Giant Beaked Whale
The genus Berardius contains two species of beaked whale, Baird's beaked whale and Arnoux's beaked whale. The two species are so similar, some scientists regard their separation into distinct species as a historical anomaly. The two species are the largest of all beaked whales, and collectively they are sometimes referred to as the giant beaked whales.
Baird's beaked whale was first described by Leonhard Hess Stejneger in 1883 from a four-toothed skull he had found on Bering Island the previous year. The species is named for Spencer Fullerton Baird, a past Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Arnoux's beaked whale was described by Georges Louis Duvernoy in 1851. The genus name honors admiral Auguste Bérard (1796-1852), who was captain of the French corvette Le Rhin (1842-1846), which brought back the type specimen to France where Duvernoy analyzed it; the specific name honors Dr. Maurice Arnoux, the ship's surgeon who found the skull of the type specimen on a beach near Akaroa, New Zealand.
Read more about Giant Beaked Whale: Physical Description, Population and Distribution, Behavior, Conservation, Common Names, Specimens
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