📸 PhotoPhoto: This illustration was made by Citron You must credit this : Citron / CC-BY-SA-3.0 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Dwarf Sperm Whale
Kogia sima (Dwarf Sperm Whale · オガワコマッコウ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its maximum body length of 2.7 m is about 1.6 times the height of a 1.7 m adult (Comparison).
- 💡 Its maximum weight of 270 kg equals about thirteen and a half 20 kg bags of rice (Comparison).
- 💡 It is well known as a small whale often found stranded dead on beaches.
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 Dwarf Sperm Whale is a small sperm whale relative living in warm seas; it is timid and rarely approaches boats.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its body is compact and streamlined, tapering toward the tail. Its back is gray and its belly is white, with a shark-gill-like marking on the side of the face that makes its head resemble a shark. It has 8–11 pairs of teeth in the lower jaw.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It feeds mainly on deep-sea squid and also eats fish and crustaceans, capturing prey by suction feeding. It travels alone or in groups of around 5–10, and when startled, it expels rust-colored feces and dives.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
Listed as 'Soe-hyanggorae' (Korean name) in the National List of Species of Korea, it may occur throughout Korean waters.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2020) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/11048/50359330
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • mammaldiversity.org — 1006460
- • iucnredlist.org — 50359330
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000053414 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000053414
- • wikidata.org — Q42669
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Kogia sima.jpg
- • animaldiversity.org — Kogia sima
- • species.nibr.go.kr — mainHome.do
- • 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.