Pilot whale

Pilot whales ( Globicephala melas )

The pilot whales or pilot whales ( Globicephala ) in the narrow sense are a Walgattung of the dolphin family ( Delphinidae ) with two types, the

• Ordinary or long -finned pilot whale ( Globicephala melas ) and the
• Short -finned pilot whale ( Globicephala macrorhynchus ).

In a broader sense are grouped under this name several short-snouted dolphin species (such as the Zwerggrindwal, the Risso's dolphin and the Melon-headed Whale ). The name comes from the Faroese grind.

Pilot whales reach a length from 3.6 to 8.5 meters and a weight of an average of 800 kilograms ( in exceptional cases up to almost 3,000 kilograms). The body is cylindrical, hardly dropped like a bullet shaped head from his body, the melon surmounted the very short snout of the animals. With the exception of a white spot underneath the chin, they are black in color. The two species differ in the eponymous length of the flipper as well as in the number of teeth - Short -finned pilot whales have seven to nine teeth per jaw half, less than the ordinary pilot whale (8 to 13 per half of the jaw ).

Pilot whales prefer the open sea and are rarely found near the coast. While the short -finned pilot whale tropical and subtropical seas preferred, the common pilot whale is more common in temperate and cool regions, as well as in European waters.

Pilot whales sleep during the day and go out at night in search of food. Your dives are 5 to 10 minutes, while they reach depths of up to 600 meters. Their diet consists mainly of cephalopods together, to a lesser extent, they also prey on fish. These animals live in groups (schools) from an average of 20 animals. A school follows a herd leader, hence the name of pilot whales. The social behavior of these animals is highly developed.

For more information, see the two Artartikeln.