Marine Mammals
Pilot Whale
Globicephala macrohynchus (short-finned), G. melas (long-finned)
Also known as
Blackfish, Caa’ing whale, pothead whale
Distribution
Short-finned: tropical/sub-tropical; long-finned: temperate/subarctic
Ecosystem/Habitat
Coastal and offshore waters
Feeding Habits
Active predator
Conservation Status
Not at Risk
Taxonomy
Suborder Odontoceti (toothed whales); Family Delphinidae (dolphins)
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Facebook Twitter Pinterest Google+Pilot whales are the second largest species of dolphin, after the orca. They are incredibly social, living communally in matriarchal pods. These pods usually include 10 to 20 individuals, but some “super pods” can have hundreds of individuals. Their name is derived from the idea that the pod follows a leader or “pilot” when travelling. There are two species that continue to thrive throughout much of the world’s ocean today: short- and long-finned pilot whales.
- American Lobster
- American Plaice
- Arctic Char
- Atlantic Cod
- Atlantic Herring
- Atlantic Mackerel
- Atlantic Puffin
- Atlantic Walrus
- Atlantic Wolffish
- Beluga Whale
- Blue Shark
- Bowhead Whale
- Bubblegum Coral
- Canary Rockfish
- Capelin
- Chinook Salmon
- Dungeness Crab
- Eulachon
- Fin Whale
- Fjords
- Giant Pacific Octopus
- Great White Shark
- Green Sea Turtle
- Greenland Halibut/Turbot
- Greenland Shark
- Humboldt Squid
- Humpback Whale
- Kelp Forests
- Leatherback Sea Turtle
- Lingcod
- Lion's Mane Jellyfish
- Loggerhead Sea Turtle
- Lophelia Coral
- Narwhal
- North Atlantic Right Whale
- Northern Gannet
- Northern Shrimp
- Orca
- Pacific Herring
- Pilot Whale
- Polar Bear
- Pom-Pom Anemones
- Redfish (Acadian & Deepwater)
- Sea Otter
- Sea Pens
- Sea Strawberry
- Seamounts
- Snow crab
- Sockeye Salmon
- Spiny Dogfish
- Thick-billed Murres
- Thorny Skate
- Tufted Puffin
- Yelloweye Rockfish