National Museum of Natural Science

Kingdom Animalia

    Phylum Chordata

      Subphylum Vertebrata

       Class Mammalia

        Order Cetacea

          Family Delphinidae

The pilot whale has a bulbous forehead and long, pointed dorsal fin. Its body is black or dark gray. It has a broad distribution in the oceans of the world. During the Pleistocene, glaciation resulted in the periodic lowering and rising of sea levels. This resulted in the emergence of shallow shoals along the Penghu Channel. It is conjectured that this is what led to the death of this pilot whale, which was buried due to natural forces and eventually became fossilized. 

Globicephala macrorhynchus