Minke Sperm whales
| Minke Sperm whales | ||||||||||||
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Pygmy sperm whale ( Kogia breviceps ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the family | ||||||||||||
| Kogiidae | ||||||||||||
| Gill , 1871 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Kogia | ||||||||||||
| Gray , 1846 |
The dwarf sperm whale ( Kogia ) are a genus of whales with two species, the small sperm whale and the somewhat larger dwarf sperm whale . They are related to the sperm whale ( Physeter macrocephalus ), mainly because of their small size, but in an independent, monotypical family, the Kogiidae .
features
Minke sperm whales are significantly smaller than their known relative. They reach lengths of 2.1 to 3.4 meters and a weight of 136 to 408 kilograms. Their skin is dark gray on the top and lighter on the flanks and belly. Your forehead is relatively large and contains a spermaceti organ. As with the actual sperm whale, only functional teeth are present on the lower jaw and the unpaired nostril is on the left side of the skull. The fin is sickle-shaped.
Little is known about the way of life, most of the knowledge comes from stranded animals. They are more likely to be lazy animals that sometimes float motionless in the sea. Their diet consists mainly of cephalopods , but also of fish .
Minke sperm whales were sometimes hunted , but not to the same extent as their great relative. Both species are considered rare, but are listed as not endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN).
literature
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World . Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9
Web links
- Endangerment level of the two species in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier: Handbook of the Mammals of the World - Volume 4, Sea Mammals. Lynx Edicions, July 2014, ISBN 978-84-96553-93-4
- ^ Kogia Gray, 1846 at ITIS