Adult Male © Phil Coles

Quick Facts
Length 5.7m Distribution
Throughout deep temperate waters of the southern hemisphere. One record from the Netherlands – probably a stray individual
Weight 1,100kg Identification
Distinctive – long, slender beak – pale in adults and raise steeply on surfacing. Teeth of adult males two thirds along the jaw line.
Diet Deep sea fish and squid Threats ?
Group size 1-28  

The distinctive spindle-shaped beak, which is contrastingly paler than the rest of its head, means that adult males, at least, of this species may be one of the more identifiable beaked whales in the field. Observations of this species in the southern Indian Ocean have noted that its beak is often fully exposed as it surfaces (as has been reported for Mesoplodon bidens). Adult males of this species also have a full set of teeth in the upper jaw – a unique feature among the Mesoplodonts.

This species appears to be restricted to subantarctic waters where it has a circumpolar distribution, although most specimens have been recorded from New Zealand including a mass stranding of 28 animals in the 1800– a highly unusual event for a beaked whale and perhaps suggesting that this is a social species. Although this appears to be a primarily southern hemisphere species, there is a single stranding documented from Holland in 1927. Whether this represents an unknown northern hemisphere population or a single vagrant is unknown but observers should be aware that this species may occur occasionally in the North Atlantic.

 

 
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