Blainville's Beaked Whale

James G. Mead

The Blainville's Beaked Whale, Atlantic Beaked Whale, Dense Beaked Whale, Tropical Beaked Whale, or Mesoplodon densirostris is 4.5 to 6 meters in length and weighs up to 1 ton. At birth it weighs 130 pounds and is a length of 1.9 to 2.6 meters. It has 1 pair of teeth in the middle of its lower jaw that protrude outside of its mouth, but this is only in adult males. Because of their coloration they are fairly easy to spot at sea. Colors range from light to dark gray on their backs with a white or lighter color on the belly. It has light to light browish-tan spots that cover most of its body. Females tend to be lighter in coloration. It is determined that the Blainville's Beaked whale has the densest bones in the animal kingdom. They are known to travel in groups of up to 12 mostly family related. They can be found throughout the world and have the widest distribution of any of the beaked whales. They are found mostly along the United States Atlantic coast. Sightings have been recorded along the South African coast, Hawaii, Waianae coast of Oahu and Britain. Their diet is mostly made up of small fish and squid or octupus. The population size is unknown.

Andrea Vanessa & Erica @ the Advanced Technologies Academy