Mammals of the WorldLongman's Beaked Whale
Indopacetus pacificus
- Order
- Artiodactyla
- Family
- Ziphiidae
- Genus
- Indopacetus
- IUCN status
- LC
- Distribution
- Australia|Comoros|Japan|Kenya|Malaysia|Maldives|Mayotte|Mexico|New Caledonia|Philippines|Saudi Arabia|Somalia|South Africa|Sri Lanka|Taiwan|United States|China?|India?|Indonesia?|Madagascar?|Mozambique?|Pakistan?|Tanzania?|Thailand?|Vietnam?
- Realm
- Marine
Other names: Indo-Pacific Beaked Whale|Tropical Bottlenose Whale
About this species
- Size
- Females recorded at 6–6.5m; reports of 7–9m
- Range
- Indian Ocean from southern and eastern Africa to the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Myanmar, and the western Pacific
The tropical bottlenose whale, also called Longman's or the Indo-Pacific beaked whale, is the only species in its genus. Juveniles have dark backs behind the blowholes that shade quickly to light grey and then white, with the black extending to the eye except for a light spot behind it. Females are simpler, grey except for a brown head. Females measured from the Maldives and Japan were 6–6.5 m long, and reports run to 7–9 m, larger than any Mesoplodon beaked whale (Wikipedia, general species account).
Strandings and sightings show a range across the Indian Ocean from southern and eastern Africa to the Maldives, Sri Lanka and east to Myanmar, including a stranding in the Andaman Islands in 2009. It travels in larger groups than other local beaked whales, from tens up to 100 animals, typically 15–20 and very cohesive. It makes echolocation clicks and burst pulses (Wikipedia, general species account).
Description: Wildlife of India guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)