Monday, June 30, 2025

(or Cetancodonta)

Just to be clear: The Pygmy Sperm Whale is a distinct and separate species from the Dwarf Sperm Whale. That’s not to say they are not closely related; they are, being the only two members of the genus Kogia in the charmingly named suborder Whippomorpha. Starting with naturalist James Hector, who was kicked by a horse at Kicking Horse Pass, science actually lumped them together as a single species for 120 years, as if to say, “All members of the genus Kogia, the toothed sperm whales, look alike to us.” One can only imagine how hurtful this must have been.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Did you know they can release “ink” from their butts to confuse predators?

(the things one can learn following up on a rant :-)

Anonymous said...

above comment refers to dwarf and pygmy sperm whales only. Moby Dick would have lacked this useful abillity.