Species Physeter macrocephalus Linnaeus, 1758
Sperm Whale
Type data:
Neotype RMNH 5828, Berkhey, Netherlands.Subsequent designation references:
Boschma, H. 1938. On the teeth and some other particulars of the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus L.). Temminckia 3: 151-278 (figured in pls 10 & 12, see <1358>[156]).Secondary source:
Hershkovitz, P. 1966. Catalog of living whales. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 246: viii 1-259.- Catodon australis 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 [1].
Type data:
Holotype AM P326 skeleton, Port Jackson, NSW.Secondary source:
Hershkovitz, P. 1966. Catalog of living whales. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 246: viii 1-259. - Catodon (Meganeuron) krefftii Gray, J.E. 1865. Notice of a new species of Australian Sperm Whale (Catodon krefftii) in the Sydney Museum. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1865: 439-442 [440].
Type data:
Holotype AM P339 cervical vertebrae, 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 [116] (for synonyms based on non-Australian material)
- Schevill, W.E. 1986. The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature and a paradigm: the name Physeter catodon Linnaeus, 1758. Marine Mammal Science 2: 153-157 [156]
- Bannister, J.L. 1989. Physeteridae. pp. 965-969 in Walton, D.W. & Richardson, B.J. (eds). Fauna of Australia. Mammalia. Canberra : Australian Government Publishing Service Vol. 1B 827 pp. (see for use of catodon rather than macrocephalus; both appear in 10th edition of Linnaeus, catodon has line priority)
Distribution
States
New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia
Extra Distribution Information
Circumglobal but generally outside continental shelves.
IMCRA
Tasmania Province (10), Southeast Transition (11), Central Eastern Province (12), Central Eastern Transition (15), Kenn Transition (16), Kenn Province (17), Northeast Province (18), Northeast Transition (19), Timor Province (2), Cape Province (20), Northwest Transition (3), Northwest Province (4), Central Western Transition (5), Central Western Province (6), Southwest Transition (7), Southern Province (8), West Tasmania Transition (9)
Ecological Descriptors
Gregarious, migratory, oceanic, pelagic.
Extra Ecological Information
Diet mainly cephalopods but also includes fish.
General References
Aitken, P.F. 1971. Whales from the coast of South Australia. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 95: 95-103
Anon. 1978. Sperm Whale. pp. 59-63 in [Committee] (ed.). Mammals in the Seas. FAO Fisheries Series 5(1). Rome : FAO/UN.
Bannister, J.L. 1974. Whale populations and current research off Western Australia. pp. 239-254 in Schevill, W.E. (ed.). The Whale Problem. A status report. Cambridge, Mass : Harvard University Press pp. 1-419.
Bryden, M.M. 1978. Whales and whaling in Queensland waters. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland 89: v-xviii
Evans, K.R. & Hindell, M.A. 2004. The age structure and growth of female sperm whales (Physeter catodon) in southern Australian waters. Journal of Zoology, London 263: 237-250
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
Kirkwood, G.P., Allen, K.R. & Bannister, J.L. 1980. An assessment of the Sperm Whale stock subject to Western Australian catching. Reports of the International Whaling Commission Special Issue 2: 147–149
Warneke, R.M. 1983. Whale stranding — accident or design. Australian Natural History 21: 43-47
Weilgart, L. & Whitehead, H. 1997. Group-specific dialects and geographic variation in coda repertoire in South Pacific sperm whales. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 40: 277-285
Whitehead, H. 2002. Sperm whale, Physeter macrocaphalus. pp. 1165-1172 in Perrin, W.F., Wursig, B. & Thewissen, J.G.M. (eds). Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals. San Diego : Academic Press.
Common Name References
ABRS 2001. Census of Australian Vertebrates. Australian Biological Resources Study. (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 | 02-May-2011 | MODIFIED | ||
15-Dec-2010 | MODIFIED |