Species group · Mammals
Beaked Whales
WAnimals has 3 species of beaked whale, in the family Ziphiidae.
- 3 species
- 1 family
- 167 countries
- 99 parks
- Weight
- 800 kg – 14 t
- Length
- 4 m – 12.8 m
- Lifespan
- 25 – 70 years
Ranges calculated from the profiles that record the figure, not from all 3.
All 3 species of beaked whales on WAnimals
Each one has its own full profile. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.
Conservation status
3 Least Concern
No species documented in this group is genuinely at risk according to the IUCN, with the data available today.
Where they live
Recorded in 167 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:
Where to see them
- Ogasawara Islands3 species
- Glacier Bay2 species
- Katmai2 species
- Kenai Fjords2 species
- Madeira2 species
- Sanriku Fukko2 species
- Aeolian Islands1 species
- Al Hoceima1 species
- Aldabra1 species
- Alonissos and the Northern Sporades1 species
- Alonissos Marine Park1 species
- Amami Gunto1 species
- Azores (Princess Alice Bank)diving
- El Hierro / La Restingadiving
- Kona (night diving with manta rays)diving
- Ogasawara Islandsdiving
- Sagami Baydiving
- Alboran Islanddiving
Did you know…?
Its jaw contains the densest bone known in the animal kingdom, hence the epithet densirostris, meaning dense-beaked.
Dives of more than 1,400 metres deep and lasting almost an hour have been recorded for it.
Its jaw contains the densest bone in the animal kingdom. Blainville described it in 1817 from a nine-inch piece of rostrum, the heaviest bone he had ever handled, hence the name densirostris.
It holds the diving record among marine mammals, with documented dives beyond 2,900 metres lasting more than three hours.
It is the largest beaked whale in the world.
From Baird's Beaked Whale
Males become heavily scarred from territorial fights with their only two visible teeth.
From Baird's Beaked Whale
Its age is worked out from earwax plugs, which have shown males of up to 84 years.
From Baird's Beaked Whale