D I S C O V E R    L I F E      Home • All Living Things • IDnature guides • Global mapper • Albums • Labels • Search   About • Research • Education • Proceedings • Polistes Foundation • Partners • Links • Help

Mesoplodon europaeus (Gervais, 1855) Gervais Beaked Whale; Dioplodon europaeus; Gulf stream beaked whale

Links

Higher taxa:  Life   Vertebrata   Mammalia   Ziphiidae   Mesoplodon   Global map IDnature guides: Mammalia, Mammalia_species, Marine_Mammals We parsed the following live from the Web into this page. Such content is managed by its original site and not cached on Discover Life. Please send feedback and corrections directly to the source. See original regarding copyrights and terms of use. North American Mammals, Smithsonian Institution Natural Research Science Library Image, Mare Nostrum Animal Diversity CMS OBIS

Names

Scientific source:       Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Following modified from North American Mammals, Smithsonian Institution

   Top | See original

Cetacea · Ziphiidae · Mesoplodon europaeus    Smithsonian Institution    Copyright Notice    Privacy Notice   Mesoplodon europaeus Gervais's Beaked Whale Order: Cetacea Family: Ziphiidae Click to enlarge. (52 kb) More than 50 Gervais’s beaked whales have been found stranded along the coast of the United States. The holotype of this species - the individual that was identified as a separate species, and named - was found floating in the English Channel in about 1840, and the name "europeaus" was applied, but since then, only one more has been reported from European waters. The whales apparently live in deep tropical to warm temperate waters of the Atlantic Ocean. They have dark gray backs and paler gray bellies; juveniles' bellies are white. As with other species in this genus , not much is known about them. Six whales have been weighed, and the weights ranged from 49 kg for a 1.62 m-long calf to 1,178 kg for a female that was 3.71 m in length. Also known as: Gulf Stream Beaked Whale, Antillean Beaked Whale, European Beaked Whale Sexual Dimorphism: Females are thought to be larger than males. Length: Range: up to 4.6 m males; up to 5.2 m females Weight: Range: 1,178 kg female References: Gervais, 1855.  Histoire Naturelle des Mammifères , 2:320. Links: Mammal Species of the World     English · Español

Following modified from Natural Research Science Library

   Top | See original

The Mammals of Texas - Online Edition Gervais' Beaked Whale Order Cetacea : Family Ziphiidae : Mesoplodon europaeus (Gervais) Description. A rather small whale with a prominent beak and only one large tooth in each lower jaw, placed about 15 cm back from the tip and beside the posterior end of the symphysis of the lower jaws. In males this tooth is large, protrudes from the closed mouth, and fits into a groove in the skin of the upper lip; in females the tooth usually does not project above the gums so that the animal appears to be toothless. No teeth in upper jaw. Upperparts of body described as dark slate black; lowerparts lighter; no special or distinctive markings. External measurements of an adult male reported by J.C. Moore: total length, 4.3 m; circumference immediately in front of flipper, 1.85 m; width across flukes, 91.5 cm; height of dorsal fin, 18.7 cm; distance from corner of eye to corner of mouth, 20 cm. Maximum known length, 5.45 m. Skulls of females are larger than those of males so the assumption is that females are also larger in body size than males. Distribution in Texas. Gervais’ beaked whales are known primarily from the western North Atlantic. They are the most commonly stranded beaked whale in the Gulf of Mexico with several strandings on Texas beaches known. Although there are no population estimates for these whales, they are thought to be rare. Habits. Almost nothing is known about the life history of these whales. They are believed to inhabit deep waters close to shore but little information is available on movements. They are known to feed on squid and fish. Strandings of these whales are believed to be associated with calving, which probably takes place in shallow waters. A 4-meter female with a 2-meter calf stranded in Jamaica and a pregnant female with a near term fetus stranded along the Texas coast. Specific data on the reproductive habits are not available. Illustration credit: Pieter A. Folkens.

Following served from Mare Nostrum

   Top | See original context

Following modified from Animal Diversity

   Top | See original

Overview  News  Technology  Conditions of Use  Privacy Policy  Partners & Contributors  Awards & Recognition  ADW Staff  Contact Us  Spinning Skulls  About Mammals  Frog Calls  Resources for College Instructors  Resources for K-12 Instructors  Contribute to ADW  What's in a Scientific Name?  Authority Lists: Where We Get Our Names  Name, Rank, and Serial Number  Organismal classification: evolutionary relationships & ranks  Glossary  Search Guide  Related Links  Contact Us  Report an Error Structured Inquiry Search — preview Home Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Subphylum Vertebrata Class Mammalia Order Cetacea Suborder Odontoceti Family Ziphiidae Species Mesoplodon europaeus Mesoplodon europaeus Gervais's beaked whale Information Classification 2010/02/07 03:44:21.669 US/Eastern By Tawny Seaton Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Class: Mammalia Order: Cetacea Suborder: Odontoceti Family: Ziphiidae Genus: Mesoplodon Species: Mesoplodon europaeus Geographic Range Mesoplodon europaeus is known only from strandings, so the known distribution may be affected by ocean currents and efforts in North America to retrieve stranded animals. Recorded from as far north as New York and as far south as Trinidad, Mesoplodon europaeus is probably the most abundant member of its genus in the Gulf of Mexico. Records from the eastern side of the Atlantic are more spotty, ranging from Ireland to Guinea Bissau in Africa. A relationship has been suggested between water temperature and prey species distribution, thus affecting the distribution of different Mesoplodon species. (McLeod, 2000a; Robineau and Vely, 1993) Biogeographic Regions: atlantic ocean ( native ). Habitat Mesoplodon europaeus lives in warm to tropical pelagic waters. (Cetacea, 2001; Debrot and Barros, 1992) Aquatic Biomes: pelagic . Physical Description Mass 1200 + kg (high) Length 4 to 5.20 m; avg. 4.60 m (13.12 to 17.06 ft; avg. 15.09 ft) The coloration of Mesoplodon europaeus is black or dark grey on the back fading to a lighter gray on the sides and belly. For a cetacean, the head is small with respect to total body size. The tails of ziphiids (beaked whales) are unusual among cetaceans in having no notch in the center of the fluke. Some stranded specimens, particularly adult males, have many scars on their bodies, presumably from sharks and fighting between males. Nearly all ziphiids have a greatly reduced number of teeth, and Mesoplodon europaeus has only two in the lower jaw. These two teeth are are visible outside the mouth as small “tusks” near the front of the rostrum. Conchoderma , stalked barnacles, often attach themselves to these teeth. Tusk shape varies between species and it has been proposed that these difference evolved in order to aid the animals in differentiating their own species, as Mesoplodon species are otherwise very similar in appearance. It is extremely difficult to distinguish the similar-looking species of this genus by sightings, and sometimes even when using the diagnostic characters of the skull. (Lynn and Ross, 1992; Martin et al, 1990; McLeod, 2000b; Robineau and Vely, 1993; Vaughn et al, 2000; Pitman, 2001) Some key physical features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry . Reproduction Very little information is available, but females are thought to be sexually mature by the time they reach 4.5 m size. (Martin et al, 1990; Poss, 1998; Pitman, 2001) Key reproductive features: gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; viviparous . As with all cetaceans, the young are necessarily precocial at birth and Mesoplodon europaeus are about 2.1 m long at birth. Parental investment: precocial ; pre-fertilization (provisioning, protecting: female); pre-hatching/birth (provisioning: female, protecting: female); pre-weaning/fledging (provisioning: female, protecting: female). Lifespan/Longevity Extreme lifespan (wild) 27 years (high) Average lifespan (captivity) 48 years [ External Source: AnAge ] Gervais' beaked whale is known to live to at least 27 years old in the wild. (Pitman, 2001) Behavior This species tend to live in small groups or as couples. From scarring on stranded specimens, it is assumed that interspecific fighting occurs at least among adult males. (The Azorean Whale Watching Base, 2000; Debrot and Barros, 1992) Key behaviors: motile ; social . Food Habits From stomach contents of stranded M. europaeus it is known that they eat primarily squid ( Octopoteuthis spp. , Mastigoteuthis spp. and Taonius spp. ), deep sea shrimp( Gnathophausia ingens ) and mesopelagic viper fish ( Chauliodus sloani and Nesiarchus nasutus ). The stomach is divided into multiple chambers. The purpose of this is undetermined, as squid and fish are easily digested, as opposed to the tough material eaten by most animals with such stomach morphology. (Vaughn et al, 2000; Debrot and Barros, 1992; Martin et al, 1990) Primary Diet: carnivore ( piscivore , eats non-insect arthropods, molluscivore ). Animal Foods: fish; mollusks; aquatic crustaceans. Predation Known predators killer whales ( Orcinus orca ) cookie-cutter sharks ( Isistius ) From distinctive scars on some stranded beaked whale specimens it is known that cookie-cutter sharks do attack M. europaeus . The whale probably uses its tusks to protect itself from this and other predators, as well as for interspecific fighting. (Pitman, 2001) Conservation Status IUCN Red List: [link] : Data Deficient. We have no text on this topic for this species. Look to the sidebar on the right for some limited information. For More Information Find Mesoplodon europaeus information at Encyclopedia of Life Contributors Tawny Seaton (author), University of Michigan. Bret Weinstein (editor), University of Michigan. References 2001. "Australian Museum Online: Viper Fish, *Chauliodus sloani* Bloch & Schneider, 1801" (On-line). Accessed Sept 17, 2001 at http://www.amonline.net.au/fishes/fishfacts/fish/csloani.htm . 2001. "Cetacea: *Mesoplodon europaeus* (Gervais' Beaked Whale)" (On-line). Accessed Sept 17, 2001 at http://www.cetacea.org/gervais.htm . 2000. "The Azorean Whale Watching Base technical file: *Mesoplodon europaeus* - Gervais beaked whale" (On-line). Accessed Sept 22, 2001 at http://www.espacotalassa.com/gb/16_species/docs/m_europaeus.htm . Debrot, A., N. Barros. 1992. Notes on a Gervais' beaked whale *Mesoplodon europaeus*, and a dwarf sperm whale, *Kogia simus*, stranded in Curacao, Netherlands Antilles. Marine Mammal Science , 8, No. 2: 172-178. Lynn, S., D. Reiss. 1992. Pulse sequence and whistle production by two captive beaked whales, *Mesoplodon* species. Marine Mammal Science , 8, No. 3: 299-305. Martin, V., R. Vonk, S. Escorza, R. Montero. 1990. Records of Gervais' beaked whale *Mesoplodon europaeus* on the Canary Islands. Proceedings of the Fourth Annual Conference of the European Cetacean Society , 2-4 March 1990: 95. McLeod, C. 2000a. Review of the distribution of *Mesoplodon* species (Order Cetacea, family Ziphiidae) in the North Atlantic. Mammal Review , 30, No. 1: 1-8. McLeod, C. 2000b. Species recognition as a possible function for variations in position and shape of the sexually dimorphic tusks of *Mesoplodon* whales. Evolution , 54, No. 6: 2171-2173. Pitman, R. 2001. "Mesoplodont whales". Pp. 738-742 in W. Perrin, B. Wursig, J. Thewissen, eds. "Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals" . San Diego: Academic Press. Poss, S. 1998. "Species at risk in the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem." (On-line). Accessed Sept 22, 2001 at http://lionfish.ims.usm.edu/~musweb/endanger.html . Robineau, D., M. Vely. 1993. Stranding of a specimen of Gervais' beaked whale (*Mesoplodon europaeus*) on the coast of West Africa (Mauritania). Marine Mammal Science , 9, No. 4: 438-440. Vaughn, T., J. Ryan, N. Czaplewski. 2000. Mammalogy . Orlando: Sunders College Publishing. 2010/02/07 03:44:23.476 US/Eastern To cite this page: Seaton, T. 2002. "Mesoplodon europaeus" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed February 09, 2010 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Mesoplodon_europaeus.html. Disclaimer: The Animal Diversity Web is an educational resource written largely by and for college students . ADW doesn't cover all species in the world, nor does it include all the latest scientific information about organisms we describe. Though we edit our accounts for accuracy, we cannot guarantee all information in those accounts. While ADW staff and contributors provide references to books and websites that we believe are reputable, we cannot necessarily endorse the contents of references beyond our control. Other formats: OWL Home   ¦   About Us   ¦   Special Topics   ¦   Teaching   ¦   About Animal Names   ¦   Help Structured Inquiry Search — preview Sponsored in part by the Interagency Education Research Initiative, the Homeland Foundation and the University of Michigan   Museum of Zoology . This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants DUE-0633095 and DRL-0628151. The ADW Team gratefully acknowledges their support. Report Error — Comment ©1995-2008, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors. All rights reserved.

Following modified from CMS

   Top | See original

Mesoplodon europaeus (Gervais, 1855) English: Gervais' beaked whale German: Gervais-Zweizahnwal Spanish: Zifio de Gervais, ballena picuda de Gervais French: Mésoplodon de Gervais, baleine à bec de Gervais Family Ziphiidae Mesoplodon europaeus © Wurtz-Artescienza (see links ). 1. Description Gervais' beaked whales are generally dark grey, with pale grey on the undersides. The triangular teeth of the male are found one third behind the tip of the beak on the lower jaw (Norman and Mead, 2001; Jefferson et al. 2008). M. europaeus measures 3.7 - 5.2 m and reaches a body mass of at least 1,200 kg (Reidenberg and Laitman, 2009). 2. Distribution Gervais' beaked whale occurs mainly in the North Atlantic from Cape Cod to Ireland and the English Channel south to southern Brasil, Guinea Bissau and as far south as Angola (Norman and Mead, 2001; Jefferson et al., 2008, Macleod, 2000). Distribution of Mesoplodon europaeus (Jefferson et al. 2008; Taylor et al. 2008; © IUCN; enlarge map ). Gervais' beaked whale prefers warm temperate and tropical waters mostly in the North Atlantic but also somewhat south of the equator. While the distribution is inferred mainly from 54 strandings (Mead, 1989), newer records seem to indicate a larger distribution in the temperate waters of the North Atlantic, not only near Florida and on the eastern coast of central America, but also in the Gulf Stream, the Canary Islands and in currents north of the equator. According to Robineau (1995) European seas seem to mark the end of the distributional area, but stranded specimens are reported from the Canary Islands (Martin et al., 2001), the Azores (Reiner et al. 1993), Guinea Bissau (Reiner, 1980) and Mauritania (Robineau and Vely, 1993) which confirms the wider distributional range. Moore et al. (2004) report on a stranded specimen in Cape Cod Bay, which in the western North Atlantic seems to mark the northernmost limit of the distribution. 3. Population size Unknown. 4. Biology and Behaviour Mead (1989) suggests that Gervais' beaked whale prefers deep waters, which is deduced from lack of sightings nearshore. However, there are few observations at sea to test this hypothesis. Strandings suggest that the species prefers tropical and subtropical waters. There are only a few sightings in the wild (Jefferson et al. 2008). According to Jefferson (1993) Gervais' beaked whale seems to feed on squid. However, Santos et al. (2007) report that a stranded animal from the Canary Islands had eaten both fish and cephalopod prey. The most numerous prey remains belonged to viperfish ( Chauliodus sp.). These results are consistent with the limited published data on diet in Mesoplodon species which suggest a relatively higher proportion of fish in their diet whereas Ziphius caviristris specialises on cephalopods. 5. Migration Unknown. 6. Threats There is a record of one specimen having been taken in a pound net off New Jersey and others may have been taken in Caribbean small cetacean fisheries (Jefferson et al., 1993). From 1992 to 1998 a total of 49 beaked whales stranded along the US Atlantic coast between Florida and Massachusetts (NMFS unpublished data). This included 28 Gervais' beaked whales, which was therefore the most frequently affected species (Waring et al. 2001). Furthermore, several unusual mass strandings of beaked whales, including also Gervais' beaked whales, were associated with naval activities: Mid to late 1980's on the Canary Islands (Waring et al. 2001), and again in September 2002 during a naval NATO manoeuvre involving low frequency sonar around the Canaries (Vidal, pers. comm.). Cook et al. (2006) confirm, that M. europaeus is most sensitive to high frequency signals between 40 and 80 kHz, but produced smaller evoked potentials to 5 kHz, the lowest frequency tested. The beaked whale hearing range and sensitivity are similar to other odontocetes that have been measured. Evidence from stranded individuals of several species, including M. europaeus , indicates that they have swallowed discarded plastic items, which may eventually lead to death (e.g. Scott et al. 2001 ). 7. Remarks Known and inferred Range states (Taylor et al. 2008): Bahamas; Brazil; Cape Verde; Cuba; France; Guinea-Bissau; Ireland; Jamaica; Mauritania; Saint Helena; Spain; Trinidad and Tobago; United Kingdom; United States of America. Categorised as "Data Deficient" by IUCN. Gervais' beaked whale is not listed by CMS but is listed in Appendix II of CITES. . 8. Sources and further information see " Genus Mesoplodon - Beaked whales: Introduction and Sources " © Boris Culik (2010) Odontocetes. The toothed whales: " Mesoplodon europaeus ". UNEP/CMS Secretariat, Bonn, Germany. http://www.cms.int/reports/small_cetaceans/index.htm © Illustrations by Maurizio Würtz, Artescienza. © Maps by IUCN.   Home/Introduction | Contents | Comments/Contact | Links | Whale Dictionary | Disclaimer | CMS Homepage

Following modified from OBIS

   Top | See original

Skip to content. | Skip to navigation Terms of Use Help Contact Accessibility Log in Search Site only in current section Advanced Search… Sections Home Datasets Species Providers Apps/Tools Links About Personal tools Log in You are here: Home → species Info Count type #observations #animals #obs: #animals: #datasets:   Choose variable for Y axis #observations Sea Surface Temperature (°C) Sea Surface Height (cm) Chlorophyll (mg*m-3) Bathymetry (m below surface) Taxonomy & Nomenclature Species Summary ITIS# Status #Observations #Datasets Years Latitude, Min Latitude, Max Longitude, Min Longitude, Max Sample Environment Environmental data such as sea surface temperature, chlorophyll, bathymetry are sampled for all observations, if the data are available. See the layer description and availability below. To see the sampled values, click on an observation on the map (switch to [points] beforehand), then click "Show" under [Env. data] column in the popup. The suffix _D, _M, _Y refer to daily, monthly and yearly average, respectively. The sampled values are also available in the download files (shapefile and CSV).   Learn more ... You can also see simple statistics (average values over the select time scale). To explore this, open the time series graph panel (click button) and choose a variable for y-axis. For more advanced analysis, download the shapefile or CSV which includes the complete environmental data sampled. Overlay Environment Legend Environmental layer currently displayed None (To turn on environmental layer, see the instruction below.) General Description   Format & Interface Data selection Online Mapper Google Earth OGC WMS (image) OGC WFS (XML) Whole data Data on map N/A WMS/WFS are available for points only. Generating WFS data may take a few minutes and are not recommended for more than 10,000 points.   Format Data selection CSV ESRI Shapefile Whole data Data on map Chart data N/A Please set up your browser so that pop-ups from the OBIS-SEAMAP web site are allowed. Downloading a large number of records (e.g. > 100,000 records) may take a few minutes. Microsoft Excel 2003 or later can read up to 1,048,576 records. If exceeded, the rest will not be shown in a spreadsheet. Text-based Online Help Visit text-based Online Help Tutorials Movies Introduction to Species Profile Page 3' 45" How to define your region of interest 3'00" Play with temporally interactive chart 3' 35" Map enviromental layers 10'00" Questions? Found erroneous data? If you have questions or have found erroneous data, we are happy to hear from you. Please use Contact Form . Layer type Time range None SST SSH Chlorophyll Bathymetry Sync with graph Specified below     [Environment] tab explains details. By accepting this document and using OBIS-SEAMAP the user agrees to the following: Not to use data contained in OBIS-SEAMAP in any publication, product, or commercial application without prior written consent of the original data provider. To cite both the data provider and OBIS-SEAMAP appropriately after approval of use is obtained. Example citation for a dataset : Read, A.J. & A.J. Westgate. 1997. Monitoring the movements of harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) with satellite telemetry. Marine Biology, 130: 315-322 . Suggested citation for OBIS-SEAMAP : Read, A.J., Halpin, P.N., Crowder, L.B., Best, B.D., Fujioka, E.(Editors). 2010. OBIS-SEAMAP: mapping marine mammals, birds and turtles. World Wide Web electronic publication. http://seamap.env.duke.edu, Accessed on February 09, 2010. To forward the citation of any publication / report that made use of the data / tools provided by OBIS-SEAMAP for inclusion in our list of references. Not to hold OBIS-SEAMAP or the original data providers liable for errors in the data. While we have made every effort to ensure the quality of the database, we cannot guarantee the accuracy of these datasets.   The OBIS-SEAMAP project is one node of the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS). Copyright © 2002-2009. Please see the OBIS-SEAMAP Terms of Use . We're happy to field your questions, comments or suggestions.