Find a Fish
Cookie-cutter Shark Feeding Scars
Scarring on the body of a Pygmy Sperm Whale presumably resulting from Cookie-cutter Shark bites. Photo: M. McGrouther © Australian Museum.
The upper image shows scarring on the body of a Pygmy Sperm Whale, Kogia breviceps. The cookie-shaped wounds presumably resulted from the bites of a Cookie-cutter Shark, Isistius brasiliensis.
The lower image shows the entire Pygmy Sperm Whale. The specimen was found after stranding at Grassy Heads, south of Coffs Harbour, New South Wales. It is currently registered in the Australian Museum Mammal Collection (M34231).
Pygmy Sperm Whales inhabit all oceans of the world except the Polar and sub Polar regions. In Australia they have been recorded from Cooktown, Queensland to Ceduna on the Great Australian Bight. They usually occur as single individuals.
