Berardius bairdii Stejneger, 1883

Baird's beaked whale

Species recognized by The Integrated Taxonomic Information System external link, T Orrell (custodian) in 
IUCN Red List Status: Data Deficient (DD) external link Showing: scientific names

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Berardius bairdii Stejneger, 1883

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Berardius bairdii Stejneger, 1883
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General Description

Description

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Smithsonian's North American Mammals external link
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Baird’s beaked whale is the longest species of the Ziphiidae, which is a family of medium-sized whales. The name "beaked whale" comes from the way the long snout, or rostrum, tapers to a tip. From above, the rostrum looks like the neck of a bottle, and another common name for the species is giant bottlenose whale. Berardius has four teeth in the lower jaw. Two of the teeth project from the jaw and may be used for fighting: it is common for the skin of both males and females to be heavily covered in tooth-scars all over the body. The whales feed in deep water, diving for as long as an hour at a time to eat squid, octopus, skates, and other species that are found 2000 m below the surface. Fifty or more whales often travel together, occasionally breaching and slapping their flippers.  

 

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Mammal Species of the World

References
  • Stejneger, 1883.  Proceedings of theU.S. National Museum, 6:75.
"Berardius bairdii Stejneger, 1883". Encyclopedia of Life, available from "http://www.eol.org/pages/328551". Accessed 19 Mar 2010.