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Physeter macrocephalus (sperm whale)

Mammalia - Cetacea - Physeteridae

Taxonomy
Physeter macrocephalus was named by Linnaeus (1758). It is extant. Its type locality is Kariston, which is in a Holocene coastal horizon in the United Kingdom. It is the type species of Physeter.

It was recombined as Catodon macrocephalus by Lacépède (1804), Gray (1846), Gray (1846), Gray (1850), Gray (1864), Gray (1866) and Gray (1868); it was synonymized subjectively with Physeter catodon by Thomas (1911), Hershkovitz (1966) and Mead and Brownell (2005).

Synonyms
Synonymy list
YearName and author
1758Physeter catodon Linnaeus
1758Physeter macrocephalus Linnaeus p. 76
1758Physeter tursio Linnaeus p. 76
1758Physeter macrocephalus Linnaeus p. 107
1804Catodon macrocephalus Lacépède p. 165
1804Catodon trumpo Lacépède p. 212
1804Catodon svineval Lacépède p. 216
1804Physalus cylindricus Lacépède p. 219
1804Physeter orthodon Lacépède p. 236
1804Physeter mular Lacépède p. 239
1821Physeter catodon Gray p. 310
1822Physeter australasianus Desmoulins
1824Physeter polycyphus Quoy and Gaimard p. 52
1827Megistosaurus ensiformis Godman p. 566
1829Physeter macrocephalus Fischer p. 517
1842Physeter macrocephalus De Kay p. 128
1846Physeter australis Gray
1846Catodon macrocephalus Gray p. 21
1846Physeter tursio Gray p. 23
1846Catodon macrocephalus Gray p. 83
1846Physeter tursio Gray p. 83
1850Catodon macrocephalus Gray p. 49
1850Catodon colneti Gray p. 52
1850Catodon polycyphus Gray p. 52
1850Physeter tursio Gray p. 56
1851Catodon australis MacLeay
1852Physeter macrocephalus Gervais p. 156
1859Physeter macrocephalus Gervais p. 285
1864Catodon macrocephalus Gray p. 231
1864Physeter tursio Gray p. 234
1866Catodon australis Gray p. 202
1866Catodon macrocephalus Gray p. 202
1866Physeter tursio Gray p. 212
1866Physeter catodon Gray p. 307
1866Meganeuron krefftii Gray p. 389
1868Catodon macrocephalus Gray p. 3
1868Meganeuron krefftii Gray p. 3
1868Physeter tursio Gray p. 3
1868Physeter catodon Gray p. 9
1887Physeter macrocephalus Lydekker p. 53
1889Physeter macrocephalus Ameghino p. 887
1890Physeter macrocephalus Cope p. 606
1891Physeter macrocephalus Newton p. 65
1902Physeter macrocephalus Hay p. 595
1904Physeter macrocephalus Trouessart p. 774
1911Physeter catodon Thomas p. 157
1912Physeter macrocephalus Turner p. 71
1922Physeter macrocephalus Oliver p. 565
1929Physeter macrocephalus Dal Piaz p. 79
1930Physeter catodon Hay p. 599
1952Physeter catodon Sherman p. 99
1963Physeter catodon Scheffer and Rice p. 8
1966Physeter catodon Hershkovitz p. 116
1977Physeter catodon Barnes p. 323 figs. Table 1
1982Physeter macrocephalus Fordyce p. 423
1987Physeter macrocephalus Pilleri p. 53
1991Physeter macrocephalus Vidal p. 5
1998Physeter macrocephalus Rice p. 82
2005Physeter catodon Mead and Brownell p. 737
2008Physeter catodon Agnarsson and May-Collado p. 981 figs. Fig. 5
2011Physeter macrocephalus Geisler et al. p. 5 figs. Table 1
2011Physeter catodon Marx p. 83 figs. Figure 2
2014Physeter macrocephalus Ormezzano and Lanzetti p. 20
2015Physeter macrocephalus Velez-Juarbe et al. p. 15 figs. Fig. 10

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
Bilateria
EubilateriaAx 1987
Life
Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
Tetrapoda
Reptiliomorpha
Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
Cotylosauria()
Amniota
subclassSynapsida
Therapsida()
infraorderCynodontia()
Mammaliamorpha
Mammaliaformes
classMammalia
RankNameAuthor
Theriamorpha(Rowe 1993)
Theriiformes()
Trechnotheria
Cladotheria
Zatheria
subclassTribosphenida()
subclassTheria
Eutheria()
Placentalia
Boreoeutheria
Laurasiatheria
Scrotifera
Euungulata
Artiodactylamorpha
Artiodactyla()
Whippomorpha
orderCetacea
Pelagiceti
Neoceti
suborderOdontoceti
superfamilyPhyseteroidea
familyPhyseteridae
genusPhyseter
speciesmacrocephalus

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

Physeter macrocephalus Linnaeus 1758 [sperm whale]
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Invalid names: Megistosaurus ensiformis Godman 1827 [synonym], Physeter catodon Linnaeus 1758 [synonym]
Diagnosis
No diagnoses are available
Measurements
partNmean

Composition: hydroxyapatitesubo
Form: roller-shapedo
Ontogeny: modification of partso
Environment: oceanicg
Locomotion: actively mobileg
Life habit: aquaticg
Depth habitat: surfaceg
Diet: carnivoreg
Reproduction: viviparoussubo
Created: 2015-04-14 16:58:50
Modified: 2015-04-14 16:58:50
Source: g = genus, subo = suborder, o = order
References: Uhen 2004, Hirota and Barnes 1995

Age range: base of the Zanclean to the top of the Holocene or 5.33300 to 0.00000 Ma

Collections (50 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Middle Miocene - Early/Lower Pleistocene15.97 - 0.781Netherlands Physeter macrocephalus (189573)
Zanclean5.333 - 3.6USA (North Carolina) Physeter catodon (52582)
Zanclean5.333 - 3.6South Africa Physeter macrocephalus (100313)
Zanclean - Piacenzian5.333 - 2.588Italy (Asti) Physeter macrocephalus (80610)
Piacenzian3.6 - 2.588Italy (Tuscany) Physeter macrocephalus (48652)
Middle Pleistocene0.781 - 0.126United Kingdom (England) Physeter macrocephalus (58421)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.126 - 0.0117Spain Physeter macrocephalus (96706)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.126 - 0.0117Spain (Santander) Physeter catodon (125320)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.126 - 0.0117France Physeter macrocephalus (86273)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0French Polynesia (Loyalty Islands) Physeter macrocephalus (83487)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Peru Physeter macrocephalus (168256)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Antarctica Physeter macrocephalus (168263)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Denmark Physeter macrocephalus (159716 159719)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Japan Physeter macrocephalus (82088 168258)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Mexico (Baja California) Physeter catodon (201786)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Svalbard and Jan Mayen Physeter macrocephalus (168262)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Italy (Sardinia) Physeter macrocephalus (224272)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Portugal Physeter macrocephalus (168251)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Morocco Physeter macrocephalus (79917)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Italy (Sicily) Physeter macrocephalus (175523)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0New Zealand Physeter macrocephalus (168257)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Italy Physeter macrocephalus (168259 196903)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0USA (North Carolina) Physeter macrocephalus (168254)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0United Kingdom (Scotland) Physeter macrocephalus (type locality: 86904)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Brazil Physeter macrocephalus (168253)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Somalia Physeter macrocephalus (168260)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0India Physeter macrocephalus (168261)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Greenland (Qeqertasussuk) Physeter macrocephalus (187755)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Angola Physeter macrocephalus (168252)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0USA (California) Physeter macrocephalus (168255)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0New Caledonia Physeter macrocephalus (83457 83483 83484 83485 83486 83488 83489 83490 83491 83492 83493 83494 83495 83496 83497 83498 83499)