About This Species

One of the most recently described species (2002), reaching 3.9-4.4m in length. Known only from Southern and Central California waters, with triangular teeth positioned at the tip of the lower jaw in males. Has the shortest rostrum of any Mesoplodon except Hector's and pygmy beaked whales. Dark grey dorsally with white undersides, feeding primarily on pelagic squid. Never definitively recorded alive and known only from stranded specimens.