Melon-Headed Whale
Scientific Name : Peponocephala Electra
- IUCN: Not Endangered/ Least Concern
- Other names: Blackfish
- Swahili name: Nyangumi kichwacha tikiti
- Length: 2.5-2.8m
- Weight: 200-250kg
- Life expectancy: approx. 45 years or more
- Abundance: Offshore tropical and temperate waters around the world
- Occurance: Year-round; in Kenya dead strandings only
- Primary prey: Various small fish, cephalopods and squid
- Conservation status: Unknown, though there are concerns with fishery bycatch in many areas
- Quick key identification: No beak and triangular shaped head when looked at from above. White lower jaw and lips. Charcoal gray body with black head and black dorsal cape that dips low below dorsal fin. Tall rounded sickle shaped dorsal fin in the middle of the back. Usually have 20-25 teeth in each upper and lower jaw.
Often mistaken as a pygmy whale as similar in colour patters, however, Melon-headed whales have a lighter gray band on the belly that broadens into a distinct grey anchor-shape on the throat. This is difficult to see and is easiest if close to the animal. More often than not, they are found in groups and not usually alone. Torpedo along water surface and like to surf the wakes of boats.
