Longman's Beaked Whale
Longman's Beaked Whale is one of the most enigmatic of whales, which has never been identified in the flesh. Two skulls found on beaches have been assigned to this species: one from Queensland, Australia, the other from Somalia. It is thought that this is a deepsea Indo-Pacific species.
Classification: Longman originally thought this species to belong to the genus Mesoplodon and to resemble True's Beaked Whale. In 1926 - some forty-four years after the first skull was found - he gave it the name pacificus, in order to distinguish it from the latter, which was only known by three specimens at the time. However, Alan N. Baker from New Zealand's National Museum has suggested that one of the skulls is too large for a Mesoplodon, and, like other scientists, believes that Longman's Beaked Whale should be in a genus of its own, Indopacetus. The debate - and the mystery of this cetacean - continues.
Local Names: Pacific Beaked Whale; Indo-Pacific Beaked Whale.
Description: Longman's Beaked Whale has never been seen in the flesh. The skull of this cetacean has forward-pointing teeth from the tip of the lower jaw, a characteristic shared with Cuvier's Beaked Whale and the two Bottlenose Whales. About halfway along the rostrum's length, there is a distinctive swelling.
Recognition at sea: Unknown.
Habitat: Unknown.
Food & Feeding:Unknown.
Behaviour: Unknown.
Longevity: Unknown.
Estimated Current Population: Unknown.
The Influence of Man: Unknown.
Source: CETACEA
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