Cuvier's beaked whale, goose-beaked whale, or ziphius (Ziphius cavirostris) is the most widely distributed of all beaked whales in the family Ziphiidae. It is smaller than most baleen whales—and indeed the larger toothed cetaceans (like orca and sperm whales)—yet it is large among the beaked whales and smaller cetaceans, appearing somewhat like a bigger and stockier bottlenose dolphin. Cuvier's beaked whale is pelagic, generally inhabiting waters deeper than 300 m (1,000 ft), though it has been observed closer to shore on occasion. In these offshore waters, Cuvier's beaked whales execute some of the deepest and longest recorded dives among whales, and extant mammals. The current published records are 2,992 m (9,816 ft) for dive depth and 137.5 minutes for dive duration as recorded by biologging instruments attached to individual whales. While likely diving to forage and hunt prey, such as cephalopods, and potentially evade predators (like the aforementioned orca), the frequency and exact reason for these extraordinary dives is unclear. Despite its deepwater habitat, it is one of the most frequently-spotted beaked whales when surfacing.
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Cuvier's beaked whale in the context of Ziphiidae
Beaked whales (systematic name Ziphiidae) are a family of cetaceans noted as being one of the least-known groups of mammals because of their deep-sea habitat, reclusive behavior and apparent low abundance. Only three or four of the 24 existing species are reasonably well-known. Baird's beaked whales and Cuvier's beaked whales were subject to commercial exploitation, off the coast of Japan, while the northern bottlenose whale was extensively hunted in the northern part of the North Atlantic in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Reports emerged in late 2020 of the possible discovery of a new beaked whale species off the coast of Mexico, the taxonomy of which had not been determined as of December 2020.
View the full Wikipedia page for Ziphiidae