top of page
TROPICAL PILOT WHALE
Globicephala Macrorhynchus
Order
Odontoceti
Family
Delphinidae
Tropical pilot whales live up to about 63 years, measure between 3.6 - 7.6 meters, and weigh between 1 and 4 tons. They consume fish and primarily squid, which they hunt at depth.
Found in tropical and temperate waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. They live in deep waters up to 900 m. The globicefales emit echolocation clicks to locate themselves in their environment, hunt, socialize, and call each other (calls) to communicate.
The sexual maturity of the Tropical Globicephale is reached between 8 and 17 years. Females last about 15 to 16 months, and they can give birth to a calf every 5 to 7 years.
- Source : AGOA
Head
Melon in prominent globe, no beak.
Dorsal Fin & Fins
Falciform dorsal with broad base and curved backwards, pectoral curved, thin, long and pointed.
Blow
Low, bush-shaped.
Swim sequence
Caudale sometimes lifted out of the water before probe, surface quietly.
Coloration
Black coat, grey-white markings on the throat and chest, sometimes a gray saddle around the dorsal fin.
bottom of page