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Kogia breviceps
– Lower Risk Least Concern
Taxonomy
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Kingdom:
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ANIMALIA
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Phylum:
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CHORDATA
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Class:
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MAMMALIA
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Order:
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CETACEA
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Family:
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KOGIIDAE
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Scientific Name:
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Kogia breviceps
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Species Authority:
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(Blainville, 1838)
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Common Name/s:
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| English | — | PYGMY SPERM WHALE |
| French | — | CACHALOT PYGMÉE |
| Spanish | — | CACHALOTE CABEZA CHICA, CACHALOTE PIGMEO |
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Taxonomic Notes:
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Was in family Physeteridae for the 1996-2002 IUCN Red Lists.
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Assessment Information
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Red List Category & Criteria:
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LR/lc ver 2.3 (1994)
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Year Assessed:
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1996
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Annotations:
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Needs updating
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Assessor/s:
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Cetacean Specialist Group
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Justification:
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This species is widely distributed in the world’s oceans, particularly in warm temperate and tropical areas. The animals are difficult to observe and have not been studied directly in the wild. Much of what is known about it comes from strandings. A limited amount of hunting has taken place in at least Japan, the Lesser Antilles, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia, but this species is not a major target of exploitation. Mortality in fishing gear, especially gillnets, is likely a more serious problem. However, the data on mortality levels and whale abundance are far from sufficient for a proper assessment. Ingestion of plastic debris may contribute to morbidity and mortality (J. Mead, cited in Laist et al. 1999). (Account based on Reeves et al. 2003, p. 50).
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History:
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| 1994 | - | Insufficiently Known (Groombridge 1994) |
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Geographic Range
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Countries:
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Native:
Angola; Argentina; Australia (Tasmania); Brazil; Canada (Nova Scotia); Chile (Juan Fernández Is.); China; Comoros; Costa Rica; Cuba; Côte d'Ivoire; Ecuador; Fiji; France; Guatemala; Haiti; Honduras; Hong Kong; India; Indonesia; Ireland; Japan (Honshu); Kenya; Korea, Democratic People's Republic of; Korea, Republic of; Madagascar; Malaysia; Maldives; Mauritania; Mexico; Morocco; Mozambique; Namibia; Netherlands; New Zealand; Nigeria; Oman; Pakistan; Panama; Papua New Guinea; Peru; Philippines; Portugal (Azores); Puerto Rico; Senegal; Seychelles; Somalia; South Africa (Eastern Cape Province, KwaZulu-Natal, Northern Cape Province, Western Cape Province); Spain; Sri Lanka; Tanzania, United Republic of; United Kingdom; United States (Hawaiian Is., Washington); Uruguay; Venezuela; Western Sahara; Yemen
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FAO Marine Fishing Areas:
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Native:
Atlantic-eastern central; Atlantic-northeast; Atlantic-northwest; Atlantic-southeast; Atlantic-southwest; Atlantic-western central; Indian Ocean-eastern; Indian Ocean-western; Pacific-eastern central; Pacific-northeast; Pacific-northwest; Pacific-southeast; Pacific-southwest; Pacific-western central
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Habitat and Ecology
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System:
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Marine
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List of Habitats:
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| 10.1 | Marine Oceanic - Epipelagic (0-200m) |
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Threats
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List of Threats:
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| 4.1.1.2 | Accidental mortality - Bycatch - Fisheries-related - Netting (ongoing) |
| 4.1.1.3 | Accidental mortality - Bycatch - Fisheries-related - Entanglement (ongoing) |
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Bibliography
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Bibliography:
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Groombridge, B. (ed.) 1994. 1994 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. Laist, D.W., Coe, J.M. and O’Hara, K.J. 1999. Marine debris pollution. In: J.R. Twiss Jr. and R.R. Reeves (eds) Conservation and Management of Marine Mammals, pp. 342–366. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. Reeves, R.R., Smith, B.D., Crespo, E.A. and di Sciara, G.N. (compilers) 2003. Dolphins, Whales and Porpoises: 2002-2010 Conservation Action Plan for the World's Cetaceans. IUCN/SSC Cetacean Specialist Group. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.
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