PBDB Taxon

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Morphology	Ecology and taphonomy	External Literature Search	Age range and collections

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 was recombined as Catodon macrocephalus by Lacépède (1804), Gray (1846), Gray (1846), Gray (1850), Gray (1864), Gray (1866), Gray (1868), Gray (1871); it was synonymized subjectively with Physeter catodon by Thomas (1911), Hershkovitz (1966), Mead and Brownell (2005).

Synonyms

Catodon australis was named by MacLeay (1851). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Physeter catodon by Hershkovitz (1966).
Meganeuron krefftii was named by Gray (1866). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Physeter catodon by Hershkovitz (1966).
Megistosaurus ensiformis was named by Godman (1827) [no type specimen number listed]. It is not a trace fossil.

It was synonymized subjectively with Physeter macrocephalus by Harlan (1828).
Physeter australasianus was named by Desmoulins (1822). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Physeter catodon by Mead and Brownell (2005).
Physeter australis was named by Gray (1846). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Physeter catodon by Mead and Brownell (2005).
Catodon colneti was named by Gray (1850). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Physeter catodon by Hershkovitz (1966).
Physeter polycyphus was named by Quoy and Gaimard (1824). It is extant.

It was recombined as Catodon polycyphus by Gray (1850); it was synonymized subjectively with Physeter catodon by Hershkovitz (1966).
Physeter catodon was named by Linnaeus (1758) [No type specimen designated; see Hershkovitz (1966) for a discussion of the origins of the binomen Physeter catodon.]. It is extant. Its type locality is Kariston, which is in a Holocene coastal horizon in the United Kingdom.

It was synonymized subjectively with Catodon macrocephalus by Gray (1846); it was synonymized subjectively with Physeter macrocephalus by Rice (1998).
Catodon trumpo was named by Lacépède (1804). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Physeter catodon by Hershkovitz (1966).
Catodon svineval was named by Lacépède (1804). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Physeter catodon by Hershkovitz (1966).
Physalus cylindricus was named by Lacépède (1804). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Physeter catodon by Hershkovitz (1966).
Physeter orthodon was named by Lacépède (1804). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Physeter catodon by Hershkovitz (1966).
Physeter mular was named by Lacépède (1804). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Physeter catodon by Hershkovitz (1966).
Physeter tursio was named by Linnaeus (1758). It is extant.

It was synonymized subjectively with Physeter catodon by Thomas (1911), Hershkovitz (1966).

Synonymy list

Year	Name and author
1758	Physeter catodon Linnaeus
1758	Physeter macrocephalus Linnaeus p. 76
1758	Physeter tursio Linnaeus p. 76
1758	Physeter macrocephalus Linnaeus p. 107
1804	Catodon macrocephalus Lacépède p. 165
1804	Catodon trumpo Lacépède p. 212
1804	Catodon svineval Lacépède p. 216
1804	Physalus cylindricus Lacépède p. 219
1804	Physeter orthodon Lacépède p. 236
1804	Physeter mular Lacépède p. 239
1821	Physeter catodon Gray p. 310
1822	Physeter australasianus Desmoulins
1824	Physeter polycyphus Quoy and Gaimard p. 52
1827	Megistosaurus ensiformis Godman p. 566
1829	Physeter macrocephalus Fischer p. 517
1842	Physeter macrocephalus De Kay p. 128
1846	Physeter australis Gray
1846	Catodon macrocephalus Gray p. 21
1846	Physeter tursio Gray p. 23
1846	Catodon macrocephalus Gray p. 83
1846	Physeter tursio Gray p. 83
1850	Catodon macrocephalus Gray p. 49
1850	Catodon colneti Gray p. 52
1850	Catodon polycyphus Gray p. 52
1850	Physeter tursio Gray p. 56
1851	Catodon australis MacLeay
1852	Physeter macrocephalus Gervais p. 156
1859	Physeter macrocephalus Gervais p. 285
1864	Catodon macrocephalus Gray p. 231
1864	Physeter tursio Gray p. 234
1866	Catodon australis Gray p. 202
1866	Catodon macrocephalus Gray p. 202
1866	Physeter tursio Gray p. 212
1866	Physeter catodon Gray p. 307
1866	Meganeuron krefftii Gray p. 389
1868	Catodon macrocephalus Gray p. 3
1868	Meganeuron krefftii Gray p. 3
1868	Physeter tursio Gray p. 3
1868	Physeter catodon Gray p. 9
1869	Physeter macrocephalus Scammon and Cope p. 32
1871	Catodon macrocephalus Gray p. 59
1871	Meganeuron krefftii Gray p. 59
1871	Physeter tursio Gray p. 60
1873	Physeter macrocephalus Scott p. 111
1887	Physeter macrocephalus Lydekker p. 53
1889	Physeter macrocephalus Ameghino p. 887
1890	Physeter macrocephalus Cope p. 606
1891	Physeter macrocephalus Newton p. 65
1902	Physeter macrocephalus Hay p. 595
1904	Physeter macrocephalus Trouessart p. 774
1911	Physeter catodon Thomas p. 157
1912	Physeter macrocephalus Turner p. 71
1922	Physeter macrocephalus Oliver p. 565
1929	Physeter macrocephalus Dal Piaz p. 79
1930	Physeter catodon Hay p. 599
1952	Physeter catodon Sherman p. 99
1963	Physeter catodon Scheffer and Rice p. 8
1966	Physeter catodon Hershkovitz p. 116
1977	Physeter catodon Barnes p. 323 figs. Table 1
1982	Physeter macrocephalus Fordyce p. 423
1987	Physeter macrocephalus Pilleri p. 53
1991	Physeter macrocephalus Vidal p. 5
1998	Physeter macrocephalus Rice p. 82
2005	Physeter catodon Mead and Brownell p. 737
2008	Physeter catodon Agnarsson and May-Collado p. 981 figs. Fig. 5
2011	Physeter macrocephalus Geisler et al. p. 5 figs. Table 1
2011	Physeter catodon Marx p. 83 figs. Figure 2
2014	Physeter macrocephalus Ormezzano and Lanzetti p. 20
2015	Physeter macrocephalus Velez-Juarbe et al. p. 15 figs. Fig. 10

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Rank	Name	Author
kingdom	Animalia	()
—	Bilateria
—	Eubilateria	Ax 1987
—	Deuterostomia
phylum	Chordata	Haeckel 1874
subphylum	Vertebrata
superclass	Gnathostomata
—	Osteichthyes	()
subclass	Sarcopterygii	()
subclass	Dipnotetrapodomorpha	(Nelson 2006)
subclass	Tetrapodomorpha	()
—	Tetrapoda
—	Reptiliomorpha
—	Anthracosauria
subclass	Amphibiosauria	Kuhn 1967
—	Cotylosauria	()
—	Amniota
subclass	Synapsida
—	Therapsida	()
infraorder	Cynodontia	()
—	Mammaliamorpha
—	Mammaliaformes

Rank	Name	Author
class	Mammalia
—	Cladotheria
—	Zatheria
subclass	Tribosphenida	()
subclass	Theria
—	Eutheria	()
—	Placentalia
—	Boreoeutheria
—	Laurasiatheria
—	Scrotifera
—	Euungulata
—	Artiodactylamorpha
—	Artiodactyla	()
—	Whippomorpha
order	Cetacea
—	Pelagiceti
—	Neoceti
suborder	Odontoceti
superfamily	Physeteroidea
family	Physeteridae
genus	Physeter
species	macrocephalus

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

part	N	mean

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: Hirota and Barnes 1995, Uhen 2004

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
Messinian - Early/Lower Pleistocene	7.246 - 0.774	Netherlands	Physeter macrocephalus (189573)
Zanclean	5.333 - 3.6	USA (North Carolina)	Physeter catodon (52582)
Zanclean	5.333 - 3.6	South Africa	Physeter macrocephalus (100313)
Piacenzian	3.6 - 2.58	Italy (Tuscany)	Physeter macrocephalus (48652)
Middle Pleistocene	0.774 - 0.129	United Kingdom (England)	Physeter macrocephalus (58421)
Late/Upper Pleistocene	0.129 - 0.0117	France	Physeter macrocephalus (86273)
Late/Upper Pleistocene	0.129 - 0.0117	Spain (Santander)	Physeter catodon (125320)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	French Polynesia (Loyalty Islands)	Physeter macrocephalus (83487)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	United Kingdom (Scotland)	Physeter macrocephalus (type locality: 86904 238962)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	Angola	Physeter macrocephalus (168252)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	Mexico (Baja California)	Physeter catodon (201786)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	USA (California)	Physeter macrocephalus (168255)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	Portugal	Physeter macrocephalus (168251)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	Italy (Sicily)	Physeter macrocephalus (175523)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	New Zealand	Physeter macrocephalus (168257)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	Peru	Physeter macrocephalus (168256)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	Morocco	Physeter macrocephalus (79917)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	Greenland (Qeqertasussuk)	Physeter macrocephalus (187755)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	Svalbard and Jan Mayen	Physeter macrocephalus (168262)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	New Caledonia	Physeter macrocephalus (83457 83483 83484 83485 83486 83488 83489 83490 83491 83492 83493 83494 83495 83496 83497 83498 83499)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	Japan	Physeter macrocephalus (82088 168258)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	Norway	Physeter macrocephalus (237891)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	Antarctica	Physeter macrocephalus (168263)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	USA (North Carolina)	Physeter macrocephalus (168254)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	Denmark	Physeter macrocephalus (159716 159719)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	Italy	Physeter macrocephalus (168259 196903)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	Italy (Sardinia)	Physeter macrocephalus (224272)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	Brazil	Physeter macrocephalus (168253)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	Somalia	Physeter macrocephalus (168260)
Holocene	0.0117 - 0.0	India	Physeter macrocephalus (168261)