 A coda is a short pattern of 3 to 20 clicks that is used in social situations . They were once thought to be a way by which individuals identified themselves , but individuals have been observed producing multiple codas , and the same codas are used by multiple individuals . However , each click contains a physical signature which suggests that clicks can be used to identify individuals . Geographically separate pods exhibit distinct dialects . Large males are generally solitary and rarely produce codas . In breeding grounds , codas are almost entirely produced by adult females . Despite evidence that sperm whales share similar codas , it is still unknown whether sperm whales possess individually specific coda repertoires or whether individuals make codas at different rates . 
