Hector's beaked whale
| Hector's beaked whale | |
|---|---|
| Size compared to an average human | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Suborder: | Whippomorpha |
| Infraorder: | Cetacea |
| Family: | Ziphiidae |
| Genus: | Mesoplodon |
| Species: | M. hectori |
| Binomial name | |
| Mesoplodon hectori (Gray, 1871) | |
| Hector's beaked whale range | |
Hector's beaked whale (Mesoplodon hectori) is a small mesoplodont living in the Southern Hemisphere. This whale is named after Sir James Hector, a founder of the colonial museum in Wellington, New Zealand. The species has rarely been seen in the wild.
Some data supposedly referring to this species, especially juveniles and males, turned out to be based on the misidentified specimens of Perrin's beaked whale - especially since the adult male of Hector's beaked whale was only more recently described.