blackfish or pothead either of two species of small, slender toothed whales with a round, bulging forehead, a short beak-like snout, and slender, pointed flippers. Pilot whales are about 4–6 metres (13–20 feet) long and are found in all the oceans of the world except the Arctic.
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Globicephala melas -- From the Latin globus (globe, ball) and the Greek kephale (head) and melanus (black).
COMMON NAME: Pilot Whale
DISCOVERED: Lesson, 1828
EXTERNAL ANATOMY:
Bulbous forehead (exaggerated in adult males)
Slate gray-black body with light markings on throat and belly
Short, imperceptible beak
Prominent, falcate dorsal fin
Elongated wedge shaped body
Long, sickle-shaped flippers
Size: 6.2 m, 3 tons (male); 5.4 m, 2-2.5 tons (female)
GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION:
Discontinous distribution with tropical waters separating the Southern hemisphere population from that of the northern North Atlantic
Temperate to subpolar distribution in all oceans except North Pacific
Abundant in North Atlantic and Southern hemisphere
Seasonal variation in migration patterns-some spend entire year offshore
NATURAL HISTORY:
HABITAT:
Cold temperate and subpolar waters
Found both inshore and offshore
FOOD & FEEDING:
Squid, octopus, cod and other fish
LIFE CYCLE:
Life Span: 40-50 years
Peak seasons for mating: spring/early summer
Calves are born in late summer after 16 month gestation period
Calving interval: 3 years
Nursing lasts 20 months
Sexual maturity at 12 years (male) and 6 years (female)
BEHAVIOR:
Travel in small groups of 4-6 individuals
At times hundreds up to thousands may gather
Tight groups while on move, loose when feeding
Methodical and unexpressive at surface (appear to be at "rest")
Sometimes hang vertically spyhopping or pitch-poling
Lobtailing is common
Do not ride bow waves
Tend to strand at times
Not particularly friendly
Deathly afraid of killer whales and will breach themselves to try to avoid avoid them
PILOT WHALE SONGS: The following .au file is a sample the song of the Pilot Whale.
Clicks [34k .au file]
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