Their maximum known length is only 3.9m, with males thought to …

Genus: Mesoplodon. The small triangular dorsal fin is a distinctive feature of this little whale with a broad base and set well back on the body. It is known from only 13 dead specimens and less than seventy confirmed sightings. Like squids, pygmy sperm whales can produce a dark, ink-like liquid that helps them escape from predators. The pygmy beaked whale is typically found traveling in warm tropical climates in the eastern pacific waters. This marine mammal makes up one of over 15 known species of beaked whale. Pygmy beaked whales, Mesoplodon peruvianus(Reyes, Mead and Van Waerebeek, 1991), also known as lesser or Peruvian beaked whales, are one of the latest discovered and smallest members of the genus Mesoplodon. There were at least two dozen sightings of an unknown beaked whale … Thy pygmy beaked whale (aka Peruvian beaked whale) is one of the smaller whales within the beaked whale family. Ranging in length from 3.7 metres (12.1 feet) for the dwarf, or pygmy, beaked whale (Mesoplodon peruvianus) to nearly 13 metres (42.7 feet) for the giant bottlenose whale (Berardius bairdii), these mammals weigh between 1,000 and 14,000 kg (2,200 and 31,000 pounds). The pygmy beaked whale (Mesoplodon peruvianus), also known as the bandolero beaked whale, Peruvian beaked whale and lesser beaked whale, is the smallest of the mesoplodonts and one of the newest discoveries. The pygmy right whale shares several characteristics with the right whales, with the … Pygmy sperm whales are found in temperate and tropical seas worldwide. The pygmy beaked whale is the smallest of all beaked whales, and was discovered in 1991 from a specimen that drowned in a coastal fishing net. The pygmy beaked whale has a slender, spindle-shaped body, a small head, curved mouthline, narrow, sloping forehead and slightly bulging ‘melon’ (top and front of the head). Pygmy sperm whales are toothed whales named after the waxy substance—spermaceti—found in their heads.

Some have even likened it to the petite dorsal fin of a harbour porpoise. The spermaceti is an oil sac that helps the whales produce sound. Collecting research on this whale has proven to be difficult due to their deep diving nature and rare … Species: M. peruvianus Reyes, Mead, and Weerebeek, 1991.

Little is known of it because of its remote habitat, its elusive nature, and its almost identical … Colour is variable but usually consists of some combination of gray or black with white.