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". This animal is named after the Latin word bis for "two" and dens for "tooth".
These whales look much like other mesoplodonts except that they have a long beak and bulge on the forhead. The two teeth of adult males are visible from the middle of the lower jaw. Generally, this species is charcoal gray with light spotting and a lighter underside.
This whale species grows to at least 5.5 m.
This beaked whale is known from the northern coast of Africa.
Very little is known about this species except that it feeds on squid and small fish.
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.
Ostrom P H. Lien J. Macko S A. Evaluation of the diet of Sowerby's beaked whale, Mesoplodon bidens, based on isotopic comparisons among northwestern Atlantic cetaceans. Canadian Journal of Zoology 71 (4). 1993. 858-861.
URL for this page: http://csiwhalesalive.org/csisowerbys.html