Duck whales
| Duck whales | ||||||||||||
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Duck whale |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Hyperoodon | ||||||||||||
| Lacépède , 1804 |
The duck whales ( Hyperoodon ) are a genus of the beaked whales . There are two types, the northern duck whale ( Hyperoodon ampullatus ) and the southern duck whale ( H. planifrons ). As the northern species also lives in European waters, it is relatively well known, unlike the other beaked whales.
The species are very similar to each other and could hardly be distinguished if they did not live in different ranges. They are 6 to 8 m, exceptionally also over 9 m tall. Males are generally larger than females. The color changes with age. Newborn duck whales are brown, adolescents appear yellow-brown, and old duck whales are whitish-gray.
Like all beaked whales, duck whales live in the open sea and avoid being near the coast. They prefer cold water and are also found in drift ice regions in summer . Diving depths are at least 1000 m, probably even considerably more. Duck whales regularly stay underwater for over thirty minutes. In one case, two hours of diving time were stopped, which is a record among whales. In the great depths, the duck whale searches for its food, which consists largely of squid and a smaller proportion of fish and starfish .
literature
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World . Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999 ISBN 0-8018-5789-9
