Pygmy Sperm Whale -- Cetacean Info at Whale Songs

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Kogia breviceps

DISCOVERED: de Blainville, 1838

COMMON NAME: Pygmy Sperm Whale

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION:

* Seems to prefer warmer waters: there are records from almost all temperate, subtropical and tropical seas
* Appears to be common off the southeastern coast of the USA and around southern Africa, southwestern Australia, and New Zealand

DESCRIPTION:

* Creamy white false gill behind each eye
* Small size
* Creamy white false gill behind each eye
* Robust body
* Tiny, hooked, falcate fin
* Squarish head
* Fin postioned far behind and in the center

NATURAL HISTORY:

HABITAT:

* Mainly a deep water diver
* Usually seen beyond the continental shelf

FOOD & FEEDING:

* Cephalopods from the disphotic zone (primary food)
* Secondary components: euphotic benthic invertebrates and disphotic pelagic and dimersal fish

LIFE CYCLE:

* Maximum body length of at least 3.4 m ( male and female are similar in size and appearance)
* Height of dorsal fin is less than 5% of the total body length
* Females reach sexual maturity at a length of 2.6-2.9 m, males at 2.7-3 m
* Calves are about 1.2 m long at birth
* Calving appears to take place during autumn and spring
* Gestation period is believed to last about 11 months

BEHAVIOR:

* Low inconspicuous blow
* May float motionless at surface
* Slow, deliberate movements when surfacing and simply drops out of sight when submerging
* May occasionally breach
* When startled, may evacuate a reddish brown fluid and then dive, leaving behind a cloud in th water; may function as a decoy
* Some reports indicate they are non-social, staying alone of in mother-calf groups

WORLD POPULATION:

* Lack of records due to unobtrusive behavior

HUMAN INFLUENCES:

* No major post or present threats are known



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