Species guide
Melon-headed whale
Peponocephala electra
At a glance
Conservation, taxonomy and Madeira records reviewed . Review sources.
- Global IUCN conservation status
- Least Concern — assessment published .
The linked 2019 assessment documents this category; the current category was cross-checked against the Cetacean Specialist Group overview.
Global extinction risk is separate from sighting frequency in Madeira.
- Identification
- Small, dark dolphin with a rounded head and no obvious beak.
- Relatively tall dorsal fin, pointed flippers and a darker cape over the back.
- Size
- Length: up to approximately 2.7 m
- Recorded occurrence in Madeira
- Two 2005 sightings remained unconfirmed in the 2012 review.
- Madeira records and season
- No dependable seasonal window established by the cited records.
Identification and size summarize profile notes updated . Local records are past observations, not a prediction of sightings.
Read the identification notes ↓- Taxonomic authority
- (Gray, 1846)
- Family
- Delphinidae
- Cetacean group
- Odontoceti
Sightings in Madeira
The 2012 Madeira review describes two sightings off Caniço in June and July 2005. Poor photographs and similarity to pygmy killer whales prevented confirmation.
No dependable seasonal window established by the cited records. Individual record months do not define a season.
ID characteristics
Dark body with a darker cape across the back and darker facial markings.
Rounded forehead with no prominent beak.
Tall dorsal fin and tapering, pointed flippers.
Can be confused with the pygmy killer whale and false killer whale.
Surface behaviour
A fast swimmer that may make low leaps.
Often rests during the morning and feeds at night.
Distribution
Mostly deep tropical waters around the world, including waters around oceanic islands.
Social
Highly social; schools can contain hundreds of animals. Sometimes associates with Fraser's dolphins and other dolphins.
Diet
Fish, squid, cuttlefish and shrimp.
Biometrics
Length: up to approximately 2.7 m
Weight: around 210 kg
Identification, behaviour and measurements: NOAA Fisheries species account.
Common names in other languages
- Portuguese: Golfinho-cabeça-de-melão
- German: Breitschnabeldelfin
- French: Péponocéphale
- Spanish: Delfín de cabeza de melón
- Italian: Peponocefalo
- Dutch: Witlipdolfijn
- Polish: Melonogłów wielozębny
- Swedish: Melonhuvad val
Names vary by language and region. This list is not exhaustive. Multilingual name records.
Review sources
Conservation, taxonomy, local occurrence and seasonality checked on . The assessment publication year is separate from this editorial review date. Identification, size, other biology notes and multilingual aliases are outside this review unless a specific source is cited alongside them.
- IUCN Red List: Peponocephala electra — global species assessment, published 2019.
- Society for Marine Mammalogy: species and subspecies list (April 2026) — Scientific names, authorities, families and English names. Mysticeti and Odontoceti are treated as unranked groups.
- IUCN SSC Cetacean Specialist Group: Red List status of cetaceans — Global species categories cross-checked against the specialist group's overview, updated October 2025. Regional and subpopulation assessments are separate.
- IUCN Cetacean Specialist Group: July 2019 assessments — Global rough-toothed dolphin and melon-headed whale assessments.
- Freitas et al. (2012): New records of cetacean species for Madeira Archipelago with an updated checklist — Table 1 and species accounts distinguish sightings, catches and strandings. Record totals and last-record dates describe evidence available through December 2012.
- NOAA Fisheries: melon-headed whale — Identification, behaviour, distribution, diet and measurements; reviewed 28 September 2026. General species biology does not establish occurrence in Madeira.
The linked trip reports document operator observations. They do not independently confirm every identification or measure population size, abundance or the probability of a sighting.