Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC 20560
Reference for:
Physeter macrocephalus
Expert:
Alfred L. Gardner
Notes:
Curator of North American mammals and Chief of Mammal Section, National Biological Service, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, USA
Reference for:
Physeter macrocephalus
Source(s):
Source:
NODC Taxonomic Code
Acquired:
1996-07-29
Notes:
Reference for:
Physeter macrocephalus
Source:
List of Marine Mammal Species and Subspecies
Acquired:
2019-04-16
Notes:
Committee on Taxonomy. 2018. List of marine mammal species and subspecies. Society for Marine Mammalogy, www.marinemammalscience.org, consulted on 16 April 2019
Reference for:
Physeter macrocephalus
Publication(s):
Author(s)/Editor(s):
Wilson, Don E., and DeeAnn M. Reeder, eds.
Publication Date (Listed/Actual):
1992-01-01 / 1993-01-01
Article/Chapter Title:
Journal/Book Name, Vol. No.:
Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, 2nd ed., 3rd printing
Page(s):
xviii + 1207
Publisher:
Smithsonian Institution Press
Publication Place:
Washington, DC, USA
ISBN/ISSN:
1-56098-217-9/
Notes:
Corrections were made to text at 3rd printing
Reference for:
Physeter macrocephalus
Author(s)/Editor(s):
Wilson, Don E., and Sue Ruff, eds.
Publication Date (Listed/Actual):
1999-01-01 / 1999-01-01
Article/Chapter Title:
Journal/Book Name, Vol. No.:
The Smithsonian Book of North American Mammals
Page(s):
xxv + 750
Publisher:
Smithsonian Institution Press
Publication Place:
Washington, DC, USA
ISBN/ISSN:
1-56098-845-2/
Notes:
Reference for:
Physeter macrocephalus
Author(s)/Editor(s):
Rice, Dale W.
Publication Date (Listed/Actual):
1998-01-01 / 1998-01-01
Article/Chapter Title:
Marine Mammals of the World: Systematics and Distribution
Journal/Book Name, Vol. No.:
Special Publications of the Society for Marine Mammals, no. 4
Page(s):
ix + 231
Publisher:
The Society for Marine Mammalogy
Publication Place:
Lawrence, Kansas, USA
ISBN/ISSN:
1-891276-03-4/
Notes:
Reference for:
Physeter macrocephalus
Author(s)/Editor(s):
Hershkovitz, Philip
Publication Date (Listed/Actual):
1966-01-01 / 1966-01-01
Article/Chapter Title:
Catalog of Living Whales
Journal/Book Name, Vol. No.:
United States National Museum Bulletin, no. 246
Page(s):
viii + 259
Publisher:
Publication Place:
ISBN/ISSN:
/
Notes:
Available online at https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/7869872
Reference for:
Physeter macrocephalus
Author(s)/Editor(s):
Mead, James G., and Robert L. Brownell, Jr. / Wilson, Don E., and DeeAnn M. Reeder, eds.
Publication Date (Listed/Actual):
2005-10-01 / 2005-10-01
Article/Chapter Title:
Order Cetacea
Journal/Book Name, Vol. No.:
Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, 3rd ed., vol. 1
Page(s):
723-743
Publisher:
Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication Place:
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
ISBN/ISSN:
0-8018-8221-4/
Notes:
Reference for:
Physeter macrocephalus
Author(s)/Editor(s):
Selys-Longchamps, E. de
Publication Date (Listed/Actual):
1839-01-01 / 1839-01-01
Article/Chapter Title:
Europaeorum Mammalium, Index Methodicus
Journal/Book Name, Vol. No.:
Études de Micromammalogie: revue des musaraignes, des rats et des campagnols, suivie d'un index méthodique des mammifères d'Europe
Page(s):
137-157
Publisher:
Publication Place:
Paris, France
ISBN/ISSN:
/
Notes:
Reference for:
Physeter macrocephalus
Author(s)/Editor(s):
Husson, A. M., and L. B. Holthuis
Publication Date (Listed/Actual):
1974-10-24 / 1974-10-24
Article/Chapter Title:
Physeter macrocephalus Linnaeus, 1758, the valid name for the sperm whale
Journal/Book Name, Vol. No.:
Zoologische Mededelingen, vol. 48, no. 19
Page(s):
205-217 + 3
Publisher:
Publication Place:
ISBN/ISSN:
/
Notes:
Reference for:
Physeter macrocephalus
Author(s)/Editor(s):
Schevill, William E.
Publication Date (Listed/Actual):
1986-04-01 / 1986-04-01
Article/Chapter Title:
The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature and a paradigm: the name Physeter catodon Linnaeus 1758
Journal/Book Name, Vol. No.:
Marine Mammal Science, vol. 2, no. 2
Page(s):
153-157
Publisher:
Publication Place:
ISBN/ISSN:
/0824-0469
Notes:
Reference for:
Physeter macrocephalus
Author(s)/Editor(s):
Schevill, William E.
Publication Date (Listed/Actual):
1987-01-01 / 1987-01-01
Article/Chapter Title:
Letters: The Scientific Name of the Sperm Whale, Mr. Schevill replies
Journal/Book Name, Vol. No.:
Marine Mammal Science, vol. 3, no. 1
Page(s):
89-90
Publisher:
Publication Place:
ISBN/ISSN:
/0824-0469
Notes:
Reference for:
Physeter macrocephalus
Author(s)/Editor(s):
Holthuis, L. B.
Publication Date (Listed/Actual):
1987-01-01 / 1987-01-01
Article/Chapter Title:
Letters: The Scientific Name of the Sperm Whale
Journal/Book Name, Vol. No.:
Marine Mammal Science, vol. 3, no. 1
Page(s):
87-88
Publisher:
Publication Place:
ISBN/ISSN:
/0824-0469
Notes:
Reference for:
Physeter macrocephalus
Author(s)/Editor(s):
Linnaeus, Carolus
Publication Date (Listed/Actual):
1758-01-01 / 1758-01-01
Article/Chapter Title:
Journal/Book Name, Vol. No.:
Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis, 10th Edition, vol. 1
Page(s):
824
Publisher:
Laurentii Salvii
Publication Place:
Holmiae (Stockholm, Sweden)
ISBN/ISSN:
/
Notes:
Available online at http://resolver.sub.uni-goettingen.de/purl?PPN362053006 and http://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/726886
Reference for:
Physeter macrocephalus
Author(s)/Editor(s):
Würsig, Bernd, J. G. M. Thewissen, and Kit M. Kovacs, eds.
Publication Date (Listed/Actual):
2018-01-01 / 2018-01-01
Article/Chapter Title:
Journal/Book Name, Vol. No.:
Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals, 3rd edition
Page(s):
xxxi + 1157
Publisher:
Elsevier
Publication Place:
Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
ISBN/ISSN:
978-0-12-8043271/
Notes:
Species and classification provided on pages xxix-xxxi
Reference for:
Physeter macrocephalus
Physeter macrocephalus: Geographic Information
Geographic Division:
Antarctica/Southern Ocean
Jurisdiction/Origin:
Physeter macrocephalus: Comments
Comment:
Comments: See comments under species
Comment:
Note that "line priority" (cited by some sources as justification for using Physeter catodon over P. macrocephalus) is not supported by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. If these names are both properly applicable to the sperm whale then the Principle of First Reviser applies, in which case P. macrocephalus is the valid name (de Selys-Longchamps (1839) used macrocephalus with catodon in synonymy)
Comment:
In recent confusion on the use of Physeter macrocephalus or P. catodon (both available from Linnaeus (1758)) for the sperm whale, the arguments ultimately hinge on whether or not both are applicable to this species. Based on careful consideration of the cited works & ICZN, the typification acts (Husson & Holthuis 1974, and Art. 72.4.1.1) are valid, so the names are conspecific, the Principle of the First Reviser (Art. 24.2, and Holthuis 1987) applies, and P. macrocephalus is the correct name