SCIENTIFIC NAME: Globicephala macrorhynchus

DISCOVERED: Gray 1846

COMMON NAME: Short-finned Pilot Whale

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION:

more tropical then Long Finned Pilot Whale
generally nomadic with no fixed migrations
some north to south movements are related to prey movements
populations present year round in Hawaii and The Canary Islands,Japan
generally ranges no further north than Bermuda and Cape Hatterais and South to Venezuela,in the west
in the east,it is usually common in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico
common from central California to south Peru
northern form if found off the pacific coast of northern Japan between 35 degrees south and 43 degrees north and west of 143 east
the southern form is found in Japanese coastal to off shore waters south of 37 degrees north,but not south of 25 degrees north or east 152 degrees

DESCRIPTION:

jet black or dark gray color
rounded bulbous forehead
fin set forward on body
fin sweeps back
stockly elongated body

NATURAL HISTORY:

HABITAT:

prefers deep waters
edge of the continental shelf and over deep submarine canyons
tropical and warm temperate waters

FOOD & FEEDING:

feeds mostly at night, when dives may last for 10 min

LIFE CYCLE:

mating seasonis polygynous
birth length for Japanese northern pop. is 1.85m,southern pop. 1.40m
peak mating season appears to be September for northern form, May for southern form
longest recorded male was 6.10m from Indian River
longest females between 5.25 and 5.50m
Northern Japanese: males 5.5m
Southern Japanese:gestation 14.9 mon.,nursed for a min. of 2 years.Females sexually mature in 9 years(range 7-12)
produce 4 to 5 calves and have last calf before the age of 40
females may live up to 63 years and males up to only 46 probably capable of reproduction until death
males puberty begins at 14.6 years(range 7-17)
social maturity 17 years

BEHAVIOR

Not much known
Sometimes approaches boats
May breach clear of water
Averages 4-7 blows with a long dive of up to 8 minutes- may stay under for longer
Loose groups- spread over several miles
Rarely shows top of head
Often shows back and dorsal fin before a long dive
Irregular dive sequence
Hazy blow

WORLD POPULATION

Northern Japanese form - 5,344 (range 819-9,669)
Southern Japanese form - 53,003 (range 18,409-87,597)

HUMAN INFLUENCES

fisheries off Japan and in the Caribbean