Authority citation: Linnaeus, C. 1758-01-01. Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. Laurentii Salvii, Stockholm, 823 pp.
Authority publication link: https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/25033887
Original name as described: Physeter macrocephalus
Nominal names: catodon Linnaeus, 1758 | macrocephalus Linnaeus, 1758 | microps Linnaeus, 1758 | tursio Linnaeus, 1758 | andersonii Borowski, 1781 | novaeangliae Borowski, 1781 | cylindricus J. P. Bonnaterre, 1789 | mular Bonnaterre, 1789 | trumpo J. P. Bonnaterre, 1789 | cinereus Kerr, 1792 | falcidentatus Kerr, 1792 | gibbosus von Schreber, 1792 | niger Kerr, 1792 | rectidentatus Kerr, 1792 | curvidentatus Link, 1795 [nomen nudum] | maximus G. Cuvier, 1797 | orthodon de Lacépède, 1804 | svineval (de Lacépède, 1804) | urganantus Rafinesque, 1814 | sulcatus de Lacépède, 1818 | australasianus Desmoulins, 1822 | vulgaris (Fleming, 1822) [nomen novum] | polycyphus Quoy & Gaimard, 1824 | bayeri (A. Risso, 1826) | suineval (Tilesius, 1835) [incorrect subsequent spelling] | australis J. E. Gray, 1847 [incorrect subsequent spelling] | colneti (J. E. Gray, 1850) [nomen nudum] | australis (Wall, 1851) | krefftii (J. E. Gray, 1865) | asiaticus J. E. Gray, 1866 [incorrect subsequent spelling | not used as valid] | polycystus J. E. Gray, 1866 [incorrect subsequent spelling | not used as valid] | polyscyphus (J. E. Gray, 1866) [incorrect subsequent spelling | not used as valid] | pterodon Trouessart, 1898 [not used as valid] | antarticus (Larrañaga, 1923) | andersoni S. Jackson & Groves, 2015 [incorrect subsequent spelling | not used as valid] | urganatus Jefferson, Mead, & Kinze, 2023 [incorrect subsequent spelling]
Other common names: Cachalot|Pot Whale|Spermacet Whale
Taxonomy
Subclass: Theria -- Infraclass: Placentalia -- Order: Artiodactyla -- Family: Physeteridae
Type specimen voucher catalogue number: lost (number not known)
Type locality: "in Oceano Europæo."
Country distribution (coarse map shown below; most species exist in only part of countries): Albania (ALB) | Algeria (DZA) | Angola (AGO) | Antarctica | Antigua and Barbuda (ATG) | Argentina (ARG) | Australia (AUS) | Bahamas | Bangladesh (BGD) | Barbados (BRB) | Belgium (BEL) | Belize (BLZ) | Benin (BEN) | Bonaire | Sint Eustatius | Saba | Brazil (BRA) | Brunei (BRN) | Cape Verde (CPV) | Cameroon (CMR) | Canada (CAN) | Chile (CHL) | China (CHN) | Colombia (COL) | Comoros (COM) | Costa Rica (CRI) | Croatia (HRV) | Christmas Island (CXR) | Curaçao (CUW) | Cyprus (CYP) | Denmark (DNK) | Djibouti (DJI) | Dominica (DMA) | Dominican Republic (DOM) | Ecuador (ECU) | Egypt (EGY) | El Salvador (SLV) | Equatorial Guinea (GNQ) | Falkland Islands (FLK) | Fiji (FJI) | France (FRA) | Gabon (GAB) | Gambia | Ghana (GHA) | Greece (GRC) | Greenland (GRL) | Grenada (GRD) | Guatemala (GTM) | Guinea (GIN) | Guinea-Bissau (GNB) | Guyana (GUY) | Haiti (HTI) | Honduras (HND) | Iceland (ISL) | India (IND) | Indonesia (IDN) | Iran (IRN) | Ireland | Israel (ISR) | Italy (ITA) | Jamaica (JAM) | Japan (JPN) | Kenya (KEN) | Kiribati (KIR) | North Korea (PRK) | South Korea (KOR) | Lebanon (LBN) | Liberia (LBR) | Libya (LBY) | Madagascar (MDG) | Malaysia (MYS) | Maldives (MDV) | Malta (MLT) | Marshall Islands (MHL) | Mauritania (MRT) | Mauritius (MUS) | Mexico (MEX) | Micronesia | Morocco (MAR) | Mozambique (MOZ) | Namibia (NAM) | Nauru (NRU) | Netherlands (NLD) | New Zealand (NZL) | Nicaragua (NIC) | Nigeria (NGA) | Niue (NIU) | Norway (NOR) | Oman (OMN) | Pakistan (PAK) | Palau (PLW) | Panama (PAN) | Papua New Guinea (PNG) | Peru (PER) | Philippines (PHL) | Portugal (PRT) | Russia (RUS) | Saint Helena | Saint Kitts and Nevis (KNA) | Saint Lucia (LCA) | Sint Maarten (SXM) | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (VCT) | Samoa (WSM) | São Tomé and Príncipe (STP) | Senegal (SEN) | Seychelles (SYC) | Sierra Leone (SLE) | Singapore (SGP) | Slovenia (SVN) | Solomon Islands (SLB) | Somalia (SOM) | South Africa (ZAF) | Spain (ESP) | Sri Lanka (LKA) | Suriname (SUR) | Syria (SYR) | Taiwan (TWN) | Tanzania (TZA) | Thailand (THA) | East Timor (TLS) | Togo (TGO) | Tonga (TON) | Trinidad and Tobago (TTO) | Tunisia (TUN) | Turkey (TUR) | Tuvalu (TUV) | United Kingdom (GBR) | United States (USA) | Uruguay (URY) | Vanuatu (VUT) | Venezuela (VEN) | Vietnam (VNM) | Yemen (YEM) | American Samoa? | Anguilla? | Aruba? | Bermuda? | Bosnia and Herzegovina? | Cambodia? | Cayman Islands? | Cocos Islands? | Republic of the Congo? | Democratic Republic of the Congo? | Cook Islands? | Cote d'Ivoire? | Eritrea? | French Guiana? | French Polynesia? | Germany? | Guadeloupe? | Guam? | Martinique? | Mayotte? | Montenegro? | Montserrat? | Myanmar? | New Caledonia? | Norfolk Island? | Northern Marianas? | Palestine? | Pitcairn? | Puerto Rico? | Qatar? | Réunion? | Saudi Arabia? | South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands? | United Arab Emirates? | United States Virgin Islands? | British Virgin Islands? | Wallis and Futuna?
Species Status: This species is currently living, it lives in wild habitats, its taxonomic status is currently accepted, and it is listed in MSW3 2005.
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species status: Vulnerable
Species-specific notes: the name catodon Linnaeus, 1758 has line priority within the publication, however, macrocephalus is used since the first reviser (Antonius M. Husson and Lipke Holthuis in 1974) chose the name macrocephalus to use, giving the name priority (although there are still arguments regarding the description of the name not being valid); regardless, the name macrocephalus has been used most often since the 1970's whereas older publications most often used catodon and following recent taxonomic trends, the name macrocephalus is used here
Citation: Jefferson, T. A., & Mead, J. G. Nomenclature of the Larger Toothed Whales (Odontocetes). A historical review. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology, 655, 1-78.
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