Andrews' beaked whale

Size comparison

The Andrew 's beaked whale ( Mesoplodon bowdoini ) is a rare and little known species of whale from the family of beaked whales ( Ziphiidae ). He was described by the American zoologist Roy Andrews in 1908 and bares his name.

The home of Andrew 's beaked whales are the oceans south of Australia and around New Zealand. The species is only known from strandings in these two countries. Maybe you range extends south to the Antarctic.

Features

These whales have a torpedo-shaped body with elongated, small flippers, a small, crescent-shaped fin on the posterior third of the body and a wide Fluke, which is not notched. They are dark blue to black in color ( males are gray), only the relatively short snout is white. Males are also characterized by a bulging in the middle of the lower jaw, on each a triangular, projecting from the mouth tooth is visible. In young animals and females, these teeth are hidden in the gums. Prior to the bulging of the jaw is very narrow, behind there is a flat melon. With an average length of 4.5 meters and a weight of about 2600 kg, the type is one of the smaller two toothed whales.

Since there are no sightings, it is believed that Andrew 's beaked whales are shy and do not live in the traffic of human marine regions. Even on their way of life no details are known, one can assume, however, that they live like the other two toothed whales in the open sea. Investigations of the stomach contents of stranded specimens have shown that they take priority squid and a small proportion of fish to be.

About population size or hazards, no information can be given.