Biodiversity & Conservation

Gervais' beaked whale - Mesoplodon europaeus - Taxonomy and identification

Gervais' beaked whale

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Distribution map

Mesoplodon europaeus recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

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Sightings Have you seen Mesoplodon europaeus?
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  • Berne
  • CITES
  • WC_Act_1981

Taxonomy identification

Dictionary Icon Taxon Dictionary icon Latin English equivalent or translation
Phylum Chordata - Sea squirts, fish, reptiles, birds and mammals
Class Mammalia - Sea squirts, fish, reptiles, birds and mammals
Order Cetacea
Family Ziphiidae
Genus Mesoplodon
Authority: (Gervais, 1855) Synonyms: (since 1950) None

Key Icon Identifying features

  • Up to 5.5 m in length.
  • Small dorsal fin two-thirds down the body.
  • Distinct, relatively long beak.
  • Small head with shallow rising forehead with a small bump.
  • Pair of V-shaped throat grooves.
  • Mouthline curved down at the rear.
  • No teeth at front of the mouth.

Additional information icon Additional information

Gervais' beaked whale may be confused with True's beaked whale Mesoplodon mirus but it has conspicuously smaller flippers. Gervais' beaked whales are usually found either alone or in small groups. Very little is known about their behaviour and dive duration due to the relative lack of sightings (Kinze, 2002).

This review can be cited as follows:

Morvan Barnes 2008. Mesoplodon europaeus. Gervais' beaked whale. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 11/09/2010]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/taxonomyidentification.php?speciesID=3802>