Gervais' beaked whale

Description

The Gervais mesoplodon ( Mesoplodon europaeus ) is a cetacean odontoceto from the Ziphiidae family.It is the species of mesoplodon that is most frequently beached on the coasts of North America.It is also beached in South America and Africa.This species,compared to the other mesoplodonts,is rather gracile,elongated and laterally compressed.The profile of the mouth,even in males,is very narrow,and the two clearly visible male teeth appear towards the tip of the rostrum.The head is everywhere small and has a tapered profile.Only the melon is slightly protruding.The color is dark gray on the back and lighter gray on the belly.Sometimes females have lighter spots at the genitals and on the face,with a dark circle around the eyes.The young are born with a lighter color,but darken very early.The males measure 4.5 meters in length,the females reach 5.2 meters and probably weigh more than 1200 kg.It is thought that the young are 2.1 meters long.A beached specimen was 48 years old.