Sowerby's Beaked Whale
This species inhabits the North Atlantic, with its centre of distribution appearing to be the North Sea and most records coming from the United Kingdom. It can be found as northernly as Norway and as southernly as Madiera. The southernmost report of this cetacean was from the Gulf of Mexico.
Classification: British watercolour artist and naturalist named this species in 1804, four years after a skull had been found in the Moray Firth, Scotland. It was later used by French biologist Paul Gervais as the basis for the genus Mesoplodon.
Local Names: North Sea Beaked Whale; Atlanticheski Remzub or Remzub Sowerbi (Russia); Dauphin de Dale or Dauphin de Havre (France); Flosser (Germany); Spidshvalen (Norway); Spitsdolfijn (the Netherlands); Spitssnuitdolfijn (Denmark).
Description: Adults are bluish grey or slate coloured, with grey to white flanks and belly. Young are generally paler and have less scars than the adults. Two teeth are found in the middle of the lower jaw; these protrude outside the mouth in males but not in females or young. The largest male recorded was 5.5m, with the largest female 5.05m.
Recognition at sea: Unknown.
Habitat: Sowerby's Beaked Whale occurs in temperate and subarctic waters.
Food & Feeding:It is thought that squid and small fish are this cetacean's primary prey.
Behaviour: Unknown.
Longevity: Unknown.
Estimated Current Population: Unknown.
The Influence of Man: This species was taken by Newfoundland through the small cetaceans fisheries.
Source: CETACEA
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