Dwarf Sperm Whale

The dwarf sperm whale is a small whale, 2–2.7 m long and 136–272 kg, that is grey with a square head, a small jaw and a robust body. It is dark grey or blue-grey with a lighter underside and a pale crescent between the eye and the flipper, called a false gill. It looks very like the pygmy sperm whale, from which it is distinguished mainly by the dorsal fin, which is nearer the middle of the back. It has the shortest snout of any modern whale, and when startled it can eject a cloud of red-brown fluid (Wikipedia, general species account).

It lives in temperate and tropical oceans worldwide, especially on continental shelves and slopes. It is a suction feeder that mainly eats squid, in small pods of typically one to four animals. Orcas and large sharks prey on it, and it is hunted in small numbers around Asia. A newborn is about 1 m long and gestation is probably about 9.5 months.