Atlantic Pilot Whale

Globicephala melas (Traill 1809)

Animal Demography Unit 2019. Department of Biological Sciences - University of Cape Town cc-by-nc-sa-3.0

Globicephala melas (Atlantic Pilot Whale) is a species of mammals in the family Delphinidae. They are listed as critically endangered by IUCN and in cites appendix ii. They are native to Mediterranean Sea, Indian Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Pacific Ocean. They are diurnal carnivores. Individuals are known to live for 540 months and can grow to 6 m. They have parental care (female provides care). They rely on swimming and lift powered swimming to move around.

URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/criticallyEndangered
Definition: A taxon is Critically Endangered when the best available evidence indicates that it meets \r\nany of the criteria A to E for Critically Endangered, and it is therefore considered to be facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild
Source: http://apiv3.iucnredlist.org/api/v3/taxonredirect/198787290

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URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/CITES_II
Definition: Appendix II lists species that are not necessarily now threatened with extinction but that may become so unless trade is closely controlled. It also includes so-called "look-alike species", i.e. species whose specimens in trade look like those of species listed for conservation reasons. International trade in specimens of Appendix-II species may be authorized by the granting of an export permit or re-export certificate. No import permit is necessary for these species under CITES (although a permit is needed in some countries that have taken stricter measures than CITES requires). Permits or certificates should only be granted if the relevant authorities are satisfied that certain conditions are met, above all that trade will not be detrimental to the survival of the species in the wild. (See Article IV of the Convention)
Source: https://www.speciesplus.net/#/taxon_concepts/7046/legal

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URI: http://www.marineregions.org/mrgid/1905

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URI: http://www.marineregions.org/mrgid/1904

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URI: http://www.marineregions.org/mrgid/1902

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URI: http://www.marineregions.org/mrgid/1903

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URI: http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q81875
Definition: organism that eats mostly or exclusively animal tissue

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URI: http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q906470
Definition: animal behavior characterized by activity during the day, with a period of inactivity at night.

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URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/parentalCareFemale
Definition: the female feeds and nurtures offspring
Attribution: Richard M. Sibly, Christopher C. Witt, Natalie A. Wright, Chris Venditti, Walter Jetz, and James H. Brown. 2012. Energetics, lifestyle, and reproduction in birds. PNAS 109(27):10937-10941, doi:10.1073/pnas.1206512109

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URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/GO_0036268
Definition: Self-propelled movement of an organism from one location to another through water, often by means of active fin movement.

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URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/lift_based_swimming
Definition: Hydrofoils, or fins, are used to push against the water to create a normal force to provide thrust, propelling the animal through water. The reduction of fin cross-sectional area helps to minimize drag, and therefore increase efficiency. Regardless of size of the animal, at any particular speed, maximum possible lift is proportional to (wing area) x (speed)<sup>2</sup>. Dolphins and whales have large, horizontal caudal hydrofoils, while many fish and sharks have vertical caudal hydrofoils.

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EOL has data for 65 attributes, including:

body shape
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/BodyShape
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bilaterally symmetric
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/PATO_0001324
- Definition: being symmetric about a plane running from frontal end to caudal end (head to tail), and having nearly identical right and left halves
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diet breadth
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/DietBreadth
- Definition: Number of dietary categories eaten by an organism.
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2
diet includes
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/Diet
- Definition: Information about the items eaten by this organism.
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fish
- URI: https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q152
- Definition: vertebrate animal that lives in water and (typically) has gills
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ecomorphological guild
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/EcomorphologicalGuild
- Definition: organisms that share certain morphological traits due to adaptation to similar environments and ecological roles
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nectonic
- URI: http://www.marinespecies.org/traits/Nekton
- Definition: Active swimming organisms that live in the water column and are able to move independently of the water mass (adapted from Lincoln et al., 1998).
- Attribution: http://www.marinespecies.org/traits/wiki/Traits:Nekton
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geographic distribution includes
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/Present
- Definition: This organism is known to be present in this location or region. Not exclusive; other regions may also be reported.
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Ireland
- URI: http://www.geonames.org/2963597
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habitat breadth
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/HabitatBreadth
- Definition: Number of habitat layers used by an organism
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1
initial mortality rate
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/InitialMortalityRate
- Definition: The initial mortality rate (IMR) represents the mortality rate independently of the ageing process. Though there are different methods, the IMR is typically estimated from the mortality rate prior to its exponential increase with age, which can be obtained from the mortality curve (by looking at the baseline mortality prior to its exponential increase) or, for mice, by using t = 0.25 in the Gompertz equation.
- Attribution: From senescence.info. Human Ageing Genomic Resources (HAGR). Estimating the Rate of Ageing. http://genomics.senescence.info/software/demographic.html
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0.015 /year
litters per year
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/LittersPerYear
- Definition: Number of litters per female per year
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0.2
mating system
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/MatingSystem
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not monogamous
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/notMonogamous
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mortality rate doubling time
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/MortalityRateDoublingTime
- Definition: The mortality rate doubling time (MRDT) is considered to be a measure of the rate of ageing. It is estimated from the slope of the Gompertz curve by: MRDT = 0.693/G where G is the exponential (Gompertz) mortality rate coefficient.
- Attribution: From senescence.info. Human Ageing Genomic Resources (HAGR). Estimating the Rate of Ageing. http://genomics.senescence.info/software/demographic.html
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10 years
native range includes
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/NativeRange
- Definition: Lists jurisdictions in which a given organism is a member of the undisturbed fauna or flora.
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Mediterranean Sea
- URI: http://www.marineregions.org/mrgid/1905
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prenatal development duration
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/PrenatalDevelopmentDuration
- Definition: The duration of the development from fertilized, deposited or implanted egg to hatching/birth. Corresponds to egg incubation duration in oviparous animals and to gestation period duration in viviparous animals.
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450 days

Known occurrences, collected specimens and observations of Atlantic Pilot Whale. View this species on GBIF

Animal Demography Unit 2019. Department of Biological Sciences - University of Cape Town cc-by-nc-sa-3.0

Atlantic Pilot Whale includes 2 children: