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The animals were named "pilot whales" because pods were believed to be "piloted" by a leader. [3] [4] They are also called "pothead whales" and "blackfish".The genus name is a combination of the Latin word globus ("round ball" or "globe") and the Greek word Kephale ("head").
The long-finned pilot whale, or pothead whale (Globicephala melas) is a large species of oceanic dolphin. It shares the genus Globicephala with the short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus). Long-finned pilot whales are known as such because of their unusually long pectoral fins.
The name "pilot whale" originated with an early theory that pods were "piloted" by a leader. Other common names include the "pothead whale" (after the bulbous melon), and "blackfish" (a catch-all term used to designate numerous species of small, dark-colored toothed whales, including the pygmy sperm whale and false killer whale).
Articles relating to the Globicephala (pilot whales). The two extant species are the long-finned pilot whale (G. melas) and the short-finned pilot whale (G. macrorhynchus).The two are not readily distinguishable at sea, and analysis of the skulls is the best way to distinguish between the species.
Whaling in the Faroe Islands, or grindadráp (from the Faroese terms grindhvalur, meaning pilot whale, and dráp, meaning killing), is a type of drive hunting that involves herding various species of whales and dolphins, but primarily pilot whales, into shallow bays to be beached, killed, and butchered.
About 240 pilot whales beached themselves in the northwest of Chatham Island, just 3 days before 240 whales beached themselves at nearby Pitt Island. [43] Chatham Island, New Zealand: 230 195 35 2022 About 230 pilot whales beached themselves on the west coast of Tasmania, exactly two years to the day of another mass stranding in the same area. [44]
Pilot whales are cetaceans belonging to the genus Globicephala. The two extant species are the long-finned pilot whale (G. melas) and the short-finned pilot whale (G. macrorhynchus). The two are not readily distinguishable at sea, and analysis of the skulls is the best way to distinguish between the species.
Globicephalinae is a subfamily of oceanic dolphins that includes the pilot whales (Globicephala spp.), the pygmy killer whale (Feresa attenuata), the rough-toothed dolphin (Steno bredanensis), the false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens), the melon-headed whale (Peponocephala electra), Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus), and the snubfin dolphins (Orcaella spp.).