Similarly worn teeth are also seen in other suction feeders such as sperm whales.
The substance, which is found in the digestive system of sperm whales, is valuable and used in perfume.
With the massive whales come other giants of the sea, like whale sharks and sperm whales and occasionally hammerheads, sea lions and dolphins.
The sighting of sperm whales off Scotland's north-west coast in winter has been described as "extraordinary" by research charity Sea Watch.
Dr Mate explained that, with sperm whales, which dive to great depths, it was far more difficult to capture the behaviour.
Racers wax their boards with an old-fashioned preparation called "dope, " whose original recipe called for spermaceti--a fatty substance produced by sperm whales.
The hard beaks of giant squid, a main source of food for sperm whales, have often been found inside lumps of ambergris.
However, they were identified as sperm whales by Nick Davies, who runs Gairloch-based Hebridean Whale Cruises and is involved in a Sea Watch project.
The ZSL work is being undertaken in the Sea of Cortez (also known as the Gulf of California), where sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) gather in large numbers.
Sea Watch said groups of sperm whales had been seen off Scotland in the summer, but it was unusual for them to be spotted at this time of year.
Our ability to understand these animals is very limited, and their only connection to the surface biosphere is through a few food chain connections (like sperm whales) that can survive diving to these depths.
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