ITIS - Report: Physeter catodon

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Physeter catodon Linnaeus, 1758
Taxonomic Serial No.: 180489

(Download Help) Physeter catodon TSN 180489

Taxonomy and Nomenclature


	Kingdom:	Animalia
	Taxonomic Rank:	Species
	Common Name(s):	Sperm Whale [English]
	Valid Name:	Physeter macrocephalus Linnaeus, 1758

	Taxonomic Status:
	Current Standing:	invalid - other, see comments

	Data Quality Indicators:
	Record Credibility Rating:	verified - standards met

References


	Expert(s):
	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 catodon

	Expert:	Dr. James G. Mead
	Notes:	Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC 20560
	Reference for:	Physeter catodon

	Other Source(s):
	Source:	NODC Taxonomic Code, database (version 8.0)
	Acquired:	1996
	Notes:
	Reference for:	Physeter catodon

	Source:	U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Endangered Species Program, website (version undefined)
	Acquired:	2001
	Notes:	http://www.fws.gov/endangered/
	Reference for:	Physeter catodon

	Publication(s):
	Author(s)/Editor(s):	Banks, R. C., R. W. McDiarmid, and A. L. Gardner
	Publication Date:	1987
	Article/Chapter Title:	Checklist of Vertebrates of the United States, the U.S. Territories, and Canada
	Journal/Book Name, Vol. No.:	Resource Publication, no. 166
	Page(s):	79
	Publisher:	United States Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service
	Publication Place:	Washington, D.C., USA
	ISBN/ISSN:
	Notes:
	Reference for:	Physeter catodon, Sperm Whale [English]

	Author(s)/Editor(s):	Hershkovitz, Philip
	Publication Date:	1966
	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 catodon, Sperm Whale [English]

	Author(s)/Editor(s):	Holthuis, L. B.
	Publication Date:	1987
	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 catodon

	Author(s)/Editor(s):	Husson, A. M., and L. B. Holthuis
	Publication Date:	1974
	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 catodon

	Author(s)/Editor(s):	Linnaeus, Carolus
	Publication Date:	1758
	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:	original description

	Author(s)/Editor(s):	Mead, James G., and Robert L. Brownell, Jr. / Wilson, Don E., and DeeAnn M. Reeder, eds.
	Publication Date:	2005
	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 catodon, Sperm Whale [English]

	Author(s)/Editor(s):	Rice, Dale W.
	Publication Date:	1998
	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 catodon

	Author(s)/Editor(s):	Schevill, William E.
	Publication Date:	1986
	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 catodon, Sperm Whale [English]

	Author(s)/Editor(s):	Schevill, William E.
	Publication Date:	1987
	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 catodon, Sperm Whale [English]

	Author(s)/Editor(s):	Selys-Longchamps, E. de
	Publication Date:	1839
	Article/Chapter Title:	Europaeorum Mammalium, Index Methodicus
	Journal/Book Name, Vol. No.:	�tudes de Micromammalogie: revue des musaraignes, des rats et des campagnols, suivie d'un index m�thodique des mammif�res d'Europe
	Page(s):	137-157
	Publisher:
	Publication Place:	Paris, France
	ISBN/ISSN:
	Notes:
	Reference for:	Physeter catodon

	Author(s)/Editor(s):	Wilson, Don E., and DeeAnn M. Reeder, eds.
	Publication Date:	1993
	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 catodon

	Author(s)/Editor(s):	Wilson, Don E., and F. Russell Cole
	Publication Date:	2000
	Article/Chapter Title:
	Journal/Book Name, Vol. No.:	Common Names of Mammals of the World
	Page(s):	xiv + 204
	Publisher:	Smithsonian Institution Press
	Publication Place:	Washington, DC, USA
	ISBN/ISSN:	1-56098-383-3
	Notes:	With contributions by Bernadette N. Graham, Adam P. Potter, and Mariana M. Upmeyer
	Reference for:	Physeter catodon, Sperm Whale [English]

	Author(s)/Editor(s):	Wilson, Don E., and Sue Ruff, eds.
	Publication Date:	1999
	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 catodon

Geographic Information


	Geographic Division:	Antarctica/Southern Ocean
		East Pacific
		Eastern Atlantic Ocean
		Indo-West Pacific
		Western Atlantic Ocean

	Jurisdiction/Origin:	Continental US, Native
		Canada, Native
		Alaska, Native
		Hawaii, Native
		Central Pacific Territories, Native

Comments


	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)
		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

Subordinate Taxa	Rank	Verified Standards Met	Verified Min Standards Met	Unverified	Percent Standards Met


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Integrated Taxonomic Information System - Report