Shepherd's beaked whale

Sketch of a Shepherd whale compared in size to a diver

The Shepherd Whale ( Tasmacetus shepherdi ) is a cetacean of the family of beaked whales ( Ziphiidae ). The species was named in honor of George Shepherd, who examined 1933, the first specimen stranded in New Zealand.

Dissemination

It is a rare species that is only known from 28 strandings, most of them in New Zealand. More dead specimens have been found in Argentina, Australia and the Juan Fernández Archipelago. It is believed, therefore, that the Shepherd whale has a circumpolar distribution in the waters of the southern hemisphere. Unconfirmed sightings of live specimens, there were in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean and Western Pacific. In February 2012, researchers succeeded for the first time to shoot a group on the open sea.

Features

Shepherd whales are distinguished from all other Schnabelwalarten by their full set of teeth, so that the species is regarded as urtümlichster representatives of their family. In the males, the front pair of teeth in the lower jaw is extended. Shepherd whales reach a length of six to seven meters and a weight of up to 6.5 tons. They have a long snout and a slightly domed forehead, the flippers and fins are relatively small. The skin of the animals is almost whitish to gray -brown and lighter at the bottom to the top.

Way of life

As a fish eater, this whale species differs from the other beaked whales, which mainly feed on squid. From the fact that its prey consists mainly of bottom-dwelling fish of the open ocean, and due to the rare sightings, it is concluded that the Shepherd Whale mainly lives on the high seas and can dive well. About the behavior and reproduction of animals is not known.

There are no estimates of the total population of the species, and it has never been hunted commercially. The fact that almost no sightings are known, their shyness, indicate their rarity or both factors simultaneously.