Hector's beaked whale

The Hector 's beaked whale ( Mesoplodon hectori ) is a cetacean of the family of beaked whales ( Ziphiidae ). He by J. Hector, the Director of the New Zealand Museum, which had the first copy takes its name.

Dissemination

Hector 's beaked whales live in temperate and cool oceans of the southern hemisphere; Strandings have been reported from New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and southern South America. Reports that this species of whale could migrate to California, turned out to be false, since the observed specimens were attributed to the described until 2002 Perrin 's beaked whale recently.

Features

These whales reach a maximum length of 4.4 meters, the females are slightly larger than males. They are slender, have very small, elongated flippers and a small, crescent-shaped fin that is placed far back as in all beaked whales. The flukes are broad, not notched and pointed ends on the sides. The head is elongated with a small melon. Like all two- toothed whales are characterized by the two teeth of the lower jaw that are visible when the mouth is closed. Your top is dark gray to brown, dyed the underside lighter. In the males, the abdomen can also be white.

Little is known about the habits of these whales. It is striking that Hector 's beaked whales, in contrast to the other two toothed whales described as very curious. They should live together in pairs and feed almost exclusively on squid.

Due to the few finds can be for the entire population and the level of danger give any information.