ contains a vast amount of fatty materials. When the whale is at the surface, the fat exists in liquid form. The fat solidifies when cold water enters the organ and restricts blood flow.rom an evolutionary standpoint, it looks as if an identical buoyancy control mechanism evolved independently in sperm whales and copepods. The very nature of the evolutionary process rests on sequences of improbable, chance events; thus, it should not generate identical outcomes multiple times.