Species: Kogia breviceps
Pygmy Sperm Whale
Species
Show on Lists
Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class
Mammalia
Order
Cetacea
Family
Kogiidae
Genus
Kogia
NatureServe
Classification
Other Global Common Names
Cachalote Pigmeo - cachalot pygmée
Informal Taxonomy
Animals, Vertebrates - Mammals - Whales and Dolphins
Formal Taxonomy
Animalia - Craniata - Mammalia - Cetacea - Kogiidae - Kogia - .
Ecology and Life History
Habitat Type Description
Marine
Migration
false - false - false
Non-migrant
false
Locally Migrant
false
Food Comments
Eats mostly squid and cuttlefish; sometimes crabs, shrimp, and fishes.
Reproduction Comments
Gestation lasts perhaps 11 months. Most calving apparently occurs between fall and spring. Stranded females that were both pregnant and lactating indicate capability of annual reproduction or that lactation is prolonged (Leatherwood and Reeves 1983, IUCN 1991).
Ecology Comments
Solitary or in groups of up to about 6.
Length
370
Weight
408000
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G4
Global Status Last Reviewed
1996-11-15
Global Status Last Changed
1996-11-15
Distribution
Conservation Status Map
<img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?US.CA=SNR&US.FL=SNR&US.GA=__&US.MD=__&US.MA=S2&US.NY=__&US.NC=__&US.TX=S1&US.VA=__" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
Global Range
Worldwide in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate oceans, though degree of continuity of populations is unknown. Rarely observed at sea, though strandings indicate that it may be common, at least seasonally, close to shore in some areas. Strandings are most common along the east coast of North America and south to Cuba and Texas, in southern Africa, southeastern Australia, and the Tasman Sea and South Pacific coasts of New Zealand (Leatherwood and Reeves 1983).