Cetacean comparison tool: size, weight and diving in whales and dolphins

The most complete cetacean comparison tool on the French-language web: 22 representative species: delphinids, great whales, kogiids and ziphiids, compared across 30 biological criteria, grouped into 11 thematic categories: morphology, reproduction, longevity, locomotion, diving, neuroanatomy, bioacoustics, social life, conservation, diet and field identification.

For each species, the comparison tool shows adult and birth weight and length, gestation and lactation duration, the interval between births, the age of sexual maturity, the maximum documented longevity, cruising and top speeds, the annual migration distance, the maximum breath-hold, the record dive depth, brain mass, the encephalisation quotient, the dominant frequency and the maximum source level, the vocal type, the typical group size and the social structure, IUCN and CITES status, the estimated North Atlantic population, the areas of presence in France, the diet, and the visual identification criteria (blow, dorsal fin, colour).

The values generally represent adult means or documented records, depending on the criterion. For the least studied species (mesoplodont beaked whales, kogiids), some values rest on estimates drawn from small samples, flagged in the sources.

📚 Scientific sources

All the values in the comparison tool come from the standard scientific literature. The data have been cross-checked between several sources where possible, giving preference to recent publications and institutional databases. The main references used are listed below, organised by type.

Reference works

  • Würsig B., Thewissen J.G.M. & Kovacs K.M. (eds.) (2018). Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals, 3rd edition, Academic Press, ~1190 pp., Main source for the morphology, reproductive biology, longevity and ecology of each species.
  • Au W.W.L. (1993). The Sonar of Dolphins, Springer-Verlag, Reference work on echolocation and odontocete acoustics (frequencies, intensities, sound production mechanisms).
  • Mann J., Connor R.C., Tyack P.L. & Whitehead H. (eds.) (2000). Cetacean Societies: Field Studies of Dolphins and Whales, University of Chicago Press, Social structure and behaviour.
  • Whitehead H. (2003). Sperm Whales: Social Evolution in the Ocean, University of Chicago Press, Detailed data on the sperm whale.
  • Whitehead H. & Rendell L. (2015). The Cultural Lives of Whales and Dolphins, University of Chicago Press, Cultures and dialects.
  • Ponganis P.J. (2015). Diving Physiology of Marine Mammals and Seabirds, Cambridge University Press, Diving physiology and breath-holds.

Institutional databases and conservation status

  • IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (2023-2024). Official conservation status assessments (LC, NT, VU, EN, CR, DD) and population trends, iucnredlist.org
  • NAMMCO, North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission. Status Reports and abundances for the North Atlantic, nammco.no
  • ACCOBAMS, Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area. Cetacean Conservation Atlas (2021), regional data for the Mediterranean and the contiguous Atlantic.
  • NOAA Fisheries, Species Directory. Detailed species profiles and stock assessments, fisheries.noaa.gov
  • International Whaling Commission (IWC), Scientific Committee Reports. Population estimates, ages at maturity, reproductive rates, iwc.int
  • CITES, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. Appendices I, II and III for cetaceans, cites.org
  • SCANS-IV (2022). Survey of small cetaceans in the European Atlantic, populations of harbour porpoise, common dolphin, striped dolphin and common bottlenose dolphin.
  • Observatoire Pelagis (CNRS & La Rochelle Université). SAMM surveys and French national data, observatoire-pelagis.cnrs.fr

Specialised publications: Diving

  • Quick N.J. et al. (2020). Extreme diving in mammals: first estimates of behavioural aerobic dive limits in Cuvier’s beaked whales. Journal of Experimental Biology, 223, Record Cuvier’s beaked whale breath-hold of 222 minutes.
  • Schorr G.S., Falcone E.A., Moretti D.J. & Andrews R.D. (2014). First long-term behavioral records from Cuvier’s beaked whales reveal record-breaking dives. PLoS ONE, 9(3), Record Cuvier’s beaked whale depth of 2,992 m.
  • Watkins W.A. et al. (2002). Sperm whale dives tracked by radio tag telemetry. Marine Mammal Science, 18(1), Sperm whale dives, record ~2,250 m.
  • Tyack P.L. et al. (2006). Extreme diving of beaked whales. Journal of Experimental Biology, 209, Blainville’s beaked whale at 1,599 m / 85 min.
  • Hooker S.K. & Baird R.W. (1999). Deep-diving behaviour of the northern bottlenose whale. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 266, Northern bottlenose whale at 1,453 m.
  • Aguilar Soto N. et al. (2008). Cheetahs of the deep sea: deep foraging sprints in short-finned pilot whales. Journal of Animal Ecology, 77, Pilot whales at 828 m.
  • Goldbogen J.A. et al. (2011). Mechanics, hydrodynamics and energetics of blue whale lunge feeding. Journal of Experimental Biology, 214, Blue whale dives.
  • Panigada S. et al. (1999). Behavioural diving patterns of the Mediterranean fin whale. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 187, Fin whale in the Mediterranean.

Specialised publications: Bioacoustics

  • Møhl B., Wahlberg M., Madsen P.T., Heerfordt A. & Lund A. (2003). The monopulsed nature of sperm whale clicks. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 114, Record sperm whale source level of 236 dB.
  • Madsen P.T., Wahlberg M. & Møhl B. (2002). Male sperm whale acoustic behavior. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 53.
  • Janik V.M. & King S.L. (2013). Bottlenose dolphins can use learned vocal labels to address each other. PNAS, 110, Signature whistles as “first names”.
  • Sharma P. et al. (2024). Contextual and combinatorial structure in sperm whale vocalisations. Nature Communications, 15, Codas and combinatorial structure (Project CETI).
  • Edds-Walton P.L. (2000). Vocalizations of minke whales Balaenoptera acutorostrata. Bioacoustics, 11.
  • Watkins W.A. (1981). Activities and underwater sounds of fin whales. Scientific Reports of the Whales Research Institute, 33, The 20 Hz pulse of the fin whale.
  • Veirs S., Veirs V. & Wood J.D. (2016). Ship noise extends to frequencies used for echolocation by endangered killer whales. PeerJ, 4, Killer whale source levels.
  • Madsen P.T., Carder D.A., Bedholm K. & Ridgway S.H. (2005). Porpoise clicks from a sperm whale nose. Bioacoustics, 15, NBHF clicks of porpoises and kogiids.

Specialised publications: Encephalisation

  • Marino L., Connor R.C., Fordyce R.E., Herman L.M. et al. (2007). Cetaceans have complex brains for complex cognition. PLoS Biology, 5, Brain masses and encephalisation quotients (EQ) for cetaceans.
  • Marino L. (1998). A comparison of encephalization between odontocete cetaceans and anthropoid primates. Brain, Behavior and Evolution, 51.
  • Ridgway S.H. & Brownson R.H. (1984). Relative brain sizes and cortical surface areas of odontocetes. Acta Zoologica Fennica, 172.

Specialised publications: Demography and longevity

  • Aguilar A. (2002). Fin whale Balaenoptera physalus. In: Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals, 1st ed., Longevity of 94 years documented from earplugs.
  • Lockyer C. (1972, 1976, 1984). Work on the age and growth of the great whales from earwax plugs.
  • Olesiuk P.F., Bigg M.A. & Ellis G.M. (1990, 2005). Life history of resident killer whales. Reports of the IWC: Longevity of resident killer whales.
  • George J.C. et al. (1999). Age and growth estimates of bowhead whales via aspartic acid racemization. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 77, Bowhead whale longevity > 200 years (comparative reference).
  • Calzada N., Aguilar A., Sørensen T.B. & Lockyer C. (1996). Reproductive biology of female striped dolphin from the western Mediterranean. Journal of Zoology, 240.

Specialised publications: Behaviour and culture

  • Ford J.K.B. (1991). Vocal traditions among resident killer whales in coastal waters of British Columbia. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 69, Cultural dialects of killer whales.
  • Hauser D.D.W., Logsdon M.G., Holmes E.E., VanBlaricom G.R. & Osborne R.W. (2007). Summer distribution patterns of southern resident killer whales. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 351.
  • Rendell L. & Whitehead H. (2003). Vocal clans in sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus). Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 270.
  • Mann J., Sargeant B.L., Watson-Capps J.J., Gibson Q.A., Heithaus M.R., Connor R.C. & Patterson E. (2008). Why do dolphins carry sponges? PLoS ONE, 3, Tool use among the common bottlenose dolphins of Shark Bay.
  • Pitman R.L. & Durban J.W. (2012). Cooperative hunting behavior in killer whales. Marine Mammal Science, 28, Antarctic “wave-washing”.

Methodological limits

For some poorly studied species (in particular Sowerby’s and Gervais’s beaked whales, and to a lesser extent the kogiids), several values rest on small samples (sometimes a few stranded individuals) and should be treated as indicative rather than definitive. Population estimates, in particular in the North Atlantic for these inconspicuous, deep-diving species, carry wide confidence intervals. The values shown correspond to the best estimate available in the standard scientific literature at the date this page was updated.

Comparison tool updated in November 2026. To report an error or suggest a value to update, contact the editorial team through the Contact page.