Mar 27
Melon-headed whale Peponocephala electra
Observed by helencoxy, CC BY-NC
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Melon-headed whale Peponocephala electra
Observed by helencoxy, CC BY-NC
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A bottlenose dolphin and her adopted melon-headed whale calf. From Ocean Souls (2020).
Animal of the Day!
Melon-headed Whale (Peponocephala electra)
(Photo from Whale & Dolphin Conservation USA)
Conservation Status- Least Concern
Habitat- Tropical Pacific Ocean; Tropical Atlantic Ocean
Size (Weight/Length)- 2.5 m
Diet- Fish; Cephalopods; Shrimp
Cool Facts- Named after their rounded head, the melon-headed whale lives in mass groups of up to 500 individuals and sometimes growing to over 2,000 whales. These mega pods have smaller, female-led family units within them while males travel from one giant pod to another. Melon-headed whales occasionally travel with other porpoises like Fraser’s dolphins and bottlenose dolphins along with pilot whales. Female whales give birth only once every 4 years after a 12 month pregnancy. Sadly, melon-headed whales are threatened by pollution, human hunting, bycatch, and noise. These whales have tight knit pod structures, resulting in mass beaching due to interruption of their sonar. Luckily, many of these stranded pods are saved by volunteers and authorities working to move the whales back into deeper water .
Rating- 12/10 (Cantaloupe, watermelon, cucamelon, honeydew…)
The Eclectic Electra
Alright then. One last illustration, one last far-fetched alliteration. Couldn’t bear to leave the lonely Melon-headed whale unpublished just because I hadn’t thought to put it in with any of the others. Not just for completionist reasons, but also because they’re very nice dolphins and I like how this illustration turned out. I got my fair share of Melon-headed whales (or “peps”, as the client called them) in my painting “As above, so is below” which holds no less than 57 unique individuals. And unique they are, with their long, pointy pectoral fins, quite severely dipping cape, and funny blunt heads with huge bandit masks. I think they have a friendly look to them.
Their scientific name is interesting too. Genus Peponocephala was created in 1966 by Nishiwaki and Norris, however the scientists made a small mistake. They thought “Pepo” meant melon, but in fact it translates to pumpkin. Wrong fruit. So, the Pumpkin-headed whale then. Nonetheless the name has been accepted and the common name kept intact. What the beautiful specific name electra refers to (they are also known as the Electra dolphin) is less certain. Most likely one of two Electras in Greek mythology; favour falls to Electra the daughter of Agamemnon who mourns her slain father. Perhaps the dolphin’s dark colours and “cape” on the back reminded of someone in mourning.
A wild “wholfin,” the hybrid offspring of a melon-headed whale (Peponocephala electra), and a rough-toothed dolphin (Steno bredanensis) swimming next to a melon-headed whale (top) near Kauai, Hawaii.
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aren't all toothed whales "melon-headed?" 🤔
Melon-headed whale Peponocephala electra
Observed by wayneosborn, CC BY-NC
Melon-headed whale Peponocephala electra
Observed by kenny_well, CC BY-NC