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| Subspecies: | Unknown |
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| Est. World Population: | |
| CITES Status: | NOT LISTED |
| IUCN Status: | Not Applicable |
| U.S. ESA Status: | NOT LISTED |
| Body Length: | |
| Tail Length: | |
| Shoulder Height: | |
| Weight: | |
| Top Speed: | |
| Jumping Ability: | (Horizontal) |
| Life Span: | in the Wild |
| Life Span: | in Captivity |
| Sexual Maturity: | (Females) |
| Sexual Maturity: | (Males) |
| Litter Size: | |
| Gestation Period: | |
Habitat:
Europe
Little information is available about their diet in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, but the stomach contents of two stranded individuals on the French Atlantic coast were both composed of cephalopods and fish remains, including cuttlefish and neritic squid species, as well as Gadiform fish, mainly Trisopterus luscus/minutus, Micromesistius poutassou and Merluccius merluccius (Spitz et al. 2011).
Global
Melon-headed Whales usually occur in groups of 100-500 (with a known maximum of 2,000 individuals) (Brownell et al. 2009). They are highly social. In the eastern Atlantic, groups of up to 300 individuals have been recorded (Hazevoet et al. 2010, Weir 2010). They can be common around some oceanic islands where ocean bottom topography is steep. They are primarily distributed in deep oceanic waters ranging from 300 to 2,000 meters in depth (Brownell et al. 2009, Kiszka et al. 2011, Baird et al. 2013, Aschettino et al. 2011).
This species is sometimes involved in mass strandings, generally containing many dozens or even hundreds of animals. In Cabo Verde, at least nine mass strandings have been recorded between 2001 and 2007, ranging from three to ca. 265 individuals (Hazevoet et al. 2010).
In Hawaii, Melon-headed Whales are nocturnal predators, feeding on a variety of mesopelagic fishes, squids, and shrimps (West et al. 2018).
Little information is available about their diet in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, but the stomach contents of two stranded individuals on the French Atlantic coast were both composed of cephalopods and fish remains, including cuttlefish and neritic squid species, as well as Gadiform fish, mainly Trisopterus luscus/minutus, Micromesistius poutassou and Merluccius merluccius (Spitz et al. 2011).
Global
Melon-headed Whales usually occur in groups of 100-500 (with a known maximum of 2,000 individuals) (Brownell et al. 2009). They are highly social. In the eastern Atlantic, groups of up to 300 individuals have been recorded (Hazevoet et al. 2010, Weir 2010). They can be common around some oceanic islands where ocean bottom topography is steep. They are primarily distributed in deep oceanic waters ranging from 300 to 2,000 meters in depth (Brownell et al. 2009, Kiszka et al. 2011, Baird et al. 2013, Aschettino et al. 2011).
This species is sometimes involved in mass strandings, generally containing many dozens or even hundreds of animals. In Cabo Verde, at least nine mass strandings have been recorded between 2001 and 2007, ranging from three to ca. 265 individuals (Hazevoet et al. 2010).
In Hawaii, Melon-headed Whales are nocturnal predators, feeding on a variety of mesopelagic fishes, squids, and shrimps (West et al. 2018).
Range:
Europe
However, there is very little information about Melon-headed Whales in the European Atlantic waters. The species has not been recorded in the Azores Archipelago (Silva et al. 2014). Two sightings have been reported south of Madeira Island in June 2005 (Alves et al. 2018, Freitas et al. 2012), but Freitas et al. (2012) consider the species unconfirmed for the archipelago due to the small group size and the low quality of available photographs that could not exclude these were Feresa attenuata instead. There has been only one reported stranding in the Canary Islands in July 2022 (M. Arbelo pers. comm. 2022).
A few high-latitude strandings (neither included in the distribution map) are thought to be extralimital records and are generally associated with incursions of warm water. These include one stranding in 1949 from Cornwall in England recorded in the UK stranding database (Officer 2011) and three strandings near La Rochelle on the French Atlantic coast in 2003 and 2008 among about 23,000 entries in the French stranding database (Dabin 2022). They have not been recorded in the Mediterranean Sea (ACCOBAMS 2021).
The regular range of the Melon-headed Whale seems to be outside of European waters but could extend northward in the future with the increase in sea temperature due to climate change.
Global
Melon-headed Whales occur mainly in tropical and subtropical waters between 40°N and 35°S (Perryman and Danil 2018) and their distribution coincides almost exactly with that of the Pygmy Killer Whale (Jefferson and Barros 1997). They are also very difficult to distinguish from the latter at sea.
Melon-headed Whales occur in deep oceanic waters, but are frequently associated with oceanic islands and archipelagos (Brownell et al. 2009). In the Atlantic Ocean, they occur in deep waters of the Wider Caribbean Region, in the Gulf of Mexico (Mullin et al. 2004) and in the Lesser Antilles, but are relatively uncommon (Watkins et al. 1997, Yoshida et al. 2010).
They are regularly seen in Cabo Verde archipelago, including mass strandings and several sightings of large groups of up to 300 animals (Berrow et al. 2014, Hazevoet et al. 2010), which matches their tropical preference. Melon Melon-headed whales have been sporadically recorded along the Atlantic coast of Africa (van Bree and Cadenat 1968, Weir 2010), which might reflect both the species’ rarity and poor survey coverage.
However, there is very little information about Melon-headed Whales in the European Atlantic waters. The species has not been recorded in the Azores Archipelago (Silva et al. 2014). Two sightings have been reported south of Madeira Island in June 2005 (Alves et al. 2018, Freitas et al. 2012), but Freitas et al. (2012) consider the species unconfirmed for the archipelago due to the small group size and the low quality of available photographs that could not exclude these were Feresa attenuata instead. There has been only one reported stranding in the Canary Islands in July 2022 (M. Arbelo pers. comm. 2022).
A few high-latitude strandings (neither included in the distribution map) are thought to be extralimital records and are generally associated with incursions of warm water. These include one stranding in 1949 from Cornwall in England recorded in the UK stranding database (Officer 2011) and three strandings near La Rochelle on the French Atlantic coast in 2003 and 2008 among about 23,000 entries in the French stranding database (Dabin 2022). They have not been recorded in the Mediterranean Sea (ACCOBAMS 2021).
The regular range of the Melon-headed Whale seems to be outside of European waters but could extend northward in the future with the increase in sea temperature due to climate change.
Global
Melon-headed Whales occur mainly in tropical and subtropical waters between 40°N and 35°S (Perryman and Danil 2018) and their distribution coincides almost exactly with that of the Pygmy Killer Whale (Jefferson and Barros 1997). They are also very difficult to distinguish from the latter at sea.
Melon-headed Whales occur in deep oceanic waters, but are frequently associated with oceanic islands and archipelagos (Brownell et al. 2009). In the Atlantic Ocean, they occur in deep waters of the Wider Caribbean Region, in the Gulf of Mexico (Mullin et al. 2004) and in the Lesser Antilles, but are relatively uncommon (Watkins et al. 1997, Yoshida et al. 2010).
They are regularly seen in Cabo Verde archipelago, including mass strandings and several sightings of large groups of up to 300 animals (Berrow et al. 2014, Hazevoet et al. 2010), which matches their tropical preference. Melon Melon-headed whales have been sporadically recorded along the Atlantic coast of Africa (van Bree and Cadenat 1968, Weir 2010), which might reflect both the species’ rarity and poor survey coverage.
Conservation:
The Melon-headed Whale does not regularly occur in the European Mammal Assessment region, so there are no specific conservation measures for the species in this area. The species is listed in Appendix II of CITES. Vagrants are protected from deliberate disturbance, capture or killing under the EU Habitat Directive as all other cetacean species within EU27 waters. Although not listed on either appendix of the Convention on Migratory Species, Melon-headed Whale are protected by some instruments of this convention, such as the Agreement of ACCOBAMS (Mediterranean and Black Sea and the adjacent Atlantic area, https://accobams.org/), and the Memorandum of Understanding of Western African Aquatic Mammals (Western Africa and Macaronesia, https://www.cms.int/aquatic-mammals).
Research is needed to determine the distribution and the impact of potential threats on this species in offshore waters of the European Mammal Assessment region.
Research is needed to determine the distribution and the impact of potential threats on this species in offshore waters of the European Mammal Assessment region.