Pygmy killer whale: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the pygmy killer whale lives – recorded in 10 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Feresa attenuata
Group	Whales & dolphins
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	10 countries
Continents	Africa, Asia, North America, Oceania, South America
Class	Mammal
Order	Artiodactyla
Family	Delphinidae

Where does the pygmy killer whale live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the pygmy killer whale in 10 countries and territories across Africa, Asia, 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 pygmy killer whale endangered?

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

What kind of animal is the pygmy killer whale?

The pygmy killer whale (Feresa attenuata) is a mammal in the order Artiodactyla and the family Delphinidae, genus Feresa. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the pygmy killer whale

The pygmy killer whale (Feresa attenuata) is a poorly known and rarely seen oceanic dolphin. It is the only species in the genus Feresa. It derives its common name from sharing some physical characteristics with the orca, also known as the killer whale. It is the smallest cetacean species that has the word "whale" in its common name. Although the species has been known to be extremely aggressive in captivity, this aggressive behavior has not been observed in the wild.

The species had been described by John Gray in 1874, based on two skulls identified in 1827 and 1874. The next recorded sighting was in 1952 which led to its formal naming by Japanese cetologist Munesato Yamada in 1954.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Pygmy killer whale (revision 1357211903), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q244172 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).