Mediterranean Sea.

These whales have a worldwide distribution in deep waters below the 10 degree isotherm (Minasian et al. 1984, Watson 1981).

Biogeographic Regions: indian ocean (Native ); atlantic ocean (Native ); pacific ocean (Native )

occurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations

Canada

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Transient

United States

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

Global Range: Worldwide in all ocean basins from tropical to subpolar waters. Seldom seen alive; known mainly from occasional stranded specimens. Stranded specimens have been recorded from Cape Cod and the North Sea south to Tierra del Fuego and the Cape of Good Hope in the Atlantic, and from the southern Bering Sea south to Australia and New Zealand in the Pacific (the most frequently sighted medium-sized cetacean in the eastern tropical Pacific). Also Mediterranean, Caribbean, Sea of Japan, and Indian Ocean.

-Ziphius cavirostris- is a medium-sized whale with an average body length of 6.4 meters. The female is usually a little larger and can be up to 7 meters long. Calves are 2.1 meters at birth. -Z. cavirostris- has a spindle shaped body that is a little stouter than other ziphiids. They have a small head (about 10% of their body length) and a distinct neck. As with all ziphiids, they have two grooves along the throat. They have a stubby beak which is almost indistinct in larger animals and a scooped out hollow behind the blowhole. Adult males have two large teeth on the lower jaw that grow up to 8 centimeters. In the females, the teeth never break through the gums. Some individuals have been found with 15-40 vestigial teeth that never erupted. -Z. cavirostris- have small rounded flippers that fold into depressions or "flipper pockets" on their flanks. They have a relatively tall fin (40 centimeters) that is shaped like a shark fin. There is a small notch in the center of their broad flukes.

The coloration of -Z. cavirostris- varies among individuals. In the Indopacific waters, the whales are often sienna colored, ranging from a dark yellow to a deep brown. Their backs are usually darker than their bellies, but some have a reversed coloration: pale backs with black stomachs. The head is almost always totally white, especially in older males. In the Atlantic waters, -Z. cavirostris- have a grey blue color, often with the same pale head coloration. They have dark spots around the eye. Juveniles are usually lighter than adults (Minasian et al. 1984, Watson 1981).

Average mass: 3000 kg.

Average mass: 2.701e+06 g.

Length: 610 cm

• Marine

-Z. cavirostris- have a worldwide distribution, though they seldom go north of the 10 degree isotherm. They are deep divers and prefer waters beyond the 1000 meter line (Watson 1981).

Aquatic Biomes: benthic ; coastal

Habitat Type: Marine

Comments: Generally but not always in deeper, offshore tropical and temperate waters, usually outside the 1000 m contour (Houston 1991).

Non-Migrant: No. All populations of this species make significant seasonal migrations.

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make local extended movements (generally less than 200 km) at particular times of the year (e.g., to breeding or wintering grounds, to hibernation sites).

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.

Seasonal distribution is poorly known; apparently year-round resident in some areas (e.g., off New Zealand, the British Isles, western North America, and Japan) (Leatherwood and Reeves 1983).

Ziphius cavirostris eats mainly squid and deep water fish. They also eat crabs and starfish (Watson 1981).

Animal Foods: fish; mollusks; aquatic crustaceans; echinoderms

Primary Diet: carnivore (Molluscivore )

Comments: Diet consists mainly of squid and open-ocean, mesopelagic, and deep-water fishes (Leatherwood and Reeves 1983, IUCN 1991).

Solitary (adult males) or usually in tight schools of 3-10, sometimes as many as 25 (Leatherwood and Reeves 1983). In the eastern tropical Pacific, group size was 1-7 (IUCN 1991).

Average lifespan

Status: wild: 36.0 years.

Both sexes mature at about 5 meters long. There is thought to be a sex ratio of 67% males to 33% females. Little is known about the reproduction of this species because there does not seem to be a specific breeding season. The whales breed and calves are born all year round. The average lifespan is at least 35 years (  http://www.ims.usm.edu/~musweb/ziphcav.htm. Minasian et al. 1984, Watson 1981).

Breeding season: The whales breed year round

Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; year-round breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); viviparous

Average gestation period: 365 days.

Average number of offspring: 1.

Smallest sexually mature individuals are a little over 5 m long, at which size males are apparently about 11 years old.

Veins and arteries of Cuvier's beaked whales manage heat through different configurations of counter-current heat exchangers.

Though not enough whales are taken to be a threat to the species, deaths may also occur from entanglement in gilnets, float lines from lobster traps, and long lines (  http://www.ims.usm.edu/~musweb/ziphcav.htm).

CITES: appendix ii

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern

Accidental.

Canada

Rounded National Status Rank: NNA - Not Applicable

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: NU - Unrankable

Rounded Global Status Rank: G4 - Apparently Secure

About 20 individuals are taken by Japanese whalers each year. This is a relatively small number and they are not regularly hunted (Watson 1981).

Comments: Very infrequently harvested in small cetacean fisheries in some areas (e.g., Japan, Lesser Antilles); used for human food. Stranded specimens in the Commander Islands have been used for animal food. See IUCN (1991).