Mesoplodon travers Gervais 1850
- Dataset
- Ziphiidae
- Rank
- SPECIES
Classification
- kingdom
- Animalia
- phylum
- Chordata
- class
- Mammalia
- order
- Cetacea
- family
- Ziphiidae
- genus
- Mesoplodon
- species
- Mesoplodon travers
activity
Activity patterns. There is no information available for this species.
biology_ecology
Habitat. There is no information available for this species.
biology_ecology
Movements, Home range and Social organization. There is no information available for this species.
breeding
Breeding. There is no information available for this species.
conservation
Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix II. Classified as Data Deficient on The [IUCN Red List. There are no estimates of global population size of the Spade-toothed Whale. Like other species of beaked whales, the Spade-toothed Whale could be affected by ingestion of plastic debris and noise pollution, or caught as bycatch in driftnet fisheries. As a species that is apparently restricted to cooler waters, it may also be vulnerable to effects of climate change. Nevertheless, nothing is known about the form or extent of these potential impacts.
description
Descriptive notes. Total length ¢. 500 - 550 cm (based on a single adult female); no specific data are available for body weight. In common with other species of Mesoplodon, body of the Spade-toothed Whale 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 the distance between tip of the beak and end of the tail. Coloration of the two known individuals was dark on top, with a white belly, dark flippers, and dark rostrum. In adult males, a single pair of tusksis set in the middle of the lowerjaw.
discussion
This species 1 s monotypic.
distribution
Distribution. Currently known from three sets of cranial remains found in New Zealand, Chatham, and Juan Fernandez Is and a single stranding consisting of an adult female and ajuvenile male found in New Zealand. It is not known how these records reflect the actual distribution of this species.
food_feeding
Food and Feeding. There is no specific information available for this species, but as with other species of Mesoplodon, the Spade-toothed Whale likely eats deep-water squid and deep-water fish. Like other species of beaked whales, it likely forages at depths greater than 500 m for much ofits life.
materials_examined
Chatham Island, New Zealand.
Name
- Synonyms
- Dolichodon traversii Gray 1874
- Homonyms
- Mesoplodon travers Gervais 1850
- Common names
- Bahamondi's Beaked Whale in الانكليزية
- Baleine-a-bec de Travers in الفرنسية
- Spade-toothed Beaked Whale in الانكليزية
- Spade-toothed Whale in الانكليزية
- Travers-Zweizahnwal in الألمانية
- Traver’s Beaked Whale in الانكليزية
- Zifio de Travers in language.