pygmy sperm whale 復習
フロリダ州の海岸でコマッコウクジラが打ち上げられ死んでいるのが発見されました。
Pygmy sperm whale dies after washing ashore in Florida
Wildlife officials say a pygmy sperm whale that washed ashore on a Florida beach in distress later had to be euthanized.
A state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokeswoman told the Sun-Sentinel that the whale beached itself at Delray Beach on Saturday.
Beachgoers tried to put the whale back in the water, but it beached itself again 45 minutes later in a different location.
The whale's carcass was taken for a necropsy to determine its cause of death.
Authorities say pygmy sperm whales, which are a federally protected species, typically grow to about 11 feet long and weigh about 700 to 1,000 pounds.
Authorities discourage trying to put a beached whale back in the water.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/pygmy-sperm-whale-dies-washing-ashore-florida-53004337
取り上げる表現は"pygmy sperm whale"です。"whale"とあるので、クジラの種類であることは分かります。一つ一つ『ジーニアス英和辞典』第４版（大修館）で確認してみると、まず、"pygmy" /pígmi/には「ピグミー族の一員、小人族の一員」の他に、「ごく小さい、ちっぽけな、（動物が）小型の」という言意味がありました。また、"sperm"には、「精子」などの意味があり、"sperm whale"で「マッコウクジラ」となります。したがって今回発見されたクジラは小さい種類のマッコウクジラで、一般的にコマッコウと呼ばれています。(Akim)
