Physeter macrocephalus
Linnaeus, 1758
Sperm Whale
Taxonomy
| Subclass | : Theria |
| Infraclass | : Placentalia |
| Magnorder | : Boreoeutheria |
| Superorder | : Laurasiatheria |
| Order | : Artiodactyla |
| Suborder | : Whippomorpha |
| Infraorder | : Cetacea |
| Parvorder | : Odontoceti |
| Superfamily | : Physeteroidea |
| Family | : Physeteridae |
| Genus | : Physeter |
Species status
Authority citation
Linnaeus, C. 1758-01-01. Systema Naturæ per Regna Tria Naturæ, Secundum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, cum Characteribus, Differentiis, Synonymis, Locis. Tomus I. Editio Decima, Reformata. Laurentii Salvii, Stockholm, 823 pp.
Authority publication link
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/25033887Original name as described
Physeter macrocephalus
Other common names
Cachalot · Pot Whale · Spermacet Whale
Type material
lost (number not known)
Type kind
holotype
Type locality
"in Oceano Europæo."
Biogeographic realm
Marine
Country distribution
Albania · Algeria · Angola · Antarctica · Antigua and Barbuda · Argentina · Australia · Bahamas · Bangladesh · Barbados · Belgium · Belize · Benin · Bonaire · Sint Eustatius · Saba · Brazil · Brunei · Cape Verde · Cameroon · Canada · Chile · China · Colombia · Comoros · Costa Rica · Croatia · Christmas Island · Curaçao · Cyprus · Denmark · Djibouti · Dominica · Dominican Republic · Ecuador · Egypt · El Salvador · Equatorial Guinea · Falkland Islands · Fiji · France · Gabon · Gambia · Ghana · Greece · Greenland · Grenada · Guatemala · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Guyana · Haiti · Honduras · Iceland · India · Indonesia · Iran · Ireland · Israel · Italy · Jamaica · Japan · Kenya · Kiribati · North Korea · South Korea · Lebanon · Liberia · Libya · Madagascar · Malaysia · Maldives · Malta · Marshall Islands · Mauritania · Mauritius · Mexico · Micronesia · Morocco · Mozambique · Namibia · Nauru · Netherlands · New Zealand · Nicaragua · Nigeria · Niue · Norway · Oman · Pakistan · Palau · Panama · Papua New Guinea · Peru · Philippines · Portugal · Russia · Saint Helena · Saint Kitts and Nevis · Saint Lucia · Sint Maarten · Saint Vincent and the Grenadines · Samoa · São Tomé and Príncipe · Senegal · Seychelles · Sierra Leone · Singapore · Slovenia · Solomon Islands · Somalia · South Africa · Spain · Sri Lanka · Suriname · Syria · Taiwan · Tanzania · Thailand · East Timor · Togo · Tonga · Trinidad and Tobago · Tunisia · Turkey · Tuvalu · United Kingdom · United States · Uruguay · Vanuatu · Venezuela · Vietnam · Yemen · American Samoa? · Anguilla? · Aruba? · Bermuda? · Bosnia and Herzegovina? · Cambodia? · Cayman Islands? · Cocos Islands? · Republic of the Congo? · Democratic Republic of the Congo? · Cook Islands? · Cote d'Ivoire? · Eritrea? · French Guiana? · French Polynesia? · Germany? · Guadeloupe? · Guam? · Martinique? · Mayotte? · Montenegro? · Montserrat? · Myanmar? · New Caledonia? · Norfolk Island? · Northern Marianas? · Palestine? · Pitcairn? · Puerto Rico? · Qatar? · Réunion? · Saudi Arabia? · South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands? · United Arab Emirates? · United States Virgin Islands? · British Virgin Islands? · Wallis and Futuna?
Subregion distribution
USA(AK,WA,OR,CA,HI,FL,AL?,LA?,TX?,NC?,VA?,MA?)
Taxonomy notes
the name catodon Linnaeus, 1758 has line priority within the publication, however, macrocephalus is used since the first reviser (Antonius M. Husson and Lipke Holthuis in 1974) chose the name macrocephalus to use, giving the name priority (although there are still arguments regarding the description of the name not being valid); regardless, the name macrocephalus has been used most often since the 1970's whereas older publications most often used catodon and following recent taxonomic trends, the name macrocephalus is used here
Taxonomy notes citation
Jefferson, T. A., & Mead, J. G. Nomenclature of the Larger Toothed Whales (Odontocetes). A historical review. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology, 655, 1-78.
IUCN Red List status
Vulnerable
Species Permalink
https://www.mammaldiversity.org/taxon/1006461Country distribution map
The map below provides a general overview. Most species inhabit only specific regions within countries. Known distribution is shown in green and predicted distribution is in yellow. Hover over the highlighted regions to see the country name.
Names and synonyms
Present and past (if available) associated names to the species. Click on a name to view its details. If the list is long, scroll down to see more.
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