Short Finned Pilot Whale Skull Replica

Description

Short Finned Pilot Whale Skull Replica cast measures 20.9″L x 15.0″W x 16.0″H. Skull is museum-quality polyurethane resin cast of original specimen from California Academy of Sciences. 2-part skull (separate cranium and mandible). Scale 1:1 – Made in USA.

Pilot Whale or Globiocephala macrorhyncus from the waters of the temperate and tropical world. They are also called Blackfish or Pothead Whale.

The skull of the short-finned Pilot Whale has a shorter and broader rostrum with a premaxilla that covers more of the maxilla. Short-finned Pilot Whale with its 7 to 9 teeth in each row and flippers one-sixth of total body length.

Pilot Whale or Globiocephala macrorhyncus feed primarily on squid, but will also hunt large demersal fish such as cod and turbot.

Pilot Whale or Globiocephala macrorhyncus are highly social and may remain with their birth pod throughout their lifetime.

Long-finned and short-finned Pilot Whale or Globiocephala macrorhyncus are so similar, it is difficult to tell the two species apart. They were traditionally differentiated by the length of the pectoral flippers relative to total body length and the number of teeth.

The long finned Pilot Whale was thought to have 9 to 12 teeth in each row and flippers one-fifth of total body length, compared to the short-finned Pilot Whale with its 7 to 9 teeth in each row and flippers one sixth of total body length.

Studies of whales in the Atlantic showed much overlap in these characteristics between the species, making them clines instead of distinctive features. Thus, biologists have since used skull differences to distinguish the two species.

The skull of the Short Finned Pilot Whale has a shorter and broader rostrum with a premaxilla that covers more of the maxilla. By contrast, the long finned Pilot Whale’s skull has a more elongated rostrum and a more exposed maxilla.

On average, Pilot Whale or Globiocephala macrorhyncus only have 40 to 48 teeth, about one third the amount seen in other dolphins.

Short Finned Pilot Whale Facts:

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Infraorder: Cetacea
Family: Delphinidae
Genus: Globicephala
Conservation status: Least concerned

This skull offers a fascinating morphological contrast to the predatory rostrum of our false killer whale skull.

To analyze the diversity of deep-diving squid hunters, contrast this specimen with our specialized Risso’s dolphin skull.

Molded from a CAS original specimen, this short-finned pilot whale skull captures the cranial nuances of this species.