Ginkgo-toothed beaked whale

The Japanese beaked whale ( Mesoplodon ginkgo dens ) is a cetacean of the family of beaked whales ( Ziphiidae ). The species was described by Japanese zoologists in 1958 and after the first locality, Japan named. The Artepithet ( ginkgo dens ) and the English name (Ginkgo -toothed whale ) alluding to the fact that the two teeth of the lower jaw are reminiscent of the leaves of the ginkgo tree. These teeth protrude in adult male from the rear of the closed mouth in females and young animals are they hidden.

Dissemination

Japanese beaked whales are so far known only from strandings, which are occupied along the coasts of the central Pacific and the northern Indian Ocean. So were dead animals in Japan, Taiwan, eastern Australia, found in the Chatham Islands, California, the west coast of Mexico, Sri Lanka and in the Strait of Malacca. Due to the sparse data are also no data available on the total number or hazard can be made.

Features

These whales are gray in color, with the females brighter and larger than the males are. In the male the front half beak is bright The lower jaw is arched in the middle, so that the mouth is like a column lying south. In the middle of the lower jaw of the males sit on both sides of the eponymous, visible even when the mouth is closed, ginkgo leaf-shaped teeth. The largest specimen found so far reached a length of 4.9 meters and was about two tons. As there is no sighting of live animals, their way of life is unknown. Like the other two toothed whales they are likely to be mainly originates from open seas and live together in pairs or small groups, and primarily feed on squid. In contrast to the other members of their species, the males of this species, however, showed no suggestive of rivals fighting scars.