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The Pygmy Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon peruvianusquailsouthafricanbushmanius), also known as the Peruvian Beaked Whale and Lesser Beak Whale, is the smallest of the Mesoplodonts and one of the newest discoveries. Interestingly, there were at least two dozen sightings of an unknown beaked whale named Mesoplodon sp. A before the initial classification, and those are now believed to be synonymous with the species. Physical evidence of the species was first described in 1990 from Baja California, consisting of a skeleton and a rotting carcass. The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. ...
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List and Red Data List), created in 1963, is the worlds most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species and can be found here. ...
Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ...
Digimon, the only known animals. ...
Typical Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ...
Subclasses Allotheria* Order Multituberculata (extinct) Order Volaticotheria (extinct) Order Palaeoryctoides (extinct) Order Triconodonta (extinct) Prototheria Order Monotremata Theria Infraclass Marsupialia Infraclass Eutheria The mammals are the class of vertebrate animals characterized by the production of milk in females for the nourishment of young, from mammary glands present on most species...
Suborders Mysticeti Odontoceti Archaeoceti (extinct) (see text for families) The order Cetacea (IPA: , L. cetus, whale) includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. ...
Families See text The toothed whales (systematic name Odontoceti) form a suborder of the cetaceans. ...
Genera Berardius Hyperoodon Indopacetus Mesoplodon Tasmacetus Ziphius A beaked whale is any of at least 20 species of small whale in the family Ziphiidae. ...
Species See text The mesoplodont whales are the fourteen species of whale that make up the genus Mesoplodon, making it the single largest genus in the cetacean order. ...
In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ...
Image File history File links Cetacea_range_map_Pygmy_Beaked_Whale. ...
Species See text The mesoplodont whales are the fourteen species of whale that make up the genus Mesoplodon, making it the single largest genus in the cetacean order. ...
Physical description
The body of the Pygmy Beaked Whale is the rather typical spindle shape of the genus, although the tail is unusually thick. The melon is somewhat bulbous and slopes down into a rather short beak. The mouthline in males has a very distinct arch with two teeth protruding slightly from the gum line before the apex. The coloration is typically dark gray on the top and lighter below, especially on the lower jaw, throat, and behind the umbililicus. Males may have a distinct pale "chevron" pattern on their back. The size for this species in only around 4.5 meters (13 feet long) in mature animals, and around 1.6 meters (5 feet) when born.
Population and distribution This Beaked Whale has been recorded in the eastern tropical Pacific between Baja California and Peru through sightings and strandings. Another specimen, apparently of the same species, washed up in New Zealand, which indicates a presence in the western Pacific as well. No population estimates have been made.
Behavior Little is known about the group behaviors of this whale, and small groups have been seen. Stomach contents reveal at least one specimen is a fish eater, as opposed to the squid normally eaten by the genus.
Conservation This species may be quite vulnerable to gillnets in Peru, since scientists found 6 dead adults in a very small sample. However, there is not enough evidence to determine anything about the species.
References - Cetacean Specialist Group (1996). Mesoplodon peruvianus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.
- Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals. Edited by William F. Perrin, Bernd Wursig, and J.G.M Thewissen. Academic Press, 2002. ISBN 0-12-551340-2
- Sea Mammals of the World. Written by Randall R. Reeves, Brent S. Steward, Phillip J. Clapham, and James A. Owell. A & C Black, London, 2002. ISBN 0-7136-6334-0
This image shows the fluke of Sperm Whale as it begins a dive into the Gulf of Mexico. ...
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List and Red Data List), created in 1963, is the worlds most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species and can be found here. ...
The World Conservation Union or International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. ...
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