Short-finned Pilot Whales

The short-finned pilot whale is a distinctive, medium-sized whale.
It has a long, slender body, with a thick, keeled tail stock.
The head is bulbous, and the pronounced melon becomes exaggerated in mature males and overhangs the rostrum.
There is a small, insignificant beak and wide, short, upwards-slanting mouth.

The dorsal fin is low and falcate, with a rounded tip, concave trailing edge, and very broad base.
It is located one-third of the way back from the snout to the tail, and may vary in shape according to sex and age.
The tail flukes have sharply pointed tips, a distinct notch, and concave trailing edges.

The pectoral flippers have a gently curved leading edge, without the more noticeable elbow of the long-finned pilot whale’s flipper, and they are shorter, being less than 15% of the body length, compared with greater than 16% in the long-finned pilot whale.

The short-finned pilot whale is predominantly black on the dorsal surface and flanks, with faint white throat and genital patches on the ventral surface.
There is an indistinct, lighter, post-dorsal saddle on some individuals, which may vary geographically (for example, the saddle is absent or only faintly perceptible on short-finned pilot whales of the eastern tropical Pacific, although in some individuals, it may be large and conspicuous, and may be more distinct on short-finned than long-finned pilot whales.

Many populations also have a distinct ‘post-orbital’ stripe, rising up from behind the eye to the leading edge of the dorsal fin.
New-born pilot whales are light grey to cream coloured, with muted pattern, they begin to darken early in the first year.

Short-finned pilot whales have seven to nine peg-like teeth in each row, fewer teeth than the long-finned pilot whale.

Individual short-finned pilot whales may be identified, based on naturally occurring marks and scars on the dorsal fin and back, some of which are pigmentation patterns.

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