Perrin's beaked whale
| Perrin's beaked whale | |
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| Size compared to an average human | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Infraorder: | Cetacea |
| Family: | Ziphiidae |
| Genus: | Mesoplodon |
| Species: | M. beaked whale |
| Binomial name | |
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Mesoplodon beaked whale Dalebout, Mead, Baker, Baker & van Helden, 2002 |
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| Locations and dates of strandings (yellow) and possible at-sea sightings (dark blue). |
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Perrin's beaked whale (Mesoplodon perrini) is the newest species of beaked whale to be described. The first two specimens were found in May 1975 stranded on the California coast, with two more specimens being found in 1978 and 1979, and the last in September 1997. They were initially identified as Hector's beaked whale (Mesoplodon hectori), except for the most recent one, which was assumed to be a neonate Cuvier's beaked whale.
Following inclusion of one of these specimens in a mtDNA sequence database of beaked whales, it turned out that they seemed well distinct from M. hectori (Dalebout et al. 1998). The other "Hector's" specimens from California were subsequently confirmed to belong to the same undescribed taxon (Dalebout 2002). The new species was formally described in 2002 by Dalebout et al.; its common and specific names are a tribute to cetologist William F. Perrin.
Despite the superficial similarities to the (entirely allopatric) Hector's beaked whale, this species is closely related to the pygmy beaked whale, the next most-recently described species, and probably represents its Northern Hemisphere sister species.
Perrin's beaked whale has not definitely been recorded alive by scientists. However, its appearance is known from the beached specimens, and following resolution of their identity as a new species, it seems highly likely the four supposed Hector's beaked whales, which were seen off California in 1976 and 1978 (both involving two individuals), were actually this species (Mead 1981, Dalebout et al. 2002).
Perrin's beaked whales cannot be identified with absolute certainty at sea. However, the combination of small size, appearance and presumed range makes a confusion unlikely. Stranded specimens can be identified as this species by either DNA sequence data and/or anatomical details of the skull.(Dalebout et al. 2002)
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