No photo available
Short-finned pilot whale
Globicephala macrorhynchus
Valid name.
- English
- Short-finned pilot whale
- Scientific
- Globicephala macrorhynchus
- Dhivehi
- No recorded Dhivehi name
- Group
- Dolphins
- Maximum size
- Males up to about 7 m; females to about 5.5 m
- Depth and habitat
- Deep oceanic waters, especially along steep slopes
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2018
Description
A large, black 'blackfish' with a bulbous, rounded forehead, almost no beak, long sickle-shaped flippers and a broad, low dorsal fin set well forward on the back. It lives in stable matrilineal groups and is often seen logging (resting) at the surface. It dives deep at night to hunt squid at speed. Mass strandings are common in this species.
In the Maldives
Fairly common in Maldivian offshore waters (about 4% of encounters); biopsy samples confirmed the species identity.
Sources
- sealifebase.se /summary/Globicephala-macrorhynchus.html
- mammalwatching.com /wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Maldives-cetaceans-review-2012.pdf
- mrc.gov.mv /assets/Uploads/2005-Observations-of-cetaceans-in-the-Maldives-1990-20
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Globicephala_macrorhynchus_Kurzflossen-Grindwal_DSCF8148.JP
Dhivehi name source: No Dhivehi name found in the cetacean literature reviewed (Anderson 2005; Anderson et al. 2012), FishBase/SeaLifeBase or Dhivehi Wikipedia.