Geographic Range
Information on the geographic range of this species is limited due to its rarity.
Based on stranding and fishery by-catch records, dwarf sperm whales have a worldwide
distribution. Although stranding records show that they occur in areas of cold waters,
they are more frequently observed in temperate and tropical regions. In the Atlantic
Ocean, dwarf sperm whales have been spotted offshore near Virginia, Spain, Brazil,
and along the coasts of Africa. In the Indian Ocean, strandings have occurred along
the southern coast of Australia, in the Persian Gulf, and in the Indonesian archipelago.
In the western Pacific, strandings have occurred along the shores of the island of
Honshu in Japan, the Marianas Islands, and New Zealand. In the eastern Pacific, they
range from Vancouver Island, Canada to the central coast of Chile.
- Biogeographic Regions
- indian ocean
- atlantic ocean
- pacific ocean
- mediterranean sea
- Other Geographic Terms
- cosmopolitan
Habitat
Dwarf sperm whales are usually seen over the continental shelf and slope. However,
dietary evidence suggests that these whales forage in deeper waters, diving to 300
m.
- Habitat Regions
- temperate
- tropical
- saltwater or marine
Physical Description
Dwarf sperm whales are compact and streamlined, with the body gradually narrowing
to the tail. Average body length ranges between 2.1 to 2.7 m but rarely exceeds 2.5
m. Average body weight ranges from 135 to 270 kg. Skin color varies from bluish gray,
dark gray, and blackish brown, to completely black with a white or lighter gray venter;
speckled pink or purple blotches may also be present. The flippers are broad with
round edges and the tail fluke is sharply pointed, measuring 61 cm in width. The dorsal
fin, located midway along the back, can be used to distinguish individual whales because
the shape varies from falcate (sickle-shaped) to curved and pointed to triangular.
The head is square, with a conical, pointed snout and a small, under-slung jaw. The
head measures about 1/6 of the body's length, which is the shortest proportion of
any cetacean. The blowhole is located on the left side of the melon, contributing
to the marked asymmetry of the skull. A lightly colored crescent-shaped mark may be
present on either side of the head between the eye and flipper. This mark is called
a false gill due to its resemblance to the gill slits of a fish. The lower jaw of
dwarf sperm whales holds 7 to 13 pairs of sharp, curved, homodont teeth, while the
upper jaw bears 3 pairs of vestigial teeth which are sharp, thin, and lack enamel.
The throat region is grooved with several short longitudinal creases.
- Other Physical Features
- endothermic
- homoiothermic
- bilateral symmetry
- Sexual Dimorphism
- male larger
Reproduction
The mating system of dwarf sperm whales is not known.
Little information is known about reproduction in this species. The mating process
is likely to be similar to other cetaceans: as both females and males align themselves
belly to belly, the male inserts his penis into the female's genital canal, and fertilization
occurs internally. The gestation period is 9 months and the duration of the calving
season appears to last at least 5 or 6 months. There appears to be at least one calving
peak during summer months. Frequent observations of pregnant females accompanied by
unweaned calves suggest an annual reproductive cycle with one calve per year.
- Key Reproductive Features
- iteroparous
- seasonal breeding
- gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
- sexual
- viviparous
Specific information on parental care of young is lacking for dwarf sperm whales.
It may be that they cares for their young in ways similar to more well-studied cetaceans,
wherein females and their calves stay together in pods for months to years. Females
nurse and protect their young, but it is not known if dwarf sperm whales employ extramaternal
care by related females within the pod or by males. Their ability to excrete fecal
matter to distract predators can be considered an additional means of protecting their
offspring.
- Parental Investment
- precocial
- female parental care
-
pre-fertilization
- provisioning
-
protecting
- female
-
pre-hatching/birth
-
provisioning
- female
-
protecting
- female
-
provisioning
-
pre-weaning/fledging
-
provisioning
- female
-
protecting
- female
-
provisioning
-
pre-independence
-
provisioning
- female
-
protecting
- female
-
provisioning
- extended period of juvenile learning
Lifespan/Longevity
The lifespan and longevity of this species is unknown in the wild, and only a few
specimens have survived more than a year in captivity. Based on necropsies of stranded
individuals, ingested plastic debris found within the stomach is a clear cause of
morbidity and mortality. Furthermore, entanglement and drowning in gills nets is also
a serious problem contributing to premature mortality.
Behavior
Dwarf sperm whales are timid, rarely approaching boats. They have been seen in small
groups of 6 to 10 or alone and slowly swimming or floating at the surface. When beginning
to dive, they often just sink down without having their flukes break the surface.
- Key Behaviors
- natatorial
- motile
- social
Home Range
The long and short-range movements of dwarf sperm whales are unstudied, so information
on home range is lacking. However, some groups appear to exhibit site fidelity around
the Hawaiian Islands.
Communication and Perception
Information on communication and perception of dwarf sperm whales cannot be found.
However, as members of the family
Physeteridae
, it seems reasonable to assume that they use echolocation (sonar) and vocal communication
in similar ways to their cousins,
sperm whales
.
- Communication Channels
- acoustic
- Perception Channels
- visual
- tactile
- acoustic
- ultrasound
- echolocation
- chemical
Food Habits
The diet of dwarf sperm whales consists mainly of cephalopods, especially the squid
species
Ancistrocheirus lesueurii
,
Histioteuthis
species,
Chiroteuthis veranyi
, and
Octopoteuthis
species, though fish and crustaceans also form part of the diet. Echolocation is
probably used to locate prey since these whales forage in dimly lit zones of the ocean.
Dwarf sperm whales appear to employ a suction feeding strategy to capture prey.
- Primary Diet
- carnivore
- Animal Foods
- fish
- mollusks
- aquatic crustaceans
Predation
While there are no direct observations of predation on
K. sima
, its small size would make it potential prey for larger carnivores such as killer
whales (
Orcinus orca
) and great white sharks (
Carcharodon carcharias
). When threatened, dwarf sperm whales eject a concealing fluid as a decoy, much like
a squid does. They excrete a dark reddish-brown liquid from a sac located in the lower
portion of the intestine. It can eject over 12 liters of liquid to create a dense
cloud which may frighten predators or distract them, allowing the whale to swim away.
Their coloration also helps to camouflage them in ocean waters.
- Anti-predator Adaptations
- cryptic
Ecosystem Roles
As predators, dwarf sperm whales play an important role in the ocean ecosystem linking
the midwater zone to the epipelagic zone. Spearfish remoras (
Remora brachyptera
) share a commensal relationship with
K. sima
individuals by attaching themselves to the whales with their modified dorsal fins.
Furthermore, dwarf sperm whales host many types of endoparasites in their intestines.
- spearfish remoras ( Remora brachyptera )
- acanthocephalans ( Bolbosoma vasculosum )
- acanthocephalan ( Bolbosoma capitatum )
- nematodes ( Anisakis species)
- nematodes ( Crassicauda anthonyi )
- nematodes ( Heterochaeilus tunicatus )
- nematodes ( Pseudoterranova ceticola )
- cestodes ( Monorygma grimaldi )
- cestodes ( Phyllobothrium delphini )
- trematodes ( Chiorchis groschafti )
- trematodes ( Pulmonicola cochleotrema )
- trematodes ( Monoligerum blairi )
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
Dwarf sperm whales are not commercially exploited, though they may be an economically valuable commodity in aboriginal/artisanal fisheries.
- Positive Impacts
- food
- research and education
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
There are no known negative impacts on humans. Interactions with humans are rare due
to their timid behavior and their tendency to avoid approaching ships and boats.
Conservation Status
Population size in the waters around Hawaii has been estimated at about 19,000 individuals,
but worldwide estimates are lacking.
Additional Links
Contributors
Jessie Chhoum (author), San Diego Mesa College, Richard Tang (author), San Diego Mesa College, Paul Detwiler (editor), San Diego Mesa College, Tanya Dewey (editor), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- Atlantic Ocean
-
the body of water between Africa, Europe, the southern ocean (above 60 degrees south latitude), and the western hemisphere. It is the second largest ocean in the world after the Pacific Ocean.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- Pacific Ocean
-
body of water between the southern ocean (above 60 degrees south latitude), Australia, Asia, and the western hemisphere. This is the world's largest ocean, covering about 28% of the world's surface.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- cosmopolitan
-
having a worldwide distribution. Found on all continents (except maybe Antarctica) and in all biogeographic provinces; or in all the major oceans (Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific.
- temperate
-
that region of the Earth between 23.5 degrees North and 60 degrees North (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle) and between 23.5 degrees South and 60 degrees South (between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle).
- tropical
-
the region of the earth that surrounds the equator, from 23.5 degrees north to 23.5 degrees south.
- saltwater or marine
-
mainly lives in oceans, seas, or other bodies of salt water.
- pelagic
-
An aquatic biome consisting of the open ocean, far from land, does not include sea bottom (benthic zone).
- coastal
-
the nearshore aquatic habitats near a coast, or shoreline.
- endothermic
-
animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.
- bilateral symmetry
-
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
- iteroparous
-
offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).
- seasonal breeding
-
breeding is confined to a particular season
- sexual
-
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
- viviparous
-
reproduction in which fertilization and development take place within the female body and the developing embryo derives nourishment from the female.
- young precocial
-
young are relatively well-developed when born
- female parental care
-
parental care is carried out by females
- natatorial
-
specialized for swimming
- motile
-
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
- social
-
associates with others of its species; forms social groups.
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- ultrasound
-
uses sound above the range of human hearing for either navigation or communication or both
- echolocation
-
The process by which an animal locates itself with respect to other animals and objects by emitting sound waves and sensing the pattern of the reflected sound waves.
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
- cryptic
-
having markings, coloration, shapes, or other features that cause an animal to be camouflaged in its natural environment; being difficult to see or otherwise detect.
- food
-
A substance that provides both nutrients and energy to a living thing.
- carnivore
-
an animal that mainly eats meat
- molluscivore
-
eats mollusks, members of Phylum Mollusca
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