Pilot Whale

Pilot Whale
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Cetacea Family: Delphinidae Genus: Globicephala Species: melas and macrorhynchus
Binomial name
Globicephala melas and G. macrorhynchus

A Pilot Whale is a member of the genus Globicephala. The genus contains two species - the Long-finned Pilot Whale and the Short-finned Pilot Whale. The two species are not readily distinguished at sea and are typically just known simply as Pilot Whales. The genus is a member of the Delphinidae family and so are formally classified as dolphins although their behaviour is closer to that of the larger whales. They are amongst the common and widely-distributed of the marine mammals in the cetacean order.

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