Species Mesoplodon hectori (J.E. Gray, 1871)

Museums

Regional Maps

• Berardius hectori Gray, J.E. 1871. Notes on the Berardius of New Zealand. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 4 8: 115-117 [117].

  Type data:

   Holotype BMNH 1677b–76.2.16.3 skull, Titai Bay, Cook Strait, N.Z.

 

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Hershkovitz, P. 1966. Catalog of living whales. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 246: viii 1-259 [123]

 

Generic Combinations

• Mesoplodon hectori (J.E. Gray, 1871).

 

Distribution

States

South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Vagrant; southern circumglobal in cold temperate waters although recently one record from S California.

IBRA and IMCRA regions

IMCRA

Southwest Shelf Province (31), Spencer Gulf Shelf Province (33), Western Bass Strait Shelf Transition (34)

Ecological Descriptors

Oceanic, pelagic, predator.

 

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.

Dalebout, M., Baker, C.S., Cockcroft, V.G., Mead, J.G. & Yamada, T.K. 2004. A comprehesive and validated molecular taxonomy of beaked whales, Family Ziphiidae. Journal of Heredity 95: 459-473

Dalebout, M.L., Mead, J.G., Baker, C.S., Baker, A.N. & van Helfen, A.L. 2002. New species of beaked whale Mesoplodon perrini sp. n. (Cetacea: Ziphiidae) discovered through phylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial DNA seqences. Marine Mammal Science 18: 577-608

Dalebout, M.L., van Helden, A., van Waerebeek, K. & Baker, C.S. 1998. Molecular genetic identification of southern hemisphere beaked whales. Molecular Ecology 7: 687-694

Gale, N.J., Dalebout, M.L. & Bannister, J. 2002. Genetic identification and biological observation of two free-swimming beaked whales: Hector's beaked whale (Mesoplodon hectori, Gray, 1871), and Gray's beaked whale (Mesoplodon grayi), Von Haast, 1876). Marine Mammal Science 18: 544-551

Gaskin, D.E. 1972. Whales, Dolphins and Seals, with Special Reference to the New Zealand Region. London : Heinemann 200 pp.

Guiler, E.R. 1978. Whale strandings in Tasmania since 1945 with notes on some seal reports. Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania 112: 189-213

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. 1981. First records of Mesoplodon hectori (Ziphiidae) from the northern hemisphere and a description of the adult male. Journal of Mammalogy 62: 430-432

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.

Moore, J.C. 1968. Relationships among the living genera of beaked whales. Fieldiana Zoology 53: 209-298

Moore, J.C. 1972. More skull characters of the beaked whale Indopacetus pacificus and comparative measurements of austral relatives. Fieldiana Zoology 62: 1-19

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

 

Common Name References

ABRS 2001. Census of Australian Vertebrates. Australian Biological Resources Study. (Hector'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-Oct-2013	MODIFIED
		12-Feb-2010	(import)