Dwarf sperm whale: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the dwarf sperm whale lives – recorded in 15 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Kogia sima
Group	Whales & dolphins
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	15 countries
Continents	Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, South America
Class	Mammal
Order	Artiodactyla
Family	Kogiidae

Where does the dwarf sperm whale live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the dwarf sperm whale in 15 countries and territories across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania and South America. Wikidata gives its range as: Brazil.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the dwarf sperm whale endangered?

The dwarf sperm whale’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the dwarf sperm whale?

The dwarf sperm whale (Kogia sima) is a mammal in the order Artiodactyla and the family Kogiidae, genus Kogia. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the dwarf sperm whale

The dwarf sperm whale (Kogia sima) is a sperm whale that inhabits temperate and tropical oceans worldwide, in particular continental shelves and slopes. It was first described by biologist Richard Owen in 1866, based on illustrations by naturalist Sir Walter Elliot. The species was considered to be synonymous with the pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps) from 1878 until 1998. The dwarf sperm whale is a small whale, 2 to 2.7 m (6 ft 7 in to 8 ft 10 in) and 136 to 272 kg (300 to 600 lb), that has a grey coloration, square head, small jaw, and robust body. Its appearance is very similar to the pygmy sperm whale, distinguished mainly by the position of the dorsal fin on the body—nearer the middle in the dwarf sperm whale and nearer the tail in the other.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Dwarf sperm whale (revision 1380068080), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q42669 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).