Species Mesoplodon layardii (J.E. Gray, 1865)

Museums

Regional Maps

• Ziphius layardii Gray, J.E. 1865. Notes on the whales of the Cape. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1865: 357-359 [358].

  Type data:

   Holotype BMNH 69.4.5.2 skull, probably off Cape of Good Hope, South Africa.

  Secondary source:

   Hershkovitz, P. 1966. Catalog of living whales. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 246: viii 1-259.
• Mesoplodon guntheri Krefft, G. 1871. Notice of a new Australian ziphioid whale: Mesoplodon guntheri. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 4 7: 368 [as Mesoplodon güntheri].

  Type data:

   Holotype AM P358,359 & 364 skeleton, Little Bay, NSW.
• Mesoplodon longirostris Gray, J.E. 1873. Notice of the skeleton of the New Zealand Right Whale (Macleayius australiensis) and other whales, and other New Zealand marine Mammalia. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1873: 129-145 [145].

  Type data:

   Holotype whereabouts unknown ?skeleton, Australia.

  Secondary source:

   Hershkovitz, P. 1966. Catalog of living whales. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 246: viii 1-259.
• Mesoplodon thompsoni Ogilby, J.D. 1892. Catalogue of Australian Mammalia, with introductory notes on general mammology. Cat. Aust. Mus. No. 16 . xvi 142 pp. [71] ['Krefft ms name based on individual stranded at Little Bay'].

  Type data:

   Holotype AM (skeleton same as holotype for Mesoplodon guntheri Krefft, 1871), Little Bay, near Sydney, NSW.

 

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Hershkovitz, P. 1966. Catalog of living whales. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 246: viii 1-259 [133]

 

Generic Combinations

• Mesoplodon layardii (J.E. Gray, 1865).

 

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Southern circumpolar only, between about 30ºS and 60ºS.

IBRA and IMCRA regions

IMCRA

Tasmania Province (10), Southeast Transition (11), Central Eastern Province (12), Tasman Basin Province (13), Lord Howe Province (14), Central Eastern Transition (15), Kenn Transition (16), Kenn Province (17), Northeast Province (18), Northeast Transition (19), Northwest Province (4), Central Western Transition (5), Central Western Province (6), Southwest Transition (7), Southern Province (8), West Tasmania Transition (9)

Ecological Descriptors

Oceanic, pelagic, piscivore, predator.

Extra Ecological Information

Diet mainly cephalopods.

 

General References

Aitken, P.F. 1971. Whales from the coast of South Australia. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 95: 95-103

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

Bryden, M.M. 1978. Whales and whaling in Queensland waters. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland 89: v-xviii

Dalebout, M.L. 2002. Species identiy, genetic diversity and molecular systematic relationships among the Ziphiidae (beaked whales). PhD. Thesis, Auckland : University of Auckland.

Dixon, J.M. 1980. A recent stranding of the strap-toothed whale, Mesoplodon layardi (Gray) (Ziphiidae) from Victoria, and a review of Australian records of the species. Victorian Naturalist 97: 34-41

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

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.

Kemper, C., Gibbs, P., Obendorf, D., Marvanek, S. & Lenghaus, C. 1994. A review of heavy metal and organochlorine levels in marine mammals in Australia. Science and the Total Environment 154: 129-139

Kemper, C.M. & Ling, J.K. 1991. Whale strandings in South Australia (1881-1989). Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 115: 37-52

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.

Nicol, D.J. 1987. A Review and Update of the Tasmanian Cetacean Strandings Record to the End of February 1986. University of Tasmania Environmental Studies Working Paper No. 21. 96 pp.

Sekiguchi, K., Klages, N.T.W. & Best, P.B. 1996. The diet of strap-toothed whales (Mesoplodon layardii). Journal of Zoology, London 239: 453-463

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.

 

Common Name References

ABRS 2001. Census of Australian Vertebrates. Australian Biological Resources Study. (Strap-toothed 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)