📸 PhotoPhoto: Public domain · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons Source
Pygmy Sperm Whale
Kogia breviceps (Pygmy Sperm Whale · コマッコウ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its maximum body length of 3.5 m is shorter than a passenger car (about 4.5 m) (Comparison).
- 💡 When threatened, it expels more than 3 gallons (about 11 L) of reddish-brown liquid—more than five 2 L water bottles (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 Sperm Whale is a small toothed whale living in warm seas worldwide, with a shark-like head and a false gill marking behind the eye.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Inside its head is a spermaceti organ that focuses sound; it has no upper teeth and 10–16 pairs of teeth in the lower jaw. Its dorsal fin is small and rounded, and it can expel a reddish-brown liquid from a sac in its intestine.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It feeds on squid, octopus, crabs, shrimp, and fish, diving more than 1,000 feet (about 300 m) in search of prey. Usually traveling alone or in groups of six to seven, it spends little time at the surface and is hard to spot.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
Recorded in Korean waters, it is listed as 'Kkoma-hyanggorae' (Korean name) in the National List of Species of Korea (National Institute of Biological Resources (NIBR)).
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2020) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/11047/50358334
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • mammaldiversity.org — 1006459
- • iucnredlist.org — 50358334
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000053413 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000053413
- • wikidata.org — Q244300
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Kogia breviceps.jpg
- • fisheries.noaa.gov — pygmy-sperm-whale
- • species.nibr.go.kr — general-search
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — SeismicShrimp · CC BY 4.0 (Related taxon silhouette — Aprixokogia kelloggi)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.