Mammals of the WorldCuvier's Beaked Whale
Ziphius cavirostris
- Order
- Artiodactyla
- Family
- Ziphiidae
- Genus
- Ziphius
- IUCN status
- LC
- Distribution
- Albania|American Samoa|Anguilla|Antigua and Barbuda|Argentina|Aruba|Australia|Bahamas|Bangladesh|Barbados|Belize|Benin|Bermuda|Bonaire|Sint Eustatius|Saba|Brazil|Brunei|Cape Verde|Cambodia|Cameroon|Canada|Cayman Islands|Chile|China|Cocos Islands|Colombia|Comoros|Republic of the Congo|Democratic Republic of the Congo|Cook Islands|Costa Rica|Croatia|Cuba|Curaçao|Cote d'Ivoire|Denmark|Djibouti|Dominica|Dominican Republic|Ecuador|El Salvador|Equatorial Guinea|Falkland Islands|Fiji|France|French Guiana|French Polynesia|Gabon|Gambia|Germany|Ghana|Greece|Grenada|Guadeloupe|Guam|Guatemala|Guinea|Guinea-Bissau|Guyana|Haiti|Honduras|India|Indonesia|Iran|Ireland|Italy|Jamaica|Japan|Kenya|Kiribati|South Korea|Kuwait|Liberia|Madagascar|Malaysia|Maldives|Marshall Islands|Martinique|Mauritania|Mexico|Micronesia|Morocco|Mozambique|Myanmar|Namibia|Nauru|Netherlands|New Caledonia|New Zealand|Nicaragua|Nigeria|Niue|Northern Marianas|Norway|Oman|Pakistan|Palau|Panama|Papua New Guinea|Peru|Philippines|Pitcairn|Portugal|Puerto Rico|Russia|Saint Helena|Saint Kitts and Nevis|Saint Lucia|Sint Maarten|Saint Vincent and the Grenadines|Samoa|Senegal|Seychelles|Sierra Leone|Singapore|Solomon Islands|Somalia|South Africa|Spain|Sri Lanka|Sudan|Suriname|Sweden|Taiwan|Tanzania|Thailand|East Timor|Togo|Tonga|Trinidad and Tobago|United Kingdom|United States|Uruguay|Vanuatu|Venezuela|Vietnam|British Virgin Islands|United States Virgin Islands|Wallis and Futuna|Yemen|Algeria?|Angola?|Antarctica?|Belgium?|Bosnia and Herzegovina?|Cyprus?|Egypt?|Eritrea?|Iceland?|Israel?|North Korea?|Lebanon?|Libya?|Malta?|Mauritius?|Mayotte?|Montenegro?|Montserrat?|Norfolk Island?|Palestine?|Qatar?|Réunion?|São Tomé and Príncipe?|Saudi Arabia?|Slovenia?|Syria?|Tokelau?|Tunisia?|Turkey?|Turks and Caicos Islands?|Tuvalu?|United Arab Emirates?
- Realm
- Marine
Other names: Goose-beaked Whale|Goosebeak Whale
About this species
- Size
- 4.5–8m
- Weight
- 1,800–3,100kg
- Habitat
- Deep offshore waters, typically deeper than 1,000m, near continental slopes, canyons and seamounts
- Range
- Temperate, tropical and subtropical Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans
Cuvier's beaked whale is the most widely distributed of all beaked whales. It is among the largest of them, 4.5–8 m long and 1,800–3,100 kg. Colour varies: adult males are typically dark grey with a slightly lighter or even white head, females range from dark grey to reddish brown with less pronounced head lightening, and calves are black or dark blue with a lighter underside. Newborns are about 2–3 m long (Wikipedia, general species account).
It is pelagic, living in deep offshore waters far from coasts, typically deeper than 1,000 m, and is often found near continental slopes, submarine canyons and seamounts, where its prey are abundant. It is a remarkable diver, with recorded dives to nearly 3,000 m and lasting over three and a half hours. Groups are usually two to seven animals, sometimes up to 30–40, and breeding and calving occur all year (Wikipedia, general species account).
Description: Wildlife of India guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)