📸 PhotoPhoto: Dedden et al. · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Pygmy Right Whale
Caperea marginata (Pygmy Right Whale · コセミクジラ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its average weight of 4.5 tons equals about three passenger cars (about 1.5 tons each) (Comparison).
- 💡 Its maximum body length of 6 m is longer than a passenger car (about 4.5 m) (Comparison).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.
📖 1. Overview
The pygmy right whale is a small baleen whale living in the cold waters of the Southern Hemisphere; because it has been little studied, much of its life remains unknown.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Measuring 5–6 m in body length, it has a small dorsal fin set far back on the body and two throat grooves—two features unique to this species among right whales.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It takes large gulps of water into its mouth and filters krill through its baleen plates. Females give birth to one calf at a time, and with only a single sighting of a group of 8 individuals on record, its social life remains a mystery.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2018) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/3778/50351626
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • mammaldiversity.org — 1006406
- • iucnredlist.org — 50351626
- • wikidata.org — Q189615
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Pygmy right whale.png
- • animaldiversity.org — Caperea marginata
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Jonathan Pople · CC0 1.0 (Related taxon silhouette — Cetotherium riabinini)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.