Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand abstracts

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New records of beaked whales, Genus Mesoplodon, from New Zealand (Cetacea: Ziphiidae)

Alan N. Baker^* and Anton L. van Helden⁺

Three species of beaked whales, Mesoplodon peruvianus, M. ginkgodens and M. densirostris, are newly recorded from New Zealand on the basis of stranded specimens. M. peruvianus was previously known from the eastern tropical Pacific; M. ginkgodens from the sub-tropical and tropical waters of the wider Pacific and equatorial Indian Oceans, and M. densirostris from Australian and other warm temperate to tropical waters. Diagnostic skull characters for the three species are discussed and illustrated. Previous records of M. ginkgodens from the Chatham Islands, and M. densirostris from the east coast of New Zealand and Macquarie Island, are incorrect.

Keywords  beaked whales; Mesoplodon; distribution; morphology; Pacific

PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (1427K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)

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