Globicephala macrorhynchus

Short-finned pilot whale is a warm-water oceanic species.

Short-finned pilot whales are most easily confused with other small black fish, such as false killer whales, followed by melon-headed whales and small killer whales. The dorsal fin is the best distinguishing feature.

Short-finned pilot whales live in groups, usually in groups of dozens or hundreds of individuals. When swimming, they often form small groups of several to more than 10 individuals. The whale group is mainly composed of a few adult male whales and most adult female whales and calves. When diving, the tail fin is generally not exposed. When swimming quickly to get out of the water, foam waves form in front of the head and along the water surface along the sides of the body. The ability to group is strong, and the group will not disperse even if driven away. If one leader swims, the group will follow closely. They are sensitive to sound and will swim away in the opposite direction when hearing the sound. The main food is cephalopods and fish. They like to move in warm coastal waters and often swim into harbors to allow ships to approach. They rarely jump up to hit the waves, but often hit the waves with their tails and float to peek. Before diving, they bend and raise their tails; when returning to the surface to breathe, only the top of the head is exposed above the water, but the calves expose their entire heads above the water. Adult whales sometimes swim in the porpoise style, with most of their bodies out of the water.

Short-finned pilot whales can mate in both high and low latitudes, and their breeding season covers the entire year. Males reach sexual maturity when they are 15-22 years old and 3.9-4.5 meters long, and females reach sexual maturity when they are 7-12 years old and 3.1-3.2 meters long. The peak reproductive period is from June to August each year. The gestation period of female whales is 11-13 months, and one calf is born. The baby whale is about 140 cm long at birth. The lactation period is an average of two years, and there are also cases of 6 years or even 10 years. The average breeding interval is 4-5 years, and female whales give birth to 4-5 litters in their lifetime. The reproduction slows down after about 28 years old, and stops after 40 years old.

The global population of short-finned pilot whales is unknown, but the numbers are as follows: Surveys from 1990 to 2005 estimated that there were about 5,300 short-finned pilot whales in the western Pacific Ocean north of Japan, and 53,608 in southern Japan. In 1999, the number of short-finned pilot whales in the eastern Sulu Sea was estimated at 7,700. The 2006 survey in Hawaiian waters was 8,806. A reassessment in the tropical eastern Pacific in 2002 showed that the number had increased from 2,000 to 589,000, with the 1986-1990 and 1998-2000 periods being the years of significant growth. In 2002, the Waring sampling in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico estimated 2,388, and the best case was in the North Atlantic, with 31,139. In 2003, the number of resident pilot whales in Tenerife (Spain) was 350. In 2015, an underwater photographer photographed a male short-finned pilot whale holding the body of a calf in his mouth, accompanied by two female whales, who seemed to be mourning the dead calf.

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

Listed in the 2011 Red List of Endangered Species of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) ver 3.1 - Data Deficient (DD).

Listed in the second level of the List of National Key Protected Wildlife in China.

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Distributed in tropical and temperate waters around the world, such as the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Atlantic Ocean, it is not common in cold regions.
Main distribution countries and regions (seas): American Samoa, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Fiji, French Polynesia, Gabon, Gambia, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Kenya, South Korea, Madagascar, Mayotte, Mexico, Namibia, Netherlands Antilles, Oman, Russia, Panama, Singapore, South Africa, Solomon Islands, Trinidad, Tuvalu, United States, Venezuela, Virgin Islands, United Kingdom, Western Sahara, Yemen, etc.

The body is solid, the forehead is round, the forehead is raised and protrudes forward, and there is no obvious snout. The mouth is large, and the mouth cleft is tilted backward and upward. The two jaws are nearly equal in length, and there are 7-8 teeth on each side of the upper and lower jaws. The eyes are small, nearly round, and located above and behind the corners of the mouth. There are ridges above and below the caudal peduncle. The pectoral fins (flippers) are long and pointed, located in the front position of the body, and the dorsal fin is high and wide, located on the back of the front part of the body about 1/3 of the body length, the height is smaller than the width, the base length is nearly equal to its width, the upper part of the front edge is gently obliquely extended backward, the top angle is blunt, and the rear edge is sharply curved and deeply concave, which is the main feature that distinguishes it from other species.
The flippers are narrow and long, about 1/