Kogia breviceps

"Pygmy sperm whales are usually seen in small groups of six or fewer individuals, but there are few documented sightings. They tend to stay in deep water, beyond the continental shelf, and not much is known about their behavior. Calves are about 1.2 m long at birth (an adult's total length ranges from 2.7 to 3.4 m); gestation lasts 9 to 11 months; and the calf nurses for about a year. Although strandings are relatively frequent in the southeastern United States, sometimes because the whales have swallowed plastic bags, these animals are sighted so infrequently that they are considered uncommon for conservation purposes. Pygmy sperm whales are believed to feed mostly on cephalopods, and may mistake floating plastic bags for squid."

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Mammal Species of the World

 Kogia breviceps is a toothed whale and can be recognised as such by the single blowhole and the presence of teeth. It is an easily recognisable small whale with a stocky body reaching up to 4 m in length. It has a large and distinctly square upper jaw which projects above the narrow lower jaw. The blowhole is positioned at the front of the head and directed forward obliquely. A small dorsal fin is present two-thirds down the body and the tail flukes are small. The flippers are almost spear-shaped. The body is blue-black to charcoal grey in colour, while the underside is white and the inside of the mouth and the lips are white. There is often a crescent-shaped, light mark between the eye and the flipper.Pygmy sperm whales are usually found either alone, or in small groups of up to 5 individuals. The blow is unique amongst whales by being obliquely forward directed. The tail flukes will often appear before a deep dive. Dive duration is unknown (Kinze, 2002). It is often confused with the dwarf sperm whale, Kogia sima, but the dwarf sperm whale does not occur in British and Irish waters (Jefferson et al., 1994).

Azores Exclusive Economic Zone, Comores, European waters (ERMS scope), Gulf of Maine, Gulf of Mexico, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mediterranean Sea, Mozambique, New Zealand Exclusive Economic Zone, North West Atlantic, Portuguese Exclusive Economic Zone, Reunion, Seychelles, Somalia, Spanish Exclusive Economic Zone, Tanzania, United Kingdom Exclusive Economic Zone

Pygmy Sperm Whales are known from deep waters (outer continental shelf and beyond) in tropical to warm temperate zones of all oceans (McAlpine 2002). This species appears to prefer somewhat more temperate waters than does the Dwarf Sperm Whale. The range of Kogia breviceps is poorly known, though a lack of records of live animals may be more due to inconspicuous behaviour rather than rarity. Most information stems from strandings (especially females with calves), which may give an inaccurate picture of the actual distribution at sea (Culik 2004).

Kogia breviceps is confined to warmer waters (Minasian et al. 1984, Watson 1981).

Biogeographic Regions: indian ocean (Native ); atlantic ocean (Native ); pacific ocean (Native )

all oceans

East Pacific; Eastern Atlantic Ocean; Indo-West Pacific; Western Atlantic Ocean

occurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations

Canada

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Transient

United States

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

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).

K. breviceps is a small whale averaging about 3 meters in length for both sexes. Calves are about 55 kilograms at birth. They have a swollen nose and head, which takes up about 15% of their body length. Their head is conical with a small underslung jaw that opens beneath the upper jaw in a shark-like manner. The flippers are short, broad, and far forward on the body. They have a small curved dorsal fin. K. breviceps is a steely grey color with a distinct pink tinge. In the water they often look purple. They are a paler grey on the belly. Between the eye and the flipper is a small white/pale grey bracket mark. This is often called a "false gill", further attributing to its resemblance to a shark. There is another similar pale spot in front of the eye. Scarring is rare. They have a short rostrum which makes their wide skull triangular. K. breviceps have 12-16 teeth on each side and their blowhole is slightly displaced to the left. These two traits distinguish the pygmy sperm whale, K. breviceps, from the dwarf sperm whale, K. simus (Minasian et al. 1984, Watson 1981).

Average mass: 363 kg.

Average mass: 424600 g.

Length: 370 cm

Weight: 408000 grams

Length:
Range: 2.7-3.4 m

Weight:
Range: 318-408 kg

False gill markings and underslung lower jaw.

Habitat and Ecology

Systems

• Marine

K. breviceps prefer warm tropical waters. They may migrate to more temperate waters in the summer months. They also stay in deep waters (Watson 1981).

Aquatic Biomes: benthic ; coastal

tropical to warm temperate, oceanic, mostly near continental slope

offshore

Depth range based on 92 specimens in 1 taxon.
Water temperature and chemistry ranges based on 81 samples.

Environmental ranges
  Depth range (m): 0 - 0
  Temperature range (°C): 13.695 - 27.360
  Nitrate (umol/L): 0.026 - 2.657
  Salinity (PPS): 32.419 - 36.649
  Oxygen (ml/l): 4.638 - 6.154
  Phosphate (umol/l): 0.055 - 0.510
  Silicate (umol/l): 1.127 - 4.150

Graphical representation

Temperature range (°C): 13.695 - 27.360

Nitrate (umol/L): 0.026 - 2.657

Salinity (PPS): 32.419 - 36.649

Oxygen (ml/l): 4.638 - 6.154

Phosphate (umol/l): 0.055 - 0.510

Silicate (umol/l): 1.127 - 4.150
 
Note: this information has not been validated. Check this *note*. Your feedback is most welcome.

Habitat Type: Marine

Comments: Stomach contents suggest mainly pelagic distribution, usually seaward of continental shelf; may also occur in coastal waters (Leatherwood and Reeves 1983).

 The pygmy sperm whale is an oceanic deep-sea species that may dive down to a few hundred metres in depth.

Non-Migrant: No. All populations of this species make significant seasonal migrations.

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make local extended movements (generally less than 200 km) at particular times of the year (e.g., to breeding or wintering grounds, to hibernation sites).

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.

K. breviceps eat mostly squid, shrimp, fish, and crabs with what seems to be a preference for deepwater foraging (Watson 1981).

Animal Foods: fish; mollusks; aquatic crustaceans

Primary Diet: carnivore (Molluscivore )

Comments: Eats mostly squid and cuttlefish; sometimes crabs, shrimp, and fishes.

Solitary or in groups of up to about 6.

Comments: Active day/night.

Average lifespan
Status: wild: 17.0 years.

Maximum longevity: 17 years (wild) Observations: These animals can live 17 years in the wild (David Macdonald 1985), and possibly more.

Mating usually takes place in the summer. Gestation lasts for about 9 months and the calf is born in the spring. (  http://www.nsrl.ttu.edu/tmot1/kogibrev.htm., Watson 1981).

Breeding season: Mating usually takes place in the summer

Average number of offspring: 1.

Average gestation period: 9 months.

Average weaning age: 12 months.

Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); viviparous

Average birth mass: 82000 g.

Average gestation period: 335 days.

Average number of offspring: 1.

The calf stays with its mother and is nursed for about 12 months. Calves are about 1.2 meters long and about 55 kilograms at birth.

Parental Investment: pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female)

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).

The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.

There are 2 barcode sequences available from BOLD and GenBank.  Below is a sequence of the barcode region Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI or COX1) from a member of the species.  See the BOLD taxonomy browser for more complete information about this specimen and other sequences.

Download FASTA File

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 2
Specimens with Barcodes: 2
Species With Barcodes: 1

Year Assessed

Assessor/s

Reviewer/s

Contributor/s

Justification

History

• 1996
  Lower Risk/least concern
• 1994
  Insufficiently Known
  (Groombridge 1994)

Not much is known about this species. The infrequency of sightings is often assumed as rareness. It is vulnerable to Hawaiian fisheries and gillnets, float lines, and long lines

(  http://swfsc.ucsd.sars.Pygmy_HI.htm, Watson 1981).

CITES: appendix ii

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: data deficient

Canada

Rounded National Status Rank: NNA - Not Applicable

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: NU - Unrankable

Rounded Global Status Rank: G4 - Apparently Secure

Population

Population Trend

Major Threats

Comments: No known significant threats; rarely incurs incidental mortality associated with fisheries (IUCN 1991; Baird et al. 1996).

Conservation Actions

There is little economic benefit to humans from K. breviceps. They are relatively uncommon so few are taken by the Japanese and an occasinal one is take by Indonesians (  http://swfsc.ucsd.sars.Pygmy_HI.htm, Watson 1981).

Comments: Infrequently harvested in small cetacean fisheries in various areas (IUCN 1991).

Data Deficient (DD)