Globicephala macrorhynchus Gray, 1846

Jo, Yeong-Seok, Baccus, John T. & Koprowski, John L., 2018, Mammals of Korea: a review of their taxonomy, distribution and conservation status, Zootaxa 4522 (1), pp. 1-216 : 140

Globicephala macrorhynchus Gray, 1846 —Short-finned Pilot Whale

Globicephalus macrorhynchus Gray, 1846 p.33 ; Type locality- South Seas .

Globicephalus sieboldii Gray, 1846 p.32 ; Type locality- Japan.

Globicephalus scammonii Cope, 1869 p.21 ; Type locality- Coast of lower California and Mexico.

Globicephala sieboldii: Kuroda, 1938 p.19 .

Globicephala scammonii: Kuroda, 1938 p.19 .

Globicephala macrorhynchus: Kim et al., 2000 p.90 ; Kim, 2004 p.240.

Range: Short-finned pilot whales seldom visit Korean waters ( Fig. 94 ). One group of 12 G. macrorhynchus was observed around Dok-Island, East Sea in 2004 ( Cetacean Research Institute 2007). Three short-finned pilot whales appeared but one of them (probably a calf) stranded on Jeju Island, and the calf was rescued in August 2008 ( Yang 2010). The same three moved to the Yellow Sea and died on a beach and mud flat at Chungcheongnam Province in September 2008 ( Yang 2010).

Remarks: Two geographic forms of short-finned pilot whales with different external and cranial morphology reside off northern and southern Japan ( Rice 1998). Their exact taxonomic status remains uncertain, despite differences in size, morphology, DNA and breeding cycles ( Shirihai & Jarrett 2006). So far, the short-finned pilot whale is considered a monotypic species ( Mead & Brownell 2005).

Figures

FIGURE 94. Range map of Globicephala macrorhynchus in Korea.