Stejneger beaked whale

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Stejneger beaked whale
Skull, clearly visible the large tooth in the lower jaw.

Skull, clearly visible the large tooth in the lower jaw.

Systematics
Superordinate : Laurasiatheria
Order : Whales (cetacea)
Subordination : Toothed whales (Odontoceti)
Family : Beaked whales (Ziphiidae)
Genre : Two-toothed whale ( Mesoplodon )
Type : Stejneger beaked whale
Scientific name
Mesoplodon stejnegeri
True , 1885

The Stejneger beaked whale ( Mesoplodon stejnegeri ) is a whale species from the genus of the two-toothed whale ( Mesoplodon ), which belongs to the family of the beaked whales (Ziphiidae). The species was named after the Norwegian zoologist Leonhard Stejneger .

Stejneger beaked whales inhabit the northern Pacific , from the Bering Sea in the north to the heights of Japan and California in the south. They are particularly common in the Aleutian region , from where there have also been reports of sightings.

features

These whales reach a length of 5.2 meters. Its body is torpedo-shaped, its head is narrow and its muzzle is short. The lower jaw has a central bulge, on the high point of which sits a large, triangular tooth that is visible even when the mouth is closed. Stejneger beaked whales are colored dark gray on the upper side, the underside as well as the beak and the neck are lighter. They have remarkably small flippers and fins , but the fluke is wide and, like most beaked whales, not notched. There is no gender dimorphism . In the case of the males, the skin is only more scarred.

The habitat of the Stejneger beaked whales are cool waters away from the coasts. They live in small schools of two to six, sometimes up to fifteen animals. The animals in schools swim so close together that they touch, and they also dive together. The diet of these whales consists mainly of squid and fish , such as salmon .

A small number of these whales are caught in Japan , but the risk of these animals becoming entangled in fishing nets is likely to be greater. Because of their preference for salmon, they keep getting caught in salmon nets. However, there is too little data to estimate the population or the degree of risk.

literature

  • Rüdiger Wandrey: The whales and seals of the world . Franckh-Kosmos Verlags GmbH, 1997, ISBN 3-440-07047-6

Web links

Commons : Stejneger-Schnabelwal  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files