Appearance
(Anatomy and morphology)
The pilot whale is famous because the big melon on his forehead. This melon is in fact an organ to orientate, it houses his sonar.
The body of the pilot whale is generally black/dark grey with a few grey and white spots. One of the most appearing spots is ‘the saddle’, just behind the dorsal fin. An other eye catching spot is the white ‘anchor’ or ‘W’ at the chest between the pectoral fins.
The pectoral flippers of a pilot whale are positioned close to the head, long and have the shape of a slender sickle. The big dorsal
fin is broad at the base, is strongly hooked and has a rounded tip. The dorsal fin on mature males is more pronounced than the female ones.
Picture: Uko Gorter
The tail of the whale seems pretty fat, in fact this are muscles to propel the animal. The spine is more ore less in the middle.
The sexes of Pilot whales are dimorphic (not the same), males are bigger than females. The melon at the forehead of the mature males is often also a bit more pronounced than the female melons.
