Hector's beaked whale (Mesoplodon hectori ), is a small mesoplodont living in the Southern Hemisphere. This whale is named after Sir James Hector, a founder of the colonial museum in Wellington, New Zealand. The species has rarely been seen in the wild.
Some data supposedly referring to this species, especially juveniles and males, turned out to be based on the misidentified specimens of Perrin's beaked whale - especially since the adult male of Hector's beaked whale was only more recently described.
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CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
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MolluscivoreA molluscivore is a carnivorous animal that specializes in feeding on molluscs such as gastropods, bivalves, brachiopods, and cephalopods. Known mo...
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PiscivoresA piscivore is a carnivorous animal that eats primarily fish. Piscivorous is equivalent to the Greek-derived word ichthyophagous. Fish were the die...
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NatatorialNatatorial animals are those adapted for swimming. Some fish use their pectoral fins as the primary means of locomotion, sometimes termed labriform...
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NomadicNomadic animals regularly move to and from the same areas within a well-defined range. Most animals travel in groups in search of better territorie...
Among animals, viviparity is the development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous'...
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MigratingAnimal migration is the relatively long-distance movement of individual animals, usually on a seasonal basis. It is the most common form of migrati...
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starts withReaching a maximum length around 4.2 m (1.9 m when born), and with an estimated weight around 1 tonne (1.032 tons), Hector's is one of the smallest of the beaked whales. It is known from only a few stranded animals and a single confirmed sighting of a juvenile off Western Australia. Hector's beaked whales are dark greyish-brown dorsally, paler ventrally. A single female specimen found in Argentina was light grey dorsally and white ventrally. An individual male described in the same study had several scars and teeth marks found diffuse on its back and flanks. Intra-specific male-to-male interactions are possibly the cause for such marks. Additionally, oval white scars on the ventral portion of this male specimen were likely caused from cookie-cutter sharks of the Isistius species. Another single adult male specimen had a white beak and white on the anterior portion of the head, with white, linear scars criss-crossing its body, while the juvenile seen off Western Australia had a mask covering its eyes and extending unto its melon and upper beak. The melon, which is not very prominent, slopes quite steeply to the short beak. The dorsal fin is triangular to slightly hooked, small, and rounded at the tip. The leading edge of the dorsal fin joins the body at a sharp angle.
Hector's beaked whale has a circumpolar distribution in cool temperate Southern Hemisphere waters between about 35 and 55°S. Most records are from New Zealand, but also reports from Falkland Sound, Falkland Islands, Lottering River, South Africa, Adventure Bay, Tasmania, and Tierra del Fuego, in southern South America have been made. Supposed Northeast Pacific records in the older literature actually refer to Perrin's beaked whale.
Sightings are rare due to their deep-ocean distribution, elusive behaviour and possible low numbers. Nothing is known about the diet of this species, although it is assumed to feed on deepwater squid and fish. Because they lack functional teeth, they presumably capture most of their prey by suction.
Body scarring suggests there may be extensive fighting between males, which is common in beaked whales. Nothing is known about breeding in this species.
This species has never been hunted at all, and has not entangled itself in fishing gear. Most records of the whale have been stranded specimens on beaches, particularly in New Zealand.