Ziphiidae

The ziphiidés are Cetacea with teeth (Odontocète S) which resemble very large dolphins. These discrete animals, that one observes rather seldom at sea, are however of a size much more imposing (of 4 meters up to 12.8 meters for the whale of Bird for a weight from 1 to 10 tons). One generally calls these animals whales with nozzle because they have a rostre.

This family is made up of several kinds:

  • Berardius Duvernoy, 1851
  • Hyperoodon Lacépède, 1804
  • Indopacetus Moore, 1968
  • Mesoplodon Gervais, 1850
  • Tasmacetus Oliver, 1937
  • Ziphius G. Vat, 1823

Behavior

The whales with nozzle nourish primarily squids and of some deep-sea fish. They live in open sea in all the oceans of the sphere, usually only or in groups of two or three, but it happens that some circulate in troops from 25 to 40.

Anatomy

The whales with nozzle are, with the dolphins of fresh water, the current Cetacea considered to be most primitive. The nozzle which characterizes them is formed by the lengthening of the two jaws and it varies from one species to another: length and pointed at the Tasmacète de Shepherd (kind Tasmacetus ), short and squat at the species of the kind Mesoplodon . Because of their food mode made up almost exclusively of Cephalopods, the majority of the kinds ( Hyperoodon , Ziphius and Mesoplodon ) have only two teeth on the jaw lower. The Berardius have of them two pairs and the tasmacète of Shepherd has the many ones with each jawbone.

It is possible to determine the species, the age and the sex of a whale with nozzle thanks to its teeth: their number and their site in the jaw indicate the species (see higher), the teeth whose cavity is filled indicate that they belong to an adult specimen, those carrying of the traces of wear and having left the gum belong to a male and finally, those which are clear and whose pulp is filled belong to a female.

The face of the old males often presents a marked bulge which can bleach with the age at certain species (like the Arctic hypérodon).

External bonds

  • Card and Photos of Whales with Nozzle

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