Stejneger's Beaked Whale - Description

Description

The body for this species is rather typical for a mesoplodont, long and tapering at both ends. The beak of the whale is of medium length, and the mouthline forms an arch, though much smoother than other species. The teeth of the males are much larger than those of most other mesoplodonts and point forwards and inwards right in front of the apex. Only Strap-toothed whale and the Spade-toothed whale have longer teeth. The coloration is overall dark gray to black on the body with light coloration below, and around the head giving it a "helmeted" appearance. The coloration darkens with age, but females have a light pattern on the bottom of the flukes which become more apparent with age. Like most species, scars occur on the males (from other males) and cookie cutter shark bites are present on both sexes. The length is at least 5.25 meters (17 feet 6 inches) for males and 5.5 meters (18 feet) for females. They are likely around 2.1 to 2.3 meters long (7 to 8 feet) when born.

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