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Ginkgo-toothed beaked whale
Mesoplodon ginkgodens
Valid name. Closely related to, and easily confused with, Deraniyagala's beaked whale (M. hotaula).
- English
- Ginkgo-toothed beaked whale
- Scientific
- Mesoplodon ginkgodens
- Dhivehi
- No recorded Dhivehi name
- Group
- Beaked whales
- Maximum size
- About 4.7-4.9 m
- Depth and habitat
- Deep oceanic waters
- IUCN status
- DD · Data DeficientData Deficient (DD), assessed 2020
Description
A little-known beaked whale named after the shape of the adult male's tooth, which resembles a leaf of the ginkgo tree. The body is dark grey and, unusually for a Mesoplodon, males have few scars. Almost everything known comes from stranded specimens. It is presumed to dive deep for squid like other beaked whales.
In the Maldives
Known in the Maldives only from a stranding; the National Museum in Malé holds a tooth. Rarely, if ever, confidently identified alive at sea anywhere.
Sources
- sealifebase.se /summary/Mesoplodon-ginkgodens.html
- mammalwatching.com /wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Maldives-cetaceans-review-2012.pdf
- mrc.gov.mv /assets/Uploads/2005-Observations-of-cetaceans-in-the-Maldives-1990-20
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Mesoplodon_ginkgodens_2.jpg
Dhivehi name source: No Dhivehi name found in the cetacean literature reviewed (Anderson 2005; Anderson et al. 2012), FishBase/SeaLifeBase or Dhivehi Wikipedia.