Blainville's Beaked Whale
Blainville's Beaked Whale is the most widely distributed Mesoplodon. It is known along the Canadian, American and Caribbean coasts of the Atlantic Ocean. Other reports, however, are scattered: there has been one report from each of Portugal, Spain, Madiera, Japan, and Australia. Other sightings have been reported from Hawaii, Taiwan, Midway Island, Mauritius, the Seychelles and South Africa.
Classification: Originally identified by French natural historian Henri de Blainville from a piece of the upper jaw, Blainville's Beaked Whale has been found to produce the most dense bone of any animal. Therefore its specific name, densirostris, reflects this (denus and rostrum being Latin for 'dense' and 'beak' respectively).
Local Names: Dense Beaked Whale; Atlantic Beaked Whale; Tropical Beaked Whale.
Description: The main pattern of this species is dark above, light below, with a tendancy for the dorsal fin to darken considerably in adults. In the young the belly is cream which darkens to a blue-grey hide. There is an eye patch which is also dark, with females alone developing both white upper and lower jaws and scars. The lower jaw is arched in the same fashion as the Right Whales', with a promiant tooth erupting at the peak of this arch in males. The maximum recorded lengths have been 4.73m (male) and 4.71m (female).
Recognition at sea: Unknown.
Habitat: Blainville's Beaked Whale occurs in warm temperate to tropical waters.
Food & Feeding:It is thought that squid and possibly small fish are this cetacean's primary prey.
Behaviour: It is thought that Blainville's Beaked Whales travel in groups of between three to seven individuals, and they communicate via pulsed 'clicks' and whistles. Scars on some stranded animals may indicate attacks from Orcas or False Killer Whales.
Longevity: Unknown.
Estimated Current Population: Unknown.
The Influence of Man: This species was taken by Taiwan through the small cetaceans fisheries.
Source: CETACEA
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