NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Pygmy Sperm Whale
Kogia breviceps (Blainville, 1838)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps) is one of two extant species in the family Kogiidae in the sperm whale superfamily. They are not often sighted at sea, and most of what is known about them comes from the examination of stranded specimens.
Wikipedia contributors, Pygmy sperm whale; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:08:50.607879+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Kogia breviceps (Blainville, 1838)
- Name authority
- (Blainville, 1838)
- Common name
- Pygmy Sperm Whale
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Cetacea
- Family
- Kogiidae
- Genus
- Kogia
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderCetacea Brisson, 1762
- suborderOdontoceti Flower, 1867
- familyKogiidae Gill, 1871
- genusKogia Gray, 1846
- speciesKogia breviceps (Blainville, 1838)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Kogia. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Dwarf Sperm WhaleKogia sima (Owen, 1866) | KogiidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Euphysetes grayii Wall, 1851 Wall, 1851 | synonym |
| Euphysetes macleayi Krefft, 1866 Krefft, 1866 | synonym |
| Kogia floweri Gill, 1871 Gill, 1871 | synonym |
| Kogia goodie True, 1884 True, 1884 | synonym |
| Physeter breviceps Blainville, 1838 Blainville, 1838 | synonym |
| Kogia goodei True, 1884 True, 1884 | synonym |
| Kogia grayii (Wall, 1851) (Wall, 1851) | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Eastern Atlantic Ocean
Indo-West Pacific
Western Atlantic Ocean
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=180491 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3RBZN. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.