? Pygmy Killer Whale Conservation status: Unknown
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Cetacea Suborder: Odontoceti Family: Delphinidae Genus: Feresa Species: F. attenuata
Binomial name
Feresa attenuata Gray, 1875
Pygmy Killer Whale range

The Pygmy Killer Whale (Feresa attenuata) is a small, rarely-seen cetacean of the oceanic dolphin family (Delphinidae). It derives its common name from the fact that it shares some physical characteristics with the orca ("killer whale"). In fact, "killer" may be a more apt name in the case of the Pygmy Killer Whale than its larger genetic cousin. When a number of Pygmy Killers were brought into captivity in Hawaii and South Africa they were extremely aggressive—even killing one another. A third herd captured in Japan did not display such aggression, however. The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms (as opposed to folk taxonomy). ... Binomial name Aptenodytes forsteri Gray, 1844 For other uses, see Animal (disambiguation). ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicatas Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... Orders Subclass Multituberculata (extinct) Plagiaulacida Cimolodonta Subclass Palaeoryctoides (extinct) Subclass Triconodonta (extinct) Subclass Eutheria (includes extinct ancestors)/Placentalia (excludes extinct ancestors) Afrosoricida Artiodactyla Carnivora Cetacea Chiroptera Cimolesta (extinct) Creodonta (extinct) Condylarthra (extinct) Dermoptera Desmostylia (extinct) Embrithopoda (extinct) Hyracoidea Insectivora Lagomorpha Litopterna (extinct) Macroscelidea Mesonychia (extinct) Notoungulata (extinct) Perissodactyla Pholidota Plesiadapiformes... Suborders Mysticeti Odontoceti (see text for families) The order Cetacea includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. ... Families See text The toothed whales (systematic name Odontoceti) form a suborder of the cetaceans. ... Genera See text Oceanic dolphins are the members of the Delphinidae family of cetaceans. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... John Edward Gray. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1357x628, 34 KB) Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Suborders Mysticeti Odontoceti (see text) The order Cetacea includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. ... Genera See text Oceanic dolphins are the members of the Delphinidae family of cetaceans. ... Binomial name Orcinus orca Linnaeus, 1758 Orca range (in blue) The orca (Orcinus orca) is the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. ... Official language(s) Hawaiian and English Capital Honolulu Largest city Honolulu Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 43rd 28,337 km² n/a km 2,450 km 41. ...

Until the early 1950s the Pygmy Killer Whale was only known from two skulls kept at the British Museum. The first description was recorded by John Gray in 1874. In 1954 Japanese cetologist Muneasto Yamada published accounts of a "rare porpoise" discovered by whale hunters working from Honshu in 1952. He wrote that the individuals he examined had skulls matching those in the Museum but that also the body had similar features to the Killer Whale, and proposed the common name Lesser (or Pygmy) Killer Whale. The main entrance to the British Museum. ... No branch of Zoology is so much involved as that which is entitled Cetology - from Moby Dick by Herman Melville. ... todo mal de [ [ Shikoku ] ] a través del [ [ mar interior ] ], y noreste de [ [ Kyushu ] ] a través del [ [ estrecho de Kanmon ] ]. Es la séptima isla más grande, y la segunda isla populosa en el mundo después de [ [ Java (isla)|Java ] ] (véase [ [ lista de las islas de la población ] ]). < style=float del div...

The scientific species descriptor attentuata is Latin for 'tapering' and refers to the gradual narrowing from the head to the tail fin of the dolphin. Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ...

Physical description

The Pygmy Killer is of average size amongst dolphins (a little larger and heavier than a grown man) and may easily be confused at sea with other species, in particular the Melon-headed Whale. The body is robust and dark-coloured. The cape is particularly dark in tone. The head is rounded with no beak. The sides are lighter and the belly is often white. Several individuals have been seen with a white lining around the mouth and chin. The dorsal fin is tall and slightly falcate. Binomial name Peponocephala electra (Gray, 1846) Melon-headed Whale range The Melon-headed Whale (Peponocephala electra) is a cetacean of the oceanic dolphin family (Delphinidae). ... Dorsal Fin of the Orca A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of fishes, whales, dolphins and porpoises. ...

The Pygmy is an unco-operative animal. It is usually difficult to approach. Some spy-hopping, breaching and other active behaviour has been recorded but it is not an acrobatic animal.

The dolphin always moves in groups, usually about 10 to 30 number but occasionally substantially longer. They have been observed attacking, killing and eating other cetacean species such as the Common Dolphin. Binomial name Delphinus capensis Gray, 1828 Long-beaked Common Dolphin range Delphinus delphis Linnaeus, 1758 Short-beaked Common Dolphin range The Common Dolphin is the name given to two, or occasionally one species of dolphin, making up the genus Delphinus. ...

Further information on maturation on longevity is unavailable due to a paucity of data. Data from strandings, which seem to be common in the species, indicates a diet of cephalopods and small fish. Orders Subclass Coleoidea Belemnoidea (extinct) Sepiida Sepiolida Spirulida Teuthida Octopoda Vampyromorphida Subclass Ammonoidea(extinct) Subclass Nautiloidea The Cephalopods (head-foot) are the mollusk class Cephalopoda characterized by bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head, and a modification of the mollusk foot, a muscular hydrostat, into the form of arms or tentacles. ...

Population and distribution

The species appears to be naturally rare. The only population estimate is of 38,900 individuals in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean (see reference [4]). However the species has a wide distribution in tropical and sub-tropical waters world-wide. Sightings are reported regularly off Hawaii and Japan. Accidental fishing catches suggest a year-round present in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka and the Lesser Antilles. In the Atlantic individuals have been observed as far north as Florida on the west coast and Senegal on the east. The species is purely oceanic. Official language(s) Hawaiian and English Capital Honolulu Largest city Honolulu Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 43rd 28,337 km² n/a km 2,450 km 41. ... The Lesser Antilles are part of the Antilles, which together with the Bahamas form the West Indies. ... Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 22nd 170 451 km² 260 km 800 km 17. ...

References

1. National Audubon Society: Guide to Marine Mammals of the World ISBN 0375411410
2. Article Pygmy Killer Whale Meghan Donahue and Wayne Perryman pps 1009-1010 in Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals (1998) ISBN 0125513402
3. Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises, Mark Carwardine (1995) ISBN 0751327816
4. Estimates of cetacean abundance and distribution in the eastern tropical Pacific P.R. Wade and T. Gerrodette (1993) Rep. Int. Whal. Comm. 43, 477-493