AnAge entry for Globicephala melas
Classification (HAGRID: 02289)
- Taxonomy
-
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia (Taxon entry)
Order: Cetacea (Taxon entry)
Family: Delphinidae (Taxon entry)
Genus: Globicephala
- Species
- Globicephala melas
- Common name
- Long-finned pilot whale
- Synonyms
- Globicephala melaena, Delphinus melas
Lifespan, ageing, and relevant traits
- IMR
- 0.015/year
- MRDT
- 10 years
- Maximum longevity
- 60 years (captivity)
- Source
- ref. 671
- Sample size
- Tiny
- Data quality
- Acceptable
- Observations
Maximum longevity has been estimated to be around 60 years, which is plausible. Males appear to be longer-lived than females and attain sexual maturity at later ages [0434]. Pregnant females have been reported up to 55 years of age. The MRDT was calculated to be about 10 and the IMR 0.015 for females [0784]. One wild born specimen was still alive in captivity at 37.8 years of age [0671].
Life history traits (averages)
- Female sexual maturity
- 2,470 days
- Male sexual maturity
- 4,380 days
- Gestation
- 450 days
- Weaning
- 812 days
- Litter size
- 1 (viviparous)
- Litters per year
- 0.2
- Inter-litter interval
- Weight at birth
- 109,667 g
- Weight at weaning
- Adult weight
- 1,060,000 g
- Postnatal growth rate
Metabolism
No information on metabolism is available.
References
- [1143] Nussey et al. (2013), Senescence in natural populations of animals: widespread evidence and its implications for bio-gerontology (PubMed)
- [0784] Foote (2008), Mortality rate acceleration and post-reproductive lifespan in matrilineal whale species (PubMed)
- [0671] Richard Weigl (2005), Longevity of Mammals in Captivity; from the Living Collections of the World
- [0443] Ronald Nowak (2003), Walker's Marine Mammals of the World
- [0610] Ernest (2003), Life history characteristics of placental non-volant mammals
- [0434] Ronald Nowak (1999), Walker's Mammals of the World
- [0538] Don Wilson and Sue Ruff (1999), The Smithsonian Book of North American Mammals
- [0455] Virginia Hayssen et al. (1993), Asdell's Patterns of Mammalian Reproduction: A Compendium of Species-Specific Data
- [0680] Wootton (1987), The effects of body mass, phylogeny, habitat, and trophic level on mammalian age at first reproduction
External Resources
- Integrated Taxonomic Information System
- ITIS 552461
- Animal Diversity Web
- ADW account (if available)
- Encyclopaedia of Life
- Search EOL
- NCBI Taxonomy
- Taxonomy ID 9731
- Entrez
- Search all databases
- Ageing Literature
- Search Google Scholar or Search PubMed
- Images
- Google Image search
- Internet
- Search Google