Globicephala melas

The long-finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas) is a large species of oceanic dolphin. It shares the genus Globicephala with the short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus). Long-finned pilot whales are known as such because of their unusually long pectoral fins. Pilot whales get their name from the original belief that there was a 'pilot' or lead individual in their groups. The name for the genus, 'Globicephala' is derived from a combination of the Latin words globus ('globe') and kephale ('head'). The specific name 'melas' is Greek for 'black'. This species has also earned the nickname of 'pothead whale' in some places because the shape of its head reminded early whalers of black cooking pots. This species was first classified in 1809 by Thomas Stewart Traill and given the name 'Delphinus melas'. However, this scientific name was changed later to 'Globicephala melaena'. Then in 1986, the specific name for this species was reverted to its original form as 'melas'. The sexes are dimorphic, with females reaching lengths of up to 5.7 meters (19 ft) and 1,300 kg (2,900 lb), while males are significantly larger at up to 6.7 meters (22 ft) and 2,300 kg (5,070 lb). Despite its common name, the long-finned pilot whale is actually a large species of dolphin. The same is true of orcas and several other small whales. It has a bulbous forehead and is black or dark grey in colour with light-grey or white markings on the throat and belly regions. This light grey patch found on the throat of pilot whales forms the shape of an anchor. Some individuals have other distinct markings such as a light coloured area behind dorsal fin, known as a saddle patch, as well as an upwards sweeping stripe just behind the eye. The dorsal fin is thick and falcate in nature, and is located about a third of the way down the length of the animal. The common name of this species is a reference to the pilot whale's long, sickle-shaped pectoral flippers that are 18 to 27 percent of its total body length. Being a toothed whale, pilot whales have a single blowhole. It can be challenging to tell male and female apart in the wild for many cetacean species. Long-finned pilot whales are no exception, though it was thought in the past that males had hooked dorsal fins while females did not. Recent research on fin shape has shown that this is not a predictable way to distinguish between the sexes. However, males are bigger in size, and relative fin dimensions as well as other characteristics may still be discovered to allow for distinguishing the sex of at least certain age classes for free-ranging pilot whales. The ranges of long-finned and short-finned pilot whales overlap in some areas of the world. As the difference between them is mainly distinguished by the length of the pectoral flippers and tooth counts, it is extremely hard to tell the two species apart in these areas. The long-finned pilot whale has more neocortical neurons than any mammal studied to date, in fact having almost twice as many as humans.