Hector's beaked whale - Mesoplodon hectori

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Body color of Hector’s beaked whales appears to be dark gray-brown above and light gray below, with scratches often covering the body. In at least some individuals, there is a dark stripe surrounding the eye and running forward.

The single pair of flattened, triangular teeth is moderately small and located near the tip of the lower jaw; they erupt only in bulls.

Specimens of up to 4.4 m have been measured; females are probably somewhat larger than males. Newborns presumably are about 2 m.

The placement of the flattened teeth of bulls at the tip of the lower jaw may allow them to be distinguished from other species of Mesoplodon when the head is seen well.

Hector’s beaked whale is primarily a Southern Hemisphere cool temperate species. The records are from southern South America, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, and the range may be circumpolar.

Almost nothing is known of the biology of the Hector’s beaked whale. A single individual observed nearshore in western Australia breached several times near a research vessel.

Hector’s beaked whales are known to feed on squid, like most other beaked whales.

There are no known threats; Hector’s beaked whales are currently ‘Data Deficient’ (IUCN) and ‘Not Listed’ (ESA).

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• World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS)
• Encyclopedia of Life
• Catalog of Life
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Dalebout, M.L. 2002. Species identity, genetic diversity, and molecular systematic relationships among the Ziphiidae (beaked whales). Ph.D. dissertation, University of Auckland, New Zealand.

Gales, N.J., M.L. Dalebout and J.L. Bannister. 2002. Genetic identification and biological observation of two free-swimming beaked whales Hector’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon hectori, Gray 1871), and Gray’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon grayi, von Haast, 1876). Marine Mammal Science 18:544-551.

Mead, J.G. 1989. Beaked whales of the genus Mesoplodon. pp. 349-430 in S.H. Ridgway and R. Harrison, eds. Handbook of marine mammals, Vol. 4: River dolphins and the larger toothed whales. Academic Press.

Pitman, R.L. 2002. Mesoplodont whales Mesoplodon spp. pp. 738-742 in W.F. Perrin, B. Würsig and J.G.M. Thewissen, eds. Encyclopedia of marine mammals. Academic Press.