The range of Hyperoodon ampullatus (the northern bottlenose whale) extends from the polar ice of the North Atlantic southwest to Long Island Sound and southeast to the Cape Verde Islands.

Biogeographic Regions: atlantic ocean (Native )

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

Canada

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

United States

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

Global Range: Deep arctic and cooler temperate waters of the North Atlantic, from Nova Scotia to about 70 degrees N in Davis Strait, along the east coast of Greenland to 77 degrees N, and from the United Kingdom to the west coast of Spitzbergen (IUCN 1991). Strandings have occurred south in the western Atlantic to Rhode Island. The Gully southeast of Sable Island and the northern Labrador Sea near the entrance to Hudson Strait are areas of known concentration (Leatherwood and Reeves 1983, Reeves and Mitchell 1993). Has strayed to the Mediterranean (Mead and Brownell, in Wilson and Reeder 1993), the White Sea, and the North Sea (IUCN 1991). Remains widely distributed and locally abundant in some areas (Reeves and Mitchell 1993).

Individuals of this species can reach up to 9.8m in length, but most are around 6.7-7.6m at the age of sexual maturity (7-14 years). They are sexually dimorphic, with males being up to 25% larger than females. The size of individuals in the Gully population (off Nova Scotia) is believed to be some 0.7m shorter than that of other Northern bottlenose whales. Individual whales may live up to 37 years (Herman 1980, MacDonald 1987, Whitehead et al. 1997a).

Northern bottlenose whales are varied in color, ranging from greenish-brown to chocolate and gray. Individuals may be blotted with patches of grayish-white and coloration is generally lighter on the flanks and underbelly, fading to a white or cream color. Young calves are generally chocolate colored in appearance (Evans 1987, Tinker 1988).

The body is long, robust and cylindrical and the beak is short, resembling a bottle in shape. Both sexes have large, protruding melons that are often vertical anteriorly in older animals and turn yellowish-white with age in males. The melon of the female is not as prominent as that of the male.The posteriorly-curved dorsal fin is 30-38cm in height and is located at a distance of 1/3 the total body length from the tail. The tail fluke lacks a medial notch and the flippers are small and pointed (Minasian et al. 1984, Tinker 1988).

The dentition of the species is highly reduced, with males possessing one or occasionally two pairs of short teeth in the tip of the lower jaw. These teeth never erupt in females, may never fully erupt in males, and often fall out with age (Minasian et al. 1984).

Range mass: 5800 to 7500 kg.

Range length: 9.8 (high) m.

Sexual Dimorphism: male larger

Length: 9100 cm

• Marine

H. ampullatus is most commonly found in waters at least 1000m deep and often forages at or near the north atlantic ice shelf in sheltered embayments during the spring and summer.

Habitat Regions: temperate ; polar ; saltwater or marine

Aquatic Biomes: pelagic ; coastal

Habitat Type: Marine

Comments: Cold temperate to arctic marine waters, often in water 1000 m or more in depth; ice edges and broken pack ice (Leatherwood and Reeves 1983). Cold, deep water along and seaward of the edge of the continental shelf (Reeves and Mitchell 1993, Reeves et al. 1993). Sometimes penetrates up to several miles into ice-covered areas but more frequently occurs in open ocean. Young are born in the water.

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: Yes. At least some populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.

Moves northward to edge of pack ice in Davis Straight in spring and summer (Leatherwood and Reeves 1983). In the eastern Atlantic, moves northward April-July, southward July-September (see IUCN 1991). In general, migratory movements are poorly documented (Reeves and Mitchell 1993, Reeves et al. 1993).

Hyperoodon ampullatus feeds primarily on squid (e.g. Gonatus fabricii), although sea cucumbers (Holothuroidea), herring (Clupea harrengus), cuttlefish (Sepiidae), sea stars (Asteroidea), and other benthic invertebrates supplement the diet. Utilizing a feeding method similar to that of Physeter macrocephalus (the sperm whale), northern bottlenose whales make deep, sustained dives to capture prey. Dives last up to 70min and diving depths range from 80 to 800m with a maximum recorded dive depth of 1453m. Breathing intervals of 10min are common between deep dives and individuals frequently resurface in close proximity to where a dive began (Herman 1980, Hooker and Baird 1999, Minasian et al. 1984, Reeves 1993, Walker 1975).

Animal Foods: fish; mollusks; aquatic crustaceans; other marine invertebrates

Primary Diet: carnivore (Molluscivore )

Comments: Easts mainly squid, also sometimes herring, sea stars, and other bottom invertebrates and deep water fishes.

Frequently found traveling in groups of 5-15, also in pairs or singly. According to IUCN (1991), occurs most frequently in groups of 2-4. Approaches ships, may remain with wounded companions.

Comments: Active day and night.

Average lifespan

Status: wild: 37.0 years.

The mating system of Hyperoodon ampullatus is believed to be polygynous, with a single mature male associating with a group of females during the mating season.

Mating System: polygynous

Females become sexually mature at a length of 6.7-7m (8-14 years) and males reach maturity at 7.3-7.6m (7-9 years) (Evans 1987, MacDonald 1987, Minasian et al. 1984).

Mating occurs in spring and early summer and calves are born from April to June. Data from the Gully population near Nova Scotia indicates that the mating and calving period for this population may be from June to August. The gestation period for all Northern bottlenose whales is around twelve months and females exhibit a calving interval of two to three years. (Whitehead et al. 1997a, MacDonald 1987, Reeves et al. 1993, Tinker 1988).

Breeding interval: Females exhibit a calving interval of two to three years

Breeding season: Mating occurs in spring and early summer

Average gestation period: 12 months.

Average weaning age: 12 months.

Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 8 to 14 years.

Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 7 to 9 years.

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

Average gestation period: 365 days.

Average number of offspring: 1.

Calves are around 3.5m in length at birth and weaning occurs at around one year of age.

Parental Investment: pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female)

Breeding and parturition occur in spring. Gestation lasts about 1 year. Litter size is 1. Calves are weaned after a year or more. Interval between pregnancies probably is 2-3 years (mean probably 2). Minimum age at sexual maturity is 7-11 years. Maximum known longevity apparently is 27 years in females, 37 years in males.

The IUCN relieved Hyperoodon ampullatus of its "vulnerable" listing in 1991, an currently lists it as "Lower Risk, subjec to continued conservation." COSEWIC (Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada) assigned the species to its "vulnerable" category in 1996. Though not listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, trade in northern bottlenose whales is restricted by CITES, the species is included in Appendix I. These whales have not been hunted commercially since 1973.

US Federal List: no special status

CITES: appendix i

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: data deficient

Canada

Rounded National Status Rank: N3 - Vulnerable

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: NU - Unrankable

Rounded Global Status Rank: G4 - Apparently Secure

Comments: Currently there are no known major range-wide threats. Populations in the eastern North Atlantic may be depleted as a result of former whaling (Leatherwood and Reeves 1983). Population in the "Gully" off Nova Scotia is potentially threatened by oil and gas development, commercial shipping traffic, and fishing activities (Whitehead et al. 1997).

The Northen bottlenose whale was hunted for centuries for the spermaceti oil contained in its head and as a souce of food for native peoples. Scottish, English, and Norwegian whalers hunted H. ampullatus commercially from the mid-1800's until 1973. Because of its behavior of approaching large vessels and defending injured group members, whalers found Northern bottlenose whales easy to hunt. This whale's behavior and the fact that the spermaceti oil contained in its head was of almost equal quality to that of the Sperm whale resulted in overhunting and gross reductions in Northern bottlenosed whale populations around the turn of the century (Bloch et al. 1996, Reeves et al. 1993).

Comments: Significant numbers were harvested by commercial whalers in the late 1800s-early 1900s and in the mid-1900s (through the early 1970s); used for head oil and for food for pets and fur-farm animals (IUCN 1991). No longer hunted regularly anywhere in range (Reeves and Mitchell 1993).