by: Dagmar Fertl
The word Mesoplodon is from the Greek mesos for "middle", hopla for "arms" and odon for "tooth". These words in combination roughly translates to "armed with a tooth in the middle of the jaw". The word europaeus refers to Europe because the specimen for which the species is described, was found floating in the English Channel in the 1840's.
This whale is dark gray above and lighter on the underside. The teeth of adult males are found one-third of the distance from the snout to the gape.
It is believed that this species reaches at least 5.2 m.
There are records of this species in West Africa which are possible extralimital.
Little is known about this species except that they are known to feed on squid.
Human impacts in African waters are unknown.
Insufficiently known.
Jefferson, T.A. Leatherwood, S. and M.A. Webber. 1994. FAO Species Identification Guide, Marine Mammals of the World. FAO of the United Nations, Rome.
Leatherwood, S. and R.R. Reeves. 1987. The Sierra Club Handbook of Whales and Dolphins. Sierra Club Books, San Fransisco.
Reiner F. Goncalves J M. Santos R S. Two new records of Ziphiidae (Cetacea) for the Azores with an updated checklist of cetacean species. Arquipelago Ciencias Da Natureza (11). 1993. 113-118.
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