Biodiversity & Conservation

Pygmy sperm whale - Kogia breviceps - General information

Pygmy sperm whale

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Distribution map

Kogia breviceps recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

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  • Berne
  • CITES
  • WC_Act_1981

General information

Key Icon Researched by: Morvan Barnes Text page icon Refereed by:

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy

Phylum Chordata Sea squirts, fish, reptiles, birds and mammals
Class Mammalia Seals, walrus, dolphin and whales
Map icon Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland Only a few sightings off the east coasts of Scotland and England.
Habitat information icon Habitat information The pygmy sperm whale is an oceanic deep-sea species that may dive down to a few hundred metres in depth.
Text page icon Description 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.

This review can be cited as follows:

Morvan Barnes 2008. Kogia breviceps. Pygmy sperm whale. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 31/07/2010]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesfullreview.php?speciesID=3593>