Berardius bairdii Stejneger 1883

• Main Authors: Russell A. Mittermeier, Don E. Wilson
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: Lynx Edicions 2014
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Taxonomy; Animalia; Chordata; Mammalia; Cetacea; Ziphiidae; Berardius; Berardius bairdii; Baja; Bering Sea; Pacific; Baleine; The Beak; Bering Island
• Online Access: https://zenodo.org/record/6608491; https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6608491

1. Baird’s Beaked Whale Berardius bairdii French: Baleine-a-bec de Baird / German: Baird-Schnabelwal / Spanish: Zifio de Baird Other common names: Giant Bottle-nosed Whale, North Pacific Bottlenose Whale, Northern Fourtoothed Whale Taxonomy. Berardius bairdii Stejneger, 1883, Russia, Commander Islands, “found stranded in Stare Gavan, on the eastern shore of Bering Island.” This species is monotypic. Distribution. Cooler waters of the N Pacific Ocean, N limit apparently determined by the relatively shallow waters of the Bering Sea and recorded S to La Paz in Baja California, Mexico (E Pacific Ocean), and S Japan (W Pacific Ocean). The S limit in central N Pacific Ocean remains unclear. Descriptive notes. Total length 1000-1200 cm; weight 10,000-12,000 kg. Female Baird’s Beaked Whales may be slightly larger than males, but there is no clear evidence of any major sexual dimorphism. Body is spindle-shaped, with greatest girth around its midpoint. Flukes are wide in relation to body length, and tailstock is compressed laterally. Dorsal fin is small and set approximately two-thirds of the distance between tip of the beak and end of the tail. Coloration is typically dark brown, dark gray, or black; however, bodies of some individuals, especially older ones, can be covered in white linear scars from intraspecific aggression or pale oval scars from attacks by cookiecutter sharks (Isistius spp.). Rostrum and lower jaw form a moderately long beak that is clearly distinct from the melon. Adults have two pairs oftusks in the lower jaw; front pair is larger. Unlike many other species of beaked whales, tusks of Baird's Beaked Whales emerge to become functional in adult males and females. These tusks can become heavily worn in older individuals. Habitat. Restricted to deeper oceanic waters,typically greater than 1000 m in depth. Nevertheless, there is evidence that Baird’s Beaked Whales move into shallower waters around Japan in summer months. Food and Feeding. Baird's Beaked Whales consume a range of deep-water squid and ...