page_title: Pygmy sperm whale
section_title: Anatomy
hierarchical_section_title: Pygmy sperm whale / Anatomy
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Zwergpottwal (tot) English: Pygmy sperm whale (dead) Español: Kogia breviceps (muerto) Français&#160;: Kogia breviceps (mort) Português: Cachalote-pigmeu (morto) Location: La Gomera
context_page_description: The pygmy sperm whale 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.
context_section_description: Like its giant relative, the sperm whale, the pygmy sperm whale has a spermaceti organ in its forehead (see sperm whale for a discussion of its purpose). It also has a sac in its intestines that contains a dark red fluid. The whale may expel this fluid when frightened, perhaps to confuse and disorient predators.
  Dwarf and pygmy sperm whales possess the shortest rostrum of current day cetaceans with a skull that is greatly asymmetrical
  Pygmy sperm whales have from 50 to 55 vertebrae, and from 12 to 14 ribs on either side, although the latter are not necessarily symmetrical, and the hindmost ribs do not connect with the vertebral column. Each of the flippers has seven carpals, and a variable number of phalanges in the digits, reportedly ranging from two in the first digit to as many as 10 in the second digit. No true innominate bone exists; it is replaced by a sheet of dense connective tissue. The hyoid bone is unusually large, and presumably has a role in the whale's suction feeding.
caption: Closeup of the head
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