KonaWhaleWatch.com

A quick checklist of Hawaii’s cetaceans

• Baird’s Beaked Whale
  (Berardius bairdii) suborder: Odonticeti family: Ziphiidae
  35’-38’ long. Occurs in Hawaiian waters.
  
  
• Blainville’s Beaked Whale
  (Mesoplodon densirostris) suborder: Odonticeti family: Ziphiidae
  16’ long. Occurs in Hawaiian waters.
  
  
• Bryde’s Whale
  (Balaenoptera edeni) suborder: Mysticeti family: Balaenopteridae
  39’-42’ long. Has been sighted in Hawaiian waters.
  
  
• Cuvier’s Beaked Whale
  (Ziphius cavirostris) suborder: Odonticeti family: Ziphiidae
  16’-22’ long. Occurs in Hawaiian waters.
  
  
• Dwarf Sperm Whale
  (Kogia simus) suborder: Odonticeti family: Physeteridae
  8’ long. Occurs in Hawaiian waters.
  
  
• False Killer Whale
  (Pseudorca crassidens) suborder: Odonticeti family: Delphinidae
  16’-19’. Occurs in Hawaiian waters. Actually a dolphin.
  
  
• Fin Whale
  (Balaenoptera physalus) suborder: Mysticeti family: Balaenopteridae
  58’-60’ long. Has been sighted in Hawaiian waters.
  
  
• Humpback Whale
  (Megaptera novaeangliae) suborder: Mysticeti family: Balaenopteridae
  35’-45’ long. State mammal of Hawaii. Common in Hawaiian waters during the winter season.
  
  
• Killer Whale
  (Orcinus orca) suborder: Odonticeti family: Delphinidae
  20’-25’ long. Has been sighted in Hawaiian waters. Actually a dolphin.
  
  
• Melon-headed Whale
  (Peponocephala electra) suborder: Odonticeti family: Delphinidae
  8’ long. Common in Hawaiian waters. Actually a dolphin.
  
  
• Minke Whale
  (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) suborder: Mysticeti family: Balaenopteridae
  27’ long. Has been sighted in Hawaiian waters.
  
  
• Northern Right Whale
  (Eubalaena glcialis) suborder: Mysticeti family: Balaenidae
  40’-50’ long. Sighted near Maui in 1979.
  
  
• Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin
  (Tursiops gilli) suborder: Odonticeti family: Delphinidae
  8’-11’ long. Common in Hawaiian waters. Many list this dolphin as Tursiops truncatus but I prefer the name used above.
  
  
• Pygmy Killer Whale
  (Feresa attenuata) suborder: Odonticeti family: Delphinidae
  9’ long. Occurs in Hawaiian waters. Actually a dolphin.
  
  
• Pygmy Sperm Whale
  (Kogia breviceps) suborder: Odonticeti family: Physeteridae
  10’ long. Occurs in Hawaiian waters.
  
  
• Risso’s Dolphin
  (Grampus griseus) suborder: Odonticeti family: Delphinidae
  13’ long. Occurs in Hawaiian waters.
  
  
• Rough-toothed Dolphin
  (Steno bredanensis) suborder: Odonticeti family: Delphinidae
  8’ long. Common in Hawaiian waters.
  
  
• Short-finned Pilot Whale
  (Globicephala macrorhynchus) suborder: Odonticeti family: Delphinidae
  13’-18’ long. Common in Hawaiian waters. Actually a dolphin.
  
  
• Sperm Whale
  (Physeter macrocephalus) suborder: Odonticeti family: Physeteridae
  40’-60’ long. Common in Hawaiian waters.
  
  
• Spinner Dolphin
  (Stenella longirostris) suborder: Odonticeti family: Delphinidae
  5’-7’ long. Common in Hawaiian waters. The most common dolphin encountered during whale watch cruises.
  
  
• Spotted Dolphin
  (Stenella attenuata) suborder: Odonticeti family: Delphinidae
  6’-7’ long. Common in Hawaiian waters.
  
  
• Striped Dolphin
  (Stenella coeruleoalba) suborder: Odonticeti family: Delphinidae
  7’-9’ long. Occurs in Hawaiian waters.