Quick Facts
Length	Around 5m (up to 5.2m)		Distribution	Tropical and warm temperate north Atlantic
Weight	1,200kg		Identification	Subtle and hard to identify. Medium length beak, narrow when viewed from above and slightly more down turned than the similar looking True’s beaked whale. The placement of large teeth, one-third from the tip of the lower jaw in adult males are distinctive. Gently curving melon.
Diet	Deep sea fish and squid		Threats	Occasional whaling, ingestion of rubbish, low frequency, high intensity sonar, by-catch.
Group size	Poorly known (1-5)

Gervais' beaked-whale is one of two species (the other being Sowerby’s Beaked Whale) apparently restricted to the northern Atlantic ocean. Known almost entirely from stranding records it has been recorded from Ascension Island and the Coast of the Gulf of Guinea in the south to Ireland in the north. It is also one of only two Mesoplodon species to have been recorded with certainty from the Mediterranean. Despite its scientific name, which reflects the discovery of the type specimen which was found floating in the English channel, it appears to be more a western Atlantic species. The majority of recorded strandings have been along the eastern American and Caribbean coastlines from New York to Trinidad, and including the Gulf of Mexico. As with many of the beaked whales virtually nothing is known of its biology, however, it is one of the beaked whales whose strandings have been linked to military exercises and in particular the use of active sonar. It has on occasion also been caught in fishing gear.

Gervais' is the most frequently stranded beaked whale on the Eastern American coastline, the lack of reported sightings at sea may reflect the fact that they are less distinctive then other species, and as a result often recorded as unidentified beaked whales. On rare occasions it has been seen and inquisitively surfaced close to boats. The tooth placement of mature males (a third along from the tip of the mouth-line) should make males distinctive, but in females and younger animals key features are hard to discern. Over all they have a typical body plan with a proportionally smaller head. The beak is shorter than in Sowerby’s beaked whale but similar in length to True’s beaked whale. The beak of Gervais' is narrow when viewed from above and slightly down turned when compared to True’s.