The Gervais Beaked Whale

Fred Whitehead \ Animals Animals

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The Gervais' Beaked Whale, Mesoplodon europaeus , Gulf Streamed Beaked whale, or Antillean beaked whale, is poorly known, as are the majority of beaked whales. The whale impossible to identify at sea. Only a stranded male can be indentified by the single pair of teeth, which are located about a third of the way from the tip of the beak. These are visible even if the mouth is closed. Females do not have these teeth. They grow to a length anywhere from 4.5 to 5.2 meters long and weigh 1 to 2 tons. Calves are 1.6 to 2.2 meters long at birth and weigh an average of 110 pounds. They have a prominent and narrow beak with a bulging forehead and an indentation at the blowhole. They have small flippers that are placed low on the body and a sharklike dorsal fin. They are dark on the upperside and light on the underside with white blotches. Their skin is scarred which indicates fighting between males, a normal activity. They travel in groups of 2 to 5. They are found mainly in the northwestern Atlantic, but strandings have been discovered off the coast of Africa. It feeds on squid and octopus which are found in the open sea habitat the Gervais lives in. The status and population of this whale is unknown. The known threat to the whale is nets, in which they get tangled and drowned.

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