Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Kogia breviceps

Kogia breviceps

9.9
A small whale with a short blunt head that lives in warm ocean waters
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Kogia breviceps
  • The Kogia breviceps is distinguished by its short, blunt head and small size compared to other whales.

Examples

  • Marine biologists recently spotted a Kogia breviceps off the California coast.

  • Conservationists are working to protect the habitats of Kogia breviceps worldwide.

  • The Kogia breviceps is often mistaken for other small whales.

  • Have you ever seen a Kogia breviceps in the wild?

  • Marine biologists recently spotted a Kogia breviceps off the California coast.

  • The Kogia breviceps is distinguished by its short, blunt head and small size compared to other whales.

  • Conservationists are working to protect the habitats of Kogia breviceps worldwide.

Synonyms

pygmy sperm whale
vsKogia breviceps
8.2

A small sperm whale that lives in warm ocean waters

is the Latin scientific name used in formal taxonomy

Surface Forms

Kogia breviceps singular
Kogia brevicepses plural

Morphology

Kogia + breviceps

This is a Latin scientific binomial (genus + species) and functions as a proper name rather than a compositional English phrase. A B1 learner who knows 'Kogia' may recognise it as a whale genus but will not be able to derive the specific species meaning from 'breviceps' (not an English lexical item), so the overall meaning is not transparently recoverable from the parts.

Etymology

The scientific name Kogia breviceps comes from Latin words brevis and ceps, which mean 'short' and 'head'. That image of a 'short head' matches the whale's blunt, small head, so the name points to the small 'pygmy sperm whale'.