©James Mead (National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution): Carcass with truncated beak.
©James Mead (National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution): Beak
©Avenue: Stranded on Sunset Beach, Port Waikato, New Zealand.
Colours
Distinguishing features
The melon on the whale bulges towards the blowhole and slopes down towards the beak. The beak itself is very long and pointed for a beaked whale, and has a relatively straight mouth line. In both sexes it has been reported the presence of 17–22 small teeth per row located towards the back of the mouth, but it has not been confirmed. In males, there are two small, triangular teeth present halfway down the mouth. The overall coloration is dark on top and light below, and both sexes have a white beak. Females are lighter on top and have additional white marking near the genitals. Adult males often carry linear scars that probably result from fighting, and both males and females may display circular scars from Cookiecutter Shark bites. (Wikipedia)
Size
- Up to 600 cm and averaging 550 cm (Length of specimen)
Depth range
- Depth range data is not yet available.
Synonyms
Distribution
Behaviour
It is very gregarious. It has a tendency to strand in large groups of five or more. It is said to be the most common species of whale to beach in New Zealand.
