---
title: "Pygmy Killer Whale"
description: "Feresa attenuata — Mammals. The pygmy killer whale (Feresa attenuata) is a poorly known and rarely seen oceanic dolphin."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/pygmy-killer-whale
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Pygmy Killer Whale

> Feresa attenuata — Mammals. The pygmy killer whale (Feresa attenuata) is a poorly known and rarely seen oceanic dolphin.

- Scientific name: *Feresa attenuata*
- Category: `mammals` (Mammals)
- Habitats: `sea` (Sea & coast)
- iNaturalist observations: 89
- Wikidata: [Q244172](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q244172)
- iNaturalist taxon: [41534](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/41534)

## Names

- en: Pygmy Killer Whale
- de: Zwerggrindwal
- es: Orca pigmea
- fr: Orque pygmée
- nl: Dwerggriend
- pt: Orca-pigmeia
- pl: Fereza mała

## Countries with the most observations

TW (15)

## Summary

The pygmy killer whale (Feresa attenuata) is a poorly known and rarely seen oceanic dolphin. It is the only species in the genus Feresa. It derives its common name from sharing some physical characteristics with the orca, also known as the killer whale. It is the smallest cetacean species that has  the word "whale" in its common name. Although the species has been known to be extremely aggressive in captivity, this aggressive behavior has not been observed in the wild.
The species had been described by John Gray in 1874, based on two skulls identified in 1827 and 1874. The next recorded sighting was in 1952 which…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pygmy_killer_whale

## Photo

![Pygmy Killer Whale](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/pygmy-killer-whale/medium.jpg)

Photo: Richard Fuller · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/130918465

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/pygmy-killer-whale?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).