New England Aquarium The carcass of a very rarely seen, 17-foot, toothed whale with a long slender snout washed up on Jones Beach in Plymouth Friday. 
 
 The carcass of a rare beaked whale washed ashore Friday on Plymouth Long Beach, offering an unusual research opportunity for local marine biologists unaccustomed to sightings of the deep-sea mammal. 
 
 The female whale — 17 feet long, with a long, slender, toothed snout, and weighing almost a ton — is thought to be a Sowerby’s beaked whale, according to the New England Aquarium. 
 
 Advertisement 
 
 Beaked whales are “so rarely seen that New England Aquarium biologists have been conferring to determine the exact species,” aquarium officials said in a statement Saturday. The whales are usually found on the continental shelf, hundreds of miles out to sea in the deep ocean, officials said. 
 
 Little is known about the Sowerby’s beaked whale, which are most often seen by commercial fishermen who catch them alongside other sea creatures. New England is believed to be the southern end of the mammal’s range, which extends north into the sub-Arctic, experts said. 
 
 Staff at the aquarium last handled a beaked whale in 2006 in Duxbury, the statement said. 
 
 The purple-hued, dark skinned whale, which resembled a giant dolphin, was such an odd sight that “everybody was kind of scratching their heads,” said Plymouth harbormaster Chad Hunter in a phone interview Saturday. 
 
 Officials received a report for the beached sea mammal at about 10 a.m. Friday, Hunter said. It was stuck on a rocky area of shore during low tide, and “there was no way to get to it and get it out of there,” he said. 
 
 Advertisement 
 
 The whale’s weight and inconvenient location meant they needed to wait until about 5 p.m. for high tide to remove the carcass, Hunter said. The harbormaster’s office towed it to the pier and lifted it by crane onto an aquarium trailer. 
 
 Aquarium biologists were performing a necropsy on the whale Saturday afternoon, assisted by staff from the Cape Cod-based International Fund for Animal Welfare. The results were not immediately available. 
 
 It appeared to be fresh, in good condition, and “did not have any obvious entanglement gear or scars or obvious trauma from a vessel strike,” according to the aquarium statement. 
 
 Sowerby’s beaked whales were named after English scientist and watercolor artist John Sowerby, who described one of the species that was stranded in Scotland’s Moray Firth in 1800, according to the nonprofit Whale and Dolphin Conservation. They are not often seen in the wild, but are among the most commonly stranded species of beaked whale, according to the conservation. 
 
 Few organizations have substantial data on beaked whales, though there more than 20 species of them living in the deep ocean, said aquarium spokesman Tony LaCasse. When one surfaces, everyone in the marine biology community pays attention, he said. 
 
 To have a beaked whale specimen offers a chance for “a glancing insight into a marine species that not much is known of,” LaCasse said. ||||| This undated photo provided by the New England Aquarium shows the carcass of rarely-seen deep water beaked whale that washed ashore on Jones Beach in Plymouth, Mass. Aquarium biologists and staff from... (Associated Press) 
 
 This undated photo provided by the New England Aquarium shows the carcass of rarely-seen deep water beaked whale that washed ashore on Jones Beach in Plymouth, Mass. Aquarium biologists and staff from... (Associated Press) 
 
 BOSTON (AP) — Biologists with the New England Aquarium are investigating what may have caused a rarely-seen deep water whale to wash up on a Massachusetts beach. 
 
 The carcass of the 17-foot female, weighing almost a ton, was found Friday on Jones Beach in Plymouth. 
 
 Aquarium biologists and staff from the International Fund for Animal Welfare are performing a necrospy at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. They believe the whale is a Sowerby's beaked whale, but the aquarium hasn't handled a beaked whale since 2006. 
 
 Several species of beaked whales are found about 200 miles offshore in the North Atlantic. 
 
 The whales have long, slender snouts and feed in cold, deep water on small fish. Commercial fishermen sometimes net them accidentally. 
 
 The carcass offers a chance for biologists to learn more about them. ||||| Sowerby's Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon bidens) 
 
 Status | Taxonomy | Species Description | Habitat | Distribution | 
 
 Population Trends | Threats | Conservation Efforts | Regulatory Overview | 
 
 Key Documents | More Info 
 
 Did You Know? · Sowerby's beaked whale was the first living species of beaked whale to be discovered. 
 
 
 
 · Sowerby's beaked whale's scientific species name (bidens) is derived from the Latin word bi for "two" and dens for "teeth." 
 
 Status 
 
 MMPA - Sowerby's beaked whales, like all marine mammals, are protected under the MMPA. 
 
 CITES Appendix II - throughout its range 
 
 Taxonomy 
 
 Kingdom: Animalia 
 
 Phylum: Chordata 
 
 Class: Mammalia 
 
 Order: Cetacea 
 
 Family: Ziphiidae 
 
 Genus: Mesoplodon 
 
 Species: bidens 
 
 Species Description 
 
 Weight: 2,200-2,900 lbs (1,000-1,315 kg) Length: 14.5-21 ft (4.5-5.5 m) Appearance: small to medium-sized charcoal gray body with a very long, slender beak and a bulge on the forehead area Lifespan: unknown, but sexually mature at around 7 years Diet: small fish like Atlantic cod and cephalopods like squid Behavior: they have a low profile at the surface and a small, inconspicuous blow, making them difficult to observe and identify at sea 
 
 Sowerby's beaked whales, sometimes known as the "North Atlantic beaked whale," are little known members of the beaked whale family (Ziphiidae). As adults, Sowerby's beaked whales can reach estimated lengths of 14.5-21 ft (4.4-5.5 m) and weigh 2,200-2,900 lbs (1,000-1,318 kg). Males, which are generally larger, can be distinguished from females and juveniles by a pair of visible teeth that erupt from the slightly arched lower jaw. Females and juveniles have teeth as well, but the teeth remain hidden beneath the gum tissue of the mouth, and their jawline is straight. This species of beaked whale is difficult to observe and identify at sea due to a low profile at the surface and a small, inconspicuous blow. 
 
 Sowerby's beaked whales have a small to medium-sized body with a very long, slender beak relative to other mesoplodonts, as well as a bulge on the forehead area. The beak often emerges at a steep angle when surfacing. They have a small, wide-based, slightly "falcate" "dorsal" fin located far down (about two-thirds) the animal's back. Most of the body has a charcoal gray coloration with a pale underside. The lower jaw is usually light gray or white. Calves are generally darker than adults. This species has less visible scarring than most other beaked whale species. 
 
 Many species of beaked whales (especially those in the genus Mesoplodon) are very difficult to distinguish from one another (even when dead). At sea, they are challenging to observe and identify to the species level due to their cryptic, skittish behavior, a low profile, and a small, inconspicuous blow at the waters surface; therefore, much of the available characterization for beaked whales is to genus level only. Uncertainty regarding species identification of beaked whales often exists because of a lack of easily discernable or distinct physical characteristics. 
 
 Sowerby's whales are usually found individually or in small, closely associated groups averaging between 3-10 individuals. Regular dives range from 10-15 minutes, but dives of at least 28 minutes reaching depths up to 4,920 ft (1,500 m) have been recorded. While diving, they use suction to feed on small fish (e.g., Atlantic cod) and cephalopods (e.g., squid) in deep waters. 
 
 Sowerby's beaked whales may reach sexual maturity at about 7 years of age. Their breeding season may be from late winter to spring. A sexually mature female will give birth to a single newborn calf that is about 8-9 ft (2.4-2.7 m) long and weighs about 375 lbs (170 kg). The estimated lifespan of this species is unknown. 
 
 Habitat 
 
 Sowerby's beaked whales prefer the deep, cold temperate and subarctic waters of the North Atlantic Ocean, but have been reported near the ice pack as well. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Sowerby's Beaked Whale Range Map 
 
 (click for larger view PDF) 
 
 
 
 
 
 Distribution 
 
 Sowerby's beaked whales are distributed throughout the North Atlantic Ocean (30-71° North), which includes the Norwegian Sea, Labrador Sea, Iceland, Baltic Sea, and south to Massachusetts, Madeira, and the Canaries. Reports of this species in Canadian waters are considered rare. They are not known to occur in the Mediterranean Sea. Strandings have occurred in Florida and Italy, but these are considered outside their normal range. Their distribution may vary depending on the movements of oceanographic currents. There are no known seasonal movements or migrations for this species. 
 
 Population Trends 
 
 For management purposes, Sowerby's beaked whales inhabiting U.S. waters have been placed in the Western North Atlantic stock. No current population estimates are available for this species of beaked whale. The status of the stock is unknown, but is classified as "strategic." This species may be relatively abundant in the North Sea. There are insufficient data to determine the population trends for this species, but they are probably not rare. 
 
 Threats 
 
 bycatch from fishing gear, such as driftnets and gillnets off the U.S. Atlantic coast 
 
 hunting, cetaceans are targeted in Newfoundland and by Norwegian whalers off of Iceland and in the Barents Sea 
 
 underwater sounds and anthropogenic noise anthropogenic noise levels in the world's oceans are an increasing habitat concern, particularly for deep-diving cetaceans like Sowerby's beaked whales that use sound to feed, communicate, and navigate in the ocean 
 
 
 
 Conservation Efforts 
 
 The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN's) Red List of Threatened Species considers this species "Data Deficient" due to insufficient information on population status and trends. 
 
 Regulatory Overview 
 
 This species is protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended. 
 
 Key Documents 
 
 (All documents are in PDF format.) 
 
 Title Federal Register Date Stock Assessment Reports n/a various 
 
 More Information 
 
 References: ||||| Karen Hartman 
 
 Sowerby's beaked whale 
 
 Mesoplodon bidens 
 
 Other names: North Sea beaked whale 
 
 North Atlantic beaked whale Maximum length: Male: 5.5m 
 
 Female: 5.1m 
 
 Calf: 2.4m Maximum weight: Male: 1,300kg 
 
 Female: 1,300kg 
 
 Calf: Unknown Diet: Squid 
 
 Small fish Estimated population: Unknown Unknown IUCN Listing: DD DD CITES Appendix: II II CMS Appendix: Not Listed Not Listed 
 
 Classification: Sowerby's beaked whale was the first of the beaked whales to be discovered. An individual was stranded in the Moray Firth in 1800, and described four years later by the watercolour artist John Sowerby. While it is not commonly seen in the wild, it is one of the most commonly stranded beaked whales. 
 
 Appearance: From stranded whales a physical description of Sowerby's beaked whales can be made. It has a long, slender beak resembling a dolphin's, and a low melon in front of the blowhole. A pair of teeth erupt midway along the beak in adult males. This feature is distinctive, but is difficult to use as a means of identification as the teeth are only visible at close range. It has a spindle-shaped body and is dark bluish-grey in colour, with a sandy colouration on the head and beak. The underside is lighter, especially in young animals, with grey or white spots. The flippers are long compared to other species in the beaked whale family. The dorsal fin is small and curved with a rounded tip. Their tail flukes are dark on both sides and as with other Mesoplodonts, there is no middle notch. 
 
 Behaviour: Little is known about this beaked whale's behaviour as they are rarely seen at sea. Sowerby's whales have been described as bringing their heads out of the water at a steep angle when surfacing. They have been seen in groups of up to ten individuals, and they have occasionally been seen tail-slapping, breaching and spy-hopping. Dives of between 12 and 28 minutes have been recorded with the whale resurfacing up to 800m away from where they last dived. When stranded they make a sound similar to that of a cow mooing. 
 
 Distribution: Sowerby's beaked whales have one of the most northerly distributions of all the beaked whales. They are found in the eastern North Atlantic, in the seas around Norway, the UK and Iceland, and in the western North Atlantic off of Canada and Massachusetts, USA. As with other species of beaked whales, Sowerby's beaked whales prefer deeper waters and are found offshore past the continental shelf. Threats to the species may include incidental whaling, accidental entanglement in fishing gear, climate change, marine debris, and noise pollution and whilst the worldwide population is unknown the IUCN list the species as Data Deficient.
– How rare is the carcass of a beaked whale that washed ashore in Massachusetts on Friday morning? This rare: "New England Aquarium biologists have been conferring to determine the exact species," officials with the aquarium said in a statement released Saturday, per the Boston Globe. The 17-foot-long female that ended up on a beach in Plymouth is thought to be a Sowerby's beaked whale, a species that the nonprofit Whale and Dolphin Conservation reports is seen only infrequently in the wild but is "one of the most commonly stranded beaked whales." The aquarium last handled a beaked whale in 2006, reports the AP. Per NOAA Fisheries, "At sea, [Sowerby's beaked whales] are challenging to observe and identify to the species level due to their cryptic, skittish behavior, a low profile, and a small, inconspicuous blow at the (water's) surface." And when it comes to being "at sea," the Globe reports the whales are typically found hundreds of miles from the coast on the continental shelf, where commercial fisherman occasionally reel one in. A necropsy is being performed; the aquarium notes the nearly one-ton female "did not have any obvious entanglement gear or scars or obvious trauma from a vessel strike." (This beaked whale may be the deepest-diving mammal on the planet.)