225
kg. The melon-headed whale has a rounded somewhat triangular head when viewed from above or below. When viewed from the side the head appears rounded. Females and juveniles have an indistinct beak. They have a distinct dorsal fin located in the middle of the back. The flippers are long and pointed at the tips, a characteristic that differs from the more rounded flippers of the pygmy killer whale. Melon-headed whales also have twice as many teeth as the pygmy killer whale; the upper jaws have 20-25 sharp-pointed teeth, and the lower jaws have about 22-24.
They are dark gray to black in color with white to light gray coloring on the ventral side and, like the pygmy killer whale, white lips. The black triangular "mask" on the face distinguishes them from the more uniformly colored pygmy killer whales. Melon-headed whales also have a cape that dips much lower below the dorsal fin than that of pygmy killer whales, although its margin is often faint.
