Perrin's Beaked Whale
Mesoplodon perrini
- Endangered
- Card rarity: Epic
- Mammals
Perrin's beaked whale is a species of ziphiid beaked whale belonging to the toothed whale suborder. The genus name Mesoplodon comes from the Greek meanings of meso- (middle), - hopla (arms), - odon (teeth), and may be translated as 'armed with a tooth in the center of the jaw'. Perrin's beaked whale was described as a new species in 2002 by Dalebout et al. based on five animals stranding on the coast of California between 1975 and 1997, which were initially identified as other species. The common and specific names of Mesopledon perrini are a tribute to cetologist William F. Perrin. As of May 2019, only six specimens have ever been examined. The first two specimens were found stranded on the California coast in May 1975, other specimens were found in 1978, 1979, September 1997, and October 2013.
Classification
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Artiodactyla
- Family
- Ziphiidae
- Genus
- Mesoplodon