Hector's beaked whale
| Hector's beaked whale | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Mesoplodon hectori | ||||||||||||
| ( Gray , 1871) |
The Hector's beaked whale ( Mesoplodon hectori ) is a species of whale from the family of the beaked whales (Ziphiidae). It takes its name from J. Hector, the director of a New Zealand museum, who owned the first copy.
distribution
Hector's beaked whales live in temperate and cool oceans in the southern hemisphere ; Strandings have been reported from New Zealand , Australia , South Africa , and southern South America . Reports that this whale species could migrate as far as California turned out to be false, as the specimens observed were recently attributed to the Perrin beaked whale , which was only described in 2002 .
features
These whales reach a maximum length of 4.4 meters, with the females becoming slightly larger than the males. They are slim, have very small, elongated flippers and a small, sickle-shaped fin , which, like all beaked whales, is placed far back. The fluke is wide, not notched, and ends with a point on the sides. The head is elongated with a small melon . Like all two-toothed whales, they are characterized by the two teeth of the lower jaw, which are also visible when the mouth is closed. Their upper side is dark gray to brownish, the underside is lighter in color. In males, the belly can also be white.
Little is known about the way these whales live. It is noticeable that Hector's beaked whales, in contrast to the other two-toothed whales, are described as very curious. They are likely to live together in pairs and feed almost exclusively on squids .
Due to the small number of finds, no information can be given about the total population and the degree of risk.
literature
- R. Wandrey: Whales and Seals of the World . Franckh-Kosmos Verlags GmbH, 1997, ISBN 3-440-07047-6
Web links
- Mesoplodon hectori in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2006. Posted by: Cetacean Specialist Group, 1996. Retrieved on 12 May, 2006.