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Globicephala melas (Traill, 1809) 
AphiaID: 137097

Classification: Biota > Animalia (Kingdom) > Chordata (Phylum) > Vertebrata (Subphylum) > Gnathostomata (Superclass) > Tetrapoda (Superclass) > Mammalia (Class) > Theria (Subclass) > Cetartiodactyla (Order) > Cetancodonta (Suborder) > Cetacea (Infraorder) > Odontoceti (Superfamily) > Delphinidae (Family) > Globicephala (Genus)
Status accepted
Record
status
 Checked by Taxonomic Editor
Rank Species
Parent Globicephala Lesson, 1828
Synonymised
taxa
  Delphinus deductor Scoresby, 1820 (synonym)
Delphinus globiceps Temminck, 1841 (synonym)
Delphinus globiceps G. Cuvier, 1812 (synonym)
Delphinus grampus Gray, 1846 (synonym)
Delphinus grinda Lyngbye, 1824 (synonym)
Delphinus melas Traill, 1809 (synonym)
Globicephala leucosagmaphora Rayner, 1939 (synonym)
Globicephala melaena (Traill, 1809) (misspelling)
Globicephala melaena Thomas, 1898 (synonym)
Globicephala melas leucosagmaphora Tomilin, 1962 (synonym)
Globicephala meloena Paulus, 1960 (junior synonym)
Globicephalus affinis True, 1889 (synonym)
Globicephalus australis Gray, 1871 (synonym)
Globicephalus chiliensis Phillipi, 1896 (synonym)
Globicephalus conductor Rapp, 1837 (synonym)
Globicephalus globiceps Philippi, 1893 (synonym)
Globicephalus melas Flower, 1885 (synonym)
Globiceps affinis Flower, 1884 (synonym)
Globiceps melas Flower, 1884 (synonym)
Globiocephalus affinis Gray, 1846 (synonym)
Globiocephalus chilensis Philippi, 1896 (synonym)
Globiocephalus incrassatus Gray, 1862 (synonym)
Globiocephalus melas Murie, 1874 (synonym)
Globiocephalus swineval Gray, 1846 (synonym)
Grampus affinis Gray, 1866 (synonym)
Phocaena edwardii A. Smith, 1834 (synonym)
Phocaena edwardsii True, 1889 (synonym)
Phocaena globiceps A. Smith, 1834 (synonym)
Sphaerocephalus incrassatus Gray, 1864 (synonym)
Sources  original description: Traill, T. S. (1809). Description of a new species of whale, Delphinus melas. In a letter from Thomas Stewart Traill, M. D. to Mr. Nicholson. Journal of Natural Philosophy, Chemistry, and the Arts. February, 1809:81--83. [details]

basis of record: van der Land, J. (2001). Tetrapoda, in: Costello, M.J. et al. (Ed.) (2001). European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. Collection Patrimoines Naturels, 50: pp. 375-376 (look up in IMIS[details]

additional source: Carwardine, M., E. Hoyt, R. E. Fordyce and P. Gill. 1998. Whales, dolphins and porpoises. Time-Life Books. Nature Company Guides, USA. 288 p. [details]

additional source: University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. Animal Diversity Web., available online at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/index.html [details]

additional source: Muller, Y. (2004). Faune et flore du littoral du Nord, du Pas-de-Calais et de la Belgique: inventaire. [Coastal fauna and flora of the Nord, Pas-de-Calais and Belgium: inventory]. Commission Régionale de Biologie Région Nord Pas-de-Calais: France. 307 pp. (look up in IMIS[details]

additional source: Mead, J. G. and R. L. Brownell, Jr. (2005). Cetacea. Pages 723--743 in Wilson, D.E. & D.M. Reeder (eds). Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed), Johns Hopkins University Press, 2,142 pp., available online at http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/ [details]

additional source: Rice, D. W. 1998. Marine mammals of the world. Systematics and distribution. Society for Marine Mammalogy Special Publication 4. [details]

additional source: Hershkovitz, P. (1966). Catalog of living whales. U.S. National Museum Bulletin 246:1--259. [details]

additional source: Jefferson, T. A., M. A. Webber and R. L. Pitman. (2008). Marine mammals of the world. Academic Press, Amsterdam. [details]

additional source: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, available online at http://www.iucnredlist.org [details]

additional source: Perrin, W. F., B. Würsig and J. G. M. Thewissen. (2009). Encyclopedia of marine mammals. Academic Press, Amsterdam. [details]

additional source: King, C. (2009). Terrestrial mammals (Chordata). In: Gordon, D. (Ed.) (2009). New Zealand Inventory of Biodiversity. Volume One: Kingdom Animalia. 584 pp [details]

additional source: ITIS database, available online at http://www.itis.gov [details]

Vernacular
Names
 
Language   Name 
Afrikaans langvinloodswalvis  [details]
Arabic kouraoui arras achaii  [details]
Basque izurde pilotua  [details]
Catalan cap d'olla  [details]
Catalan cap d'olla negre  [details]
Croatian bjelogrii dupin  [details]
Croatian kit debeloglavac  [details]
Czech kulohlavec černý  [details]
Danish grind  [details]
Danish langluffet grindehval  [details]
Dutch griend  [details]
English American black-fish  [details]
English Atlantic blackfish  [details]
English blackfish  [details]
English caa'ing whale  [details]
English common blackfish  [details]
English common pilot whale  [details]
English driving whale  [details]
English Indian pilot whale  [details]
English long-finned pilot whale  [details]
English northern pilot whale  [details]
English pothead  [details]
English roundhead  [details]
English round-headed porpoise  [details]
English social whale  [details]
Faroese grindahvalur  [details]
Faroese grindaquealur  [details]
Finnish grindvalas  [details]
Finnish pallopaa  [details]
French cachelot svineval  [details]
French chaudron  [details]
French dauphin pilote  [details]
French déducteur  [details]
French globicéphale commun  [details]
French globicéphale conducteur  [details]
French globicéphale noir  [details]
Galician caldeiro  [details]
German Grindwal  [details]
German Schwarzwal  [details]
Hebrew natav shachor  [details]
Icelandic grindhvalur  [details]
Icelandic leiftur  [details]
Icelandic marsvin  [details]
Icelandic nydingur  [details]
Indonesian paus hitam  [details]
Italian delfino pilota  [details]
Italian globicefalo  [details]
Italian globicefalo nero  [details]
Italian gobicefalo (from synonym)  [details]
Kalaallisut nisarnaq  [details]
Lithuanian paprastoji grinda  [details]
Maltese baliena sewda  [details]
Modern Greek (1453-) mavrodélfino  [details]
Modern Greek (1453-) Μαυροδέλφινο  [details]
Norwegian grinde  [details]
Norwegian grindhval  [details]
Norwegian grinzehval  [details]
Norwegian svinehval  [details]
Norwegian Bokmål grindhval  [details]
Norwegian Nynorsk grindkval  [details]
Polish albrzymi delfin  [details]
Polish grindwal długopłetwy  [details]
Portuguese baleia piloto de peitoral longa  [details]
Portuguese boca de panela  [details]
Portuguese cachalote-añao  [details]
Russian grindy  [details]
Russian sharogolovyi delfin  [details]
Russian обыкновенная гринда  [details]
Slovenian obloglavka  [details]
Spanish ballena piloto  [details]
Spanish cabeza de buzo  [details]
Spanish calderón común  [details]
Spanish calderón de aleta larga  [details]
Spanish calderón negro  [details]
Spanish globicefalo negro  [details]
Spanish morfin  [details]
Swedish grindval  [details]
Turkish siyah yunus (from synonym)  [details]
Turkish uzun yüzgeçli kara balina  [details]
Ukrainian Гринда звичайна  [details]
Ukrainian Звичайна гринда  [details]
Welsh morfil pengrwn  [details]
Direct child
taxa

[show all]
 Subspecies Globicephala melas edwardii A. Smith, 1834
Subspecies Globicephala melas melas (Traill, 1809)

Subspecies Globicephala melas leucosagmaphora Tomilin, 1962 accepted as Globicephala melas (Traill, 1809)
Subspecies Globicephala melas scammonii Tomilin, 1957 accepted as Globicephala macrorhynchus Gray, 1846
Environment marine
Distribution Antarctica [details]
Azores Exclusive Economic Zone [details]
Belgian Exclusive Economic Zone [details]
European waters (ERMS scope) [details]
Gulf of Maine [details]
Gulf of St. Lawrence [details]
Mediterranean Sea [details]
New Zealand Exclusive Economic Zone [details]
North Sea [details]
North West Atlantic [details]
Portuguese Exclusive Economic Zone [details]
Spanish Exclusive Economic Zone [details]
St. Lawrence Estuary [details]
Subantarctic Waters [details]
United Kingdom Exclusive Economic Zone (from synonym) [details] [view taxon]
Wimereux (not certain[details]
World Oceans [details]
Links Marine Life Information Network - UK
To Barcode of Life (1 barcode)
To Biodiversity Heritage Library (43 publications)
To Encyclopedia of Life
To GenBank (78 nucleotides; 106 proteins)
To IUCN Red List
To Marine Species Identification Portal
To PESI
To ITIS
Notes  Diet: squid mostly but also a variety of fish. [details]

Dimensions: Legth: male 13-25' (4-7.6 m), female 10-18 1/2' (3-5.6 m), at birth 6' (1.9 m) [details]

Distribution: in all oceans except Northern Indian Ocean and North Pacific (where they occurred historically off Japan). [details]

Distribution: Antarctica/Southern Ocean; Southeast Pacific; Eastern Atlantic Ocean, Indo-West Pacific; Western Atlantic Ocean [details]

Habitat: temperate and subpolar, mostly oceanic [details]

Habitat: offshore; generally occupy areas of high relief or submerged banks. [details]

Holotype: None; see Lectotype [details]

Importance: Are still hunted in Faero Islands. [details]

IUCN Red List Category: Data Deficient (DD) [details]

Lectotype: Figured specimen, one of 92 whales stranded December 1806; skull in British Museum (Natural History), no. 363a--44.12.3.2, purchased 1844 from Traill. [details]

Morphology: Distinguishing characteristics: black-coloured whales with a white belly, spherical melon and a robust body. No constriction at the neck and the body is quite cylindrical from the head backward to the region of the dorsal fin. Dorsal fin has a long base, it is low, directed backwards and is set for forward on the body. 8-13 teeth in each of the 4 jaws and flippers which are 1/5 of the body length. [details]

Predators: None [details]

Reproduction: Female matures sexually at 6-7 years, male not until 12 years. In North Atlantic, mate in February and March in warm water and the young are born between July and October 15 to 16 months later in cooler water. Nursed for 20 months. Remain with their mother for 2 years. [details]

Type locality: Scapay Bay, Pomona, Orkney Islands, Scotland, UK [details]
Images 
Long-finned pilot
Long-finned pilot
added on 2006-11-24 - author: Robin Baird
qualitystatus: checked by Perrin, William on 2009-04-17 23:37:40

Van Beneden & Gervais (1880, pl. 51)
Van Beneden & Gervais (1880, pl. 51)
added on 2008-06-04 - author: Delahaye in Van Beneden & Gervais (1880)
scan provided by VLIZ - Wetenschatten
qualitystatus: checked by Perrin, William on 2009-04-17 23:37:54

Van Beneden & Gervais (1880, pl. 52)
Van Beneden & Gervais (1880, pl. 52)
added on 2008-06-04 - author: Delahaye in Van Beneden & Gervais (1880)
scan provided by VLIZ - Wetenschatten
qualitystatus: checked by Perrin, William on 2009-04-17 23:38:02

Van Beneden & Gervais (1880, pl. 53)
Van Beneden & Gervais (1880, pl. 53)
added on 2008-06-04 - author: Delahaye in Van Beneden & Gervais (1880)
scan provided by VLIZ - Wetenschatten
qualitystatus: checked by Perrin, William on 2009-04-17 23:38:12

Van Beneden & Gervais (1880, pl. 63)
Van Beneden & Gervais (1880, pl. 63)
added on 2008-06-04 - author: Delahaye in Van Beneden & Gervais (1880)
scan provided by VLIZ - Wetenschatten
qualitystatus: checked by Perrin, William on 2009-04-17 23:38:22

Globicephala melaena
[image from synonym]
Globicephala melaena
added on 2009-02-13 - author: Collection Georges Declercq
qualitystatus: checked by Perrin, William on 2013-03-29 22:47:28

Globicephala melaena
[image from synonym]
Globicephala melaena
added on 2009-02-13 - author: Collection Georges Declercq
qualitystatus: checked by Perrin, William on 2013-03-29 22:47:34

Long-finned pilot whales
Long-finned pilot whales
added on 2011-02-10 - author: Hilary Moors ()
qualitystatus: not checked

Pilot whales logging at surface
[image from synonym]
Pilot whales logging at surface
added on 2011-02-11 - author: Hilary Moors ()
qualitystatus: not checked

Globicephala melas
Globicephala melas
added on 2012-03-14 - author: VLIZ Collection
qualitystatus: not checked
LSID urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:137097
Taxonomic
Edit history
 
Date   action   by
2004-12-21 15:54:05Z  created  van der Land, Jacob
2008-08-20 11:25:36Z  checked  Perrin, William
  
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  Citation: Perrin, W. (2013). Globicephala melas (Traill, 1809). In: Perrin, W.F. (2013) World Cetacea Database. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=137097 on 2013-05-21
  Creative Commons License The webpage text is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License