Pilot whales are actually two species: Globicephala melas (Traill, 1809, long-finned) and Globicephala macrorhynchus (Gray, 1846, short-finned), and are large dolphin species second only to orca (killer whales) in size. Adult males measure up to 6.
Pilot Whales are toothed whales in the Subfamily Orcinae which contains the Pilot Whales, Risso's Dolphin and Killer Whales.
Pilot whales belong to a group of cetaceans known as the 'blackfish', which are actually dolphins. This group includes orcas and melon-headed whales.
Subspecies
None.
Life span
Unknown.
Pilot whales are one of the most common species to engage in mass strandings. The cause of these events is not understood but may be the result of disease, illness or geomagnetic disortientation.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY ...
Long-finned Pilot Whales photographed in Gulf of St. Lawrence off Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Photograph by Anita Gould. Some rights reserved. (view image details) ...
Pilot whale
The long-finned (or Atlantic) pilot whale (Globicephala melas) and the short-finned (or Pacific) pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) are dark-colored, bulbous-headed whales that are about 20 feet (6 m) long.
Long-finned pilot whales live in the cool waters of the North Atlantic continental shelf and slope. Pods move seasonally inshore or offshore following their prey, mainly squid and Atlantic mackerel.
Long-finned Pilot Whale
Globicephala melas
Occurs in schools, frequently stranded. Reported from Barnstable, Dukes, Essex, and Nantucket counties.
Short-finned Pilot Whale (G. macrorhynchus) Â- Long-finned Pilot Whale (G. melas)
Grampus
Risso's Dolphin (G. griseus) ...
Killer Whales and Pilot Whales live in extremely large pods that contain many generations of whales. They live comfortably together, congregating and helping each other with hunting, feeding, migrating and caring for the young.
Short-finned Pilot Whale
Shortsnout Lancetfish, Alepisaurus brevirostris
Shortsnout Lancetfish, Alepisaurus brevirostris Gibbs, 1960
Short-tail River Pipefish, Microphis brachyurus (Bleeker, 1853) ...
There are 33 species of ocean dolphins, including the bottle-nosed dolphin, the spinner dolphin, the killer whale, the pilot whale and the common dolphin.
It is composed of the killer whale, the pilot whale, and various dolphin species. Members of this family are found in seas all over the world and are usually in the shallower water.
Ten days after capture the animal was moved to a tank containing an adult and an immature pilot whale (Globicephala). The pygmy killer became much more active than usual and swam ceaselessly.
Short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus)
Pygmy killer whale (Feresa attenuata)
Spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris)
Long-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus capensis)
Clymene dolphin (Stenella clymene) ...
These include the true, or beaked, dolphins, the killer whale, the pilot whale, and 12 freshwater species found in rivers of South America and S Asia. Most species are highly gregarious.
They are sometimes referred to as blackfish, a group including Pilot whales, Pigmy and False killer whales and Melon headed whales.
The bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) belongs to the Family Delphinidae, the largest family of the Order Cetacea, which includes killer whales, pilot whales, and other dolphins.
Dolphins are part of the family of toothed whales that includes orcas and pilot whales. They are mammals and breathe through a blowhole on the top of their head.
Family Delphinidae (dolphins, killer whales, pilot whales, and relatives)
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FAMILY: Delphinidae (dolphins, killer whales, pilot whales, and relatives)
GENUS/SPECIES: Tursiops truncates (common bottlenose dolphin);
T. aduncus (Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin); other subspecies ...
There are 36 species, or kinds, of dolphin, including bottlenose dolphin, Risso's dolphin, false killer whale, Pacific whitesided dolphin, orca (killer whale, the biggest dolphin), longfinned pilot whale, shortfinned pilot whale, ...
BEHAVIOR:
Groups range from a few to a few thousand animals. Spinners often mix with pilot whales, spotted dolphins, yellowfin, and skipjack tuna. They rest in shallow waters and inlets, usually feeding after resting.
These marine mammals like to hunt in large groups and are often seen associating with Pacific white-sided dolphins or pilot whales. Dall's porpoises are a fast-swimming species.
5 metres long when fully grown, to the mammoth 18 metre male sperm whale. Some other examples are the two species of pilot whale, beluga whale, narwhal, finless porpoise, and the rather large family of beaked whales.
For instance, the orca, or killer whale is actually not a whale at all, but one of the many types of dolphins-it's the world's largest dolphin, in fact. Similarly, both species of pilot whale are actually kinds of dolphins rather than whales.
These whales include species such as the Killer whales, the false killer whales, the pilot whales, melon headed whales and so forth. These whales are from the family Delphinidae that includes all of the oceanic dolphins.
Other possible species include Striped , Spinner and, Rough-toothed dolphin, Risso's Dolphin (Grampus), Fraser's Dolphin, Melonheaded Whale, Short-finned Pilot Whale, Dwarf Sperm Whale, Beaked Whale, and others.
The source of these dead squid is a matter of debate; some certainly comes from squid fisheries, but in nature it primarily comes from the die-off that occurs after squid spawning and the vomit of squid-eating wales (sperm whales, pilot whales and ...
Short-finned Pilot Whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus)
Silver-haired Bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans)
Southeastern Myotis (Myotis austroriparius)
Southern Yellow Bat (Lasiurus ega)
Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) ...
 See also: Whale, Dolphin, Squid, Killer Whale, Sperm Whale
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