Species Kogia breviceps (Blainville, 1838)
Pygmy Sperm Whale
- Physeter breviceps Blainville, H.M.D. de 1838. Sur les Cachalots. Annales Françaises et Étrangères d'Anatomie et de Physiologie. Paris 2: 335-337 [337].
Type data:
Holotype MNHP skull, Cape of Good Hope, South Africa.Secondary source:
Hershkovitz, P. 1966. Catalog of living whales. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 246: viii 1-259. - Euphysetes grayii Wall, W.B. 1851. History and description of the skeleton of a new sperm whale, lately set up in the Australian Museum ... together with some account of a new genus of sperm whales called Euphysetes. Memoirs of the Australian Museum 1: i-ii 1-66 [37].
Type data:
Holotype AM P368 skeleton, Maroubra Beach, NSW.Secondary source:
Hershkovitz, P. 1966. Catalog of living whales. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 246: viii 1-259. - Euphysetes macleayii Krefft, G. 1866. Notice of a new species of sperm-whale belonging to the genus Euphysetes of Macleay. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1865: 708-713 [24 Apr. 1866] [708].
Type data:
Holotype AM P365,366,367 & 369 skeleton, Manly Beach, NSW.Secondary source:
Hershkovitz, P. 1966. Catalog of living whales. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 246: viii 1-259.
Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy
- Hershkovitz, P. 1966. Catalog of living whales. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 246: viii 1-259 [113] (see also for synonyms based on non-Australian material)
Generic Combinations
- Kogia breviceps (Blainville, 1838).
Distribution
States
New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia
Extra Distribution Information
Mainly outside continental shelf.
IMCRA
Central Western Shelf Transition (28), Central Western Shelf Province (29), Southwest Shelf Transition (30), Southwest Shelf Province (31), Great Australian Bight Shelf Transition (32), Spencer Gulf Shelf Province (33), Western Bass Strait Shelf Transition (34), Bass Strait Shelf Province (35), Tasmanian Shelf Province (36), Southeast Shelf Transition (37), Central Eastern Shelf Province (38), Central Eastern Shelf Transition (39)
Ecological Descriptors
Oceanic, pelagic.
Extra Ecological Information
Diet includes cephalopods, fish and crustaceans.
General References
Aitken, P.F. 1971. Whales from the coast of South Australia. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 95: 95-103
Bryden, M.M. 1978. Whales and whaling in Queensland waters. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland 89: v-xviii
Guiler, E.R. 1978. Whale strandings in Tasmania since 1945 with notes on some seal reports. Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania 112: 189-213
Hale, H.M. 1962. The Pigmy Sperm Whale (Kogia breviceps) on South Australian coasts, Part III. Records of the South Australian Museum (Adelaide) 14: 197-229
Ross, G.J.B. 1979. Records of pygmy and dwarf sperm whales, genus Kogia, from southern Africa, with biological notes and some comparisons. Annals of the Cape Provincial Museums (Natural History) 11(14): 259-327
Ross, G.J.B. 1984. The smaller cetaceans of the south east coast of Southern Africa. Annals of the Cape Provincial Museums (Natural History) 15(2): 173-410
Warneke, R.M. 1983. Whale stranding — accident or design. Australian Natural History 21: 43-47
Watson, L. 1981. Sea Guide to Whales of the World. London : Hutchinson 302 pp.
Common Name References
ABRS 2001. Census of Australian Vertebrates. Australian Biological Resources Study. (Pygmy Sperm Whale)
History of changes
| Published | As part of group | Action Date | Action Type | Compiler(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11-Jun-2024 | 11-Jun-2024 | MOVED | ||
| 11-Jun-2024 | 11-Jun-2024 | MOVED | ||
| 16-Dec-2010 | 16-Oct-2013 | MODIFIED | ||
| 12-Feb-2010 | (import) |