Special name: Peponocephala electra (Gray, 1846)
English name: Melon-headed whale
Alias: Multi-toothed melon-headed whale
Size: Up to 2.75 meters in length, with a maximum weight of about 275 kg. Newborn calves are less than 1 meter long.
Ecology: Tropical species, often in groups of tens to hundreds, fast swimmers. Sometimes stranded in groups. Reproductive data is lacking.
Distribution: waters of the South China Sea and Taiwan Province of China. It is found in the waters off Su'ao and Donggang in Taiwan.
Males are about 2.8 meters long, females are slightly smaller, similar in shape to the false killer whale and the pygmy killer whale, but with more teeth. There is no beak, and the head gradually expands from the end of the muzzle. When viewed from above, the muzzle is pointed. The flippers are about 1/5 the length of the body, slightly flexed backward, and pointed at the end. The dorsal fin is triangular, located in the middle of the body, and flexes backwards. The width of the caudal fin is about 1/4 the length of the body.The body color is dark gray, slightly lighter on the ventral side. The upper and lower lips and around the anus and genital fissure are pale, the front of the umbilicus has a pale spot, and there is an anchor-shaped pale spot between the two fin limbs. The first three cervical vertebrae are healed. Melon-headed whales are found in tropical waters around the world, and in China they are seen in the waters off Su'ao and Donggang in Taiwan. Prefers clusters, usually 100-200, sometimes as many as 500 or more. Females give birth around June. Taxonomically, the melon-headed whale belongs to the family Pilot Cetacea and the genus Melon-headed Whale. There is only one species of melon-headed whale in this genus, and its characteristics are basically similar to those of the pygmy killer whale genus, but with a larger number of teeth, between 20-24 on each side of the upper and lower jaws, and a larger number of vertebrae, about 80.