By Sharon Jansa
Geographic Range
Worldwide: tropical to warm-temperate waters.
Biogeographic Regions:
indian ocean (native 
); atlantic ocean (native ); pacific ocean (native ).
Habitat
Melon-headed whales are known primarily from mass strandings on beaches. They are rarely seen in the wild and probably occur in deep water far from the coast.
Aquatic Biomes:
coastal .
Physical Description
This medium sized dolphin is darkly pigmented over much of the body with a white patch midway between the lower jaw and flipper and a lighter greyish streak along the sides. Melon-headed whales do not have a clearly defined rostrum, a character which distinguishes them from most of the smaller dolphins. Their flippers and flukes are pointed, unlike the rounded forms of the pygmy killer whale which it otherwise resembles.
Some key physical features:
endothermic ; bilateral symmetry .
Reproduction
Nothing known.
Key reproductive features:
gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual .
Behavior
The few sightings of this whale have all been of large groups of up to 250 individuals indicating that this is a schooling species.
Food Habits
The food habits of this elusive whale have not been studied; they probably eat ocean fish and squid.
Primary Diet:
carnivore (piscivore , molluscivore ).
Animal Foods:
fish; mollusks.
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
None known.
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
None known.
Conservation Status
CITES Apependix II. Melon-headed whales are not hunted specifically, but they are sometimes taken incidentally in tuna seine nets. Fisheries in coastal Japan will sometimes purposely hunt these whales.
Contributors
Sharon Jansa 
(author), University of Minnesota.
