Species Mesoplodon mirus True, 1913

Museums

Regional Maps

• Mesoplodon mirus True, F.W. 1913. Diagnosis of a new beaked whale of the genus Mesoplodon from the coast of North Carolina. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections 60(25): 1-2 [1].

  Type data:

   Holotype USNM 175019 skull & partial skeleton, cast of head and body, Bird Is. Shoal, Beaufort Harbour, North Carolina, USA.

  Secondary source:

   Hershkovitz, P. 1966. Catalog of living whales. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 246: viii 1-259.

 

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Hershkovitz, P. 1966. Catalog of living whales. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 246: viii 1-259 [130] (see also for extralimital synonymy)

 

Distribution

States

South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Southern South Africa, N Atlantic.

IBRA and IMCRA regions

IMCRA

Central Western Shelf Province (29), Southwest Shelf Transition (30), Southwest Shelf Province (31), Spencer Gulf Shelf Province (33), Western Bass Strait Shelf Transition (34), Bass Strait Shelf Province (35), Tasmanian Shelf Province (36), Southeast Shelf Transition (37)

Ecological Descriptors

Oceanic, pelagic, piscivore, predator.

Extra Ecological Information

Diet includes cephalopods.

 

General References

Bannister, J.L., Kemper, C.M. & Warneke, R.M. 1996. The Action Plan for Australian Cetaceans. Canberra : Australian Nature Conservation Agency 242 pp.

Leatherwood, S. & Reeves, R.R. 1983. The Sierra Club Handbook of Whales and Dolphins. San Francisco : Sierra Club Books xviii 302 pp.

Mead, J.G. 1989. Beaked whales of the genus Mesoplodon. pp. 349-430 in Ridgway, S.H. & Harrison, R.J. (eds). Handbook of Marine Mammals. Volume 4. River dolphins and the larger toothed whales. London : Academic Press 442 pp.

Ross, G.J.B. 1984. The smaller cetaceans of the south east coast of Southern Africa. Annals of the Cape Provincial Museums (Natural History) 15(2): 173-410

Warneke, R.M. 1983. Whale stranding — accident or design. Australian Natural History 21: 43-47

Watson, L. 1981. Sea Guide to Whales of the World. London : Hutchinson 302 pp.

Wier, C.R., Stokes, J., Martin, C. & Cermeno, P. 2004. Three sightings of Mesoplodon species in the Bay of Biscay: first confirmed True's beaked whales (M. mirus) for the north-east Atlantic? Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 84: 1095-1099

 

Common Name References

ABRS 2001. Census of Australian Vertebrates. Australian Biological Resources Study. (True's Beaked Whale)

 

History of changes

Published	As part of group	Action Date	Action Type	Compiler(s)
11-Jun-2024		11-Jun-2024	MOVED
11-Jun-2024		11-Jun-2024	MOVED
16-Dec-2010		16-Dec-2010	MODIFIED
		12-Feb-2010	(import)