Kogia sima

• Main Authors: Russell A. Mittermeier, Don E. Wilson
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: Lynx Edicions 2014
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Taxonomy; Animalia; Chordata; Mammalia; Cetacea; Kogiidae; Kogia; Kogia sima; Cachalote; Enano; Indian; Nain; Pacific; cachalote; Sperm whale
• Online Access: https://zenodo.org/record/6600637; https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6600637

2. Dwarf Sperm Whale Kogia sima French: Cachalot nain / German: Kleinstpottwal / Spanish: Cachalote enano Other common names: Owen's Pygmy Whale, Snub-nosed Cachalot Taxonomy. Physeter simus Owen, 1866, India, Andhra Pradesh (= Madras Presidency), “taken at Waltair,” near Vishaknaptnam. Rules of Latin gender agreement and scientific nomenclature establish that sima is the correct spelling for the species name, rather than the widely used simus. Recent genetic evidence suggests that the Atlantic Ocean population may be distinct from K. sima occupying the Indian and Pacific oceans. Monotypic. Distribution. Apparently mainly tropical, but also temperate waters of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans; stranding records concentrated on Atlantic and Pacific coasts of S USA, South Africa, and S coast of the Arabian Peninsula; a single record exists for the Mediterranean (Italy). Precise atsea distribution is unknown. Descriptive notes. Total length 200-270 cm; weight 136-280 kg. Condylobasal length of the skull of the Dwarf Sperm Whale is 26.2-30.3 cm, significantly smaller than that of the Pygmy Sperm Whale (K. breviceps) at 39.1-46.9 cm. The Dwarf Sperm Whale is variable in color, but it is generally blackish-brown dorsally, shading to cream on its belly. Relative position of foramen magnum near midpoint of skull height in the Dwarf Sperm Whale is well above midpoint of skull height in the Pygmy Sperm Whale; this characteristic has been reported to be diagnostic, but overlap in this feature has been noted in individuals from South African waters. Other diagnostic cranial characteristics include sagittal septum (narrow, 6-14 mm, with near vertical sides in the Dwarf sperm Whale and broad, 2.3-8 cm, with gradually sloping sides in the Pygmy Sperm Whale) and degree of slope from dorsal rim of cranial fossae (steep in the Dwarf Sperm Whale and gradual in the Pygmy Sperm Whale). Dorsal fin of the Dwarf Sperm Whale is greater than 5% of total body length and is taller than that of the Pygmy Sperm Whale. The Dwarf Sperm ...