Order: Cetacea
Suborder: Odontoceti
Superfamily: Delphinoidea
Family: Delphinidae
Subfamily: Globicephalinae
Genus & Species: Peponocephala electra
APPEARANCE
The melon-headed whale, also known as the electra dolphin, little killer
whale, melonhead whale and many-toothed blackfish, is a large dolphin
with an elongated body. The head is rounded, with a slight beak detectable
in the smaller specimens. The mouth angles upward towards the eyes and
the sides of the face are pressed in, giving it a triangular look when seen
from the top. They look much like pygmy killer whales, but are
distinguished by them from the shape of the head and the longer, pointed
flippers. They have many teeth, 20-26 pairs per jaw, unlike other dolphins,
which have fewer than 15 pairs per jaw. The dorsal fin is tall (12in , 30 cm)
and is pointed at the tip. It is located at the center of the back. The tail
flukes are broad.
Melon-headed whales are black or dark grey in colour. A dark dorsal cap
extends from the head and widens below the dorsal fin, narrowing again at
the flanks. The lips lack pigment and appear to be white, pink or grey. A
dark grey anchor shape is located on the underside and extends from the
flippers towards the throat. There is a light stripe that extends from the
blowhole to the snout tip and a white urogenital patch on the underside.
The head has a dark patch shaped almost like a mask that extends from an
eye spot to cover most of the head.
Melon-headed whales reach a maximum length of 9 ft and a maximum
weight of 595 lbs. The males have slightly longer flippers and dorsal fins,
and broader tail flukes, than females. They communicate with clicks and
whistles.
HABITAT
Melon-headed whales are found in tropical and subtropical waters that are
deep and in the open ocean. They are seen along most of Africa but do not
travel farther north than Morocco. There are no reports of any in the Red
or Mediterranean Seas. They are found in the eastern Atlantic, Caribbean,
central Pacific and Indian Oceans. They have stranded on Australia,
Vanuata, Seychelles, Japan, Brazil, and Costa Rica. One specimen has been
stranded in Texas. They are common in the Gulf of Mexico but were not
known to live there until 1990. They are not thought to migrate.
FOOD
Melon-headed whales feed on small fish, large squid, and shrimp. They are
very aggressive and have been known to attack small dolphins escaping
from purse seines.
BREEDING
Little is known about the breeding habits of the melon-headed whale. The
males reach sexual maturity at lengths of 99.2 inches and females at 92
inches. The gestation period is thought to be 12 months. One calf is born
from August to December in the Southern Hemisphere and April to June
around the Phillippines. Calves are 3 ft long at birth.
ENEMIES
Melon-headed whales have no problem with over-collection for amusement
parks as they are too aggressive to be handled. However, many are killed in
purse seines and drift nets each year. They are hunted off the island of St.
Vincent and are harpooned off Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and the Phillippines.
SWIMMING
Melon-headed whales are found in pods ranging from 100-2000 individuals.
They are found in association with Fraser's dolphins and are thought to be
the more dominant of the two. They are also seen with spinner and spotted
dolphins. They can swim at high speeds and will often bow- ride ships.
RELATIVES
The melon-headed whale is in a genus by itself, although prior to 1960 it
was in the Lagenorhynchus genus with the dusky dolphin and the Atlantic
white-sided dolphin. It is considered to be an "outcast" member of the
blackfish group, a term used to describe other members of the subfamily
Globicephalinae. These include the killer, pygmy killer, false killer,
short-finned pilot and long-finned pilot whales.
RESOURCES
1. www.gomr.mms.gov/homepg/regulate/environ/marmam/ melon.html
2. www.geocities.com/RainForest/Canopy/1599/melon.htm
3. www.tmmsn.org/mmgulf/peponocephala_electra.html
4. www.upstarts.net.au/site/ideas/whales/whalesspecies/
melonheadedwhale.html
5. www.nsrl.ttu.edu/tmot/pepoelec.htm
6. elfi.com/csimelon-headed.html
7. www.gn.apc.org/whales/dolphin7.htm
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