Peponocephala electra

The melon-headed whale has a fairly stocky body that tapers sharply at both ends. It has a small head with a small or no beak, and a rounded melon ridge that slopes downward at about a 45-degree angle. Depending on the angle from which it is seen, its head may appear triangular or conical, with older individuals being slightly more spherical. A tall, sharp, sickle-shaped dorsal fin is located in the middle of the back, and its pectoral fins are long and tapering. Once known as the "black whale with many teeth," the melon-headed whale has 20 to 26 pairs of teeth in each jaw. Overall, the body of the melon-headed whale is almost entirely dark gray or black, except for its dark gray or white variable belly pattern and its light gray, pink, or white lips. In close examination in good light, the patterning on its head, back, and sides is extremely complex, with a less obvious dark "cape" in the center of the back that extends down the sides of the body, and two mask-like

Mainly distributed in the waters between 20 degrees north and south latitude. However, perhaps because it is lost with the warm current, it is occasionally found in temperate waters. Melon-headed whales are common in the Philippine waters, especially in the narrow deep waters near the continental shelf such as Cebu Island, where they are often found in the nearshore area. Other areas where melon-headed whales often appear include the Hawaiian Islands, the Tuamotu and Marquesas Islands in the South Pacific, the waters off the east coast of Australia, the northwest Gulf of Mexico, and the entire equatorial Pacific waters. Melon-headed whales are found in my country in the waters near Suao and Donggang in Taiwan.
Mainly distributed countries and regions: American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Australia, the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Cocos Island, Colombia, Congo, Cook Islands, Cos

Melon-headed whale, also known as Melon-headed whale, has no subspecies. Its characteristics are similar to those of the genus Orca, but it has more teeth.

Melon-headed whales are a highly social species. They often appear in groups of hundreds or even more than 1,000, and the whale groups also include many small groups with the same migration and activities. From the hundreds of melon-headed whales stranded together, we can know that there are strong social links between individuals in the whale group. Migrating groups create a lot of splash, with closely knit groups often breaching the water at a low angle and creating a crescent of water in front of their heads, and occasionally riding the bows of passing ships. Melon-headed whales have a strong and stable relationship with Sarawak dolphins, and in most cases Melon-headed whales are often seen around or following Sarawak dolphins, and sometimes close to rough-toothed dolphins.

As an oceanic, deep-water species, Melon-headed whales feed entirely on pelagic fish, squid, and occasional crustaceans. Many of their prey live at depths of up to 1,500 meters, and most people believe that Melon-headed whales at least occasionally hunt at considerable depths.

Little is known about the reproductive status of Melon-headed whales, and the large number of strandings is the only source of reliable information. Their gestation period may last for a year, and there is no reason to confirm that their reproduction is seasonal.

The peak fertility period may be early spring in low dimensions or July and August in high dimensions. It seems that they can reproduce all year round, but the data is uncertain. The longest gestation period is unknown, but it may be around 12 months. Newborn calves are about 1m long and weigh about 10-15 kg, with an average weight of 12 kg. It is estimated that both sexes reach sexual maturity at about 4 years old. The parenting habits of the parents for the calves are unknown, and it is generally assumed that the female whales take care of the calves until they reach adulthood. Like other whales, newborn melon-headed whales have the ability to swim immediately.

There are no special conservation issues regarding melon-headed whales. Because their teeth can be strung into necklaces for currency and dowry, traditional drive hunting in the Solomon Islands also targeted melon-headed whales, which became popular in the 1960s and continued in parts of the Solomon Islands into the early 1990s. Small numbers of melon-headed whales are killed by gillnets and darts throughout the tropics, but large-scale whale kills sometimes occur in Japanese waters.

Based on line transect sampling in 2003-2004, an estimated 2,283 melon-headed whales were found in the northern Gulf of Mexico, which was not statistically different from the 3,451 estimated in 1996-2001. In the waters of the Hawaiian Exclusive Economic Zone, the 2002 estimate was 2,947. In the East Zulu Sea of the Philippines, 921 were reported in 2006, compared with 1,200 in the same area in 1999. An estimated 1,383 melon-headed whales are found in the Tañon Strait (2006 data). The population abundance in the eastern tropical Pacific is approximately 45,000 (1993 data). They are rarely found in the Indian Ocean, with 5 observed off the coast of Mayotte in 2007. In 1998-1999, 14 were found along 2,255 km of the coast of the Marquesas Islands in the South Pacific.

Listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Listed in the 2008 Red List of Threatened Species of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) ver 3.1 - Least Concern (LC).

Listed in China's "National Key Protected Wildlife List" (February 5, 2021) Level 2.

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