Left side full-body picture of the ginkgo-toothed beaked whale explained in this research study. The little-known ginkgo-toothed beaked whale has a larger variety than previously understood, extending to the chilly waters of the North Pacific.
Everything we understand about ginkgo-toothed beaked whales comes practically solely from 95 individuals from 88 different whale stranding events.” Another stranding that might have been a ginkgo-toothed beaked whale was reported on November 29, 2021, but the specimen was lost due to bad weather,” said Kuroda. Referral: “Northernmost Record of the Ginkgo-Toothed Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon ginkgodens)” by Wojtek Bachara, Kuroda Mika, et al., 9 July 2023, Aquatic Mammals.DOI: 10.1578/ AM.49.4.2023.356.
Left side full-body image of the ginkgo-toothed beaked whale described in this study. The little-known ginkgo-toothed beaked whale has a wider variety than previously understood, extending to the chilly waters of the North Pacific.
Cetaceans, commonly referred to as fully aquatic animals, include cetaceans, dolphins, and whales. This group includes over 90 existing species, classified into baleen whales (Mysticeti) and toothed whales (Odontoceti). Specifically, toothed whales, differentiated by their teeth, include various types, including the lesser-known genus Mesoplodon. These animals generally occupy overseas oceanic areas and rarely surface area, making their distribution and ecology reasonably unidentified.
A team of scientists, including Hokkaido Universitys Assistant Professor Kuroda Mika at the Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere and Professor Matsuishi Takashi Fritz at the Faculty of Fisheries Sciences, recently reported the discovery of a stranded ginkgo-toothed beaked whale from the coast of Yakumo, Southern Hokkaido. Their findings were released in the journal Aquatic Mammals.
Portion of the phylogenetic tree showing that the whale in this study (SNH22005) is positioned in the Mesoplodon ginkgodens clade. Credit: Wojtek Bachara, Kuroda Mika, et al. Everything we know about ginkgo-toothed beaked whales comes almost exclusively from 95 individuals from 88 separate whale stranding events.
On February 4, 2022, a whale beaching in Yakumo town, Hokkaido, was reported. The dead whale body was transported to Hakodate Research Centre for Fisheries and Oceans for measurement and a necropsy. The whale was a male measuring 477 cm in body length, and was in early stages of decay, suggesting it had actually been dead for a long time. Its morphology followed those for M. ginkgodens; in addition, genetic analysis of mitochondrial DNA put this specimen within the clade for M. ginkgodens, with one identical series.
Geographical Range of Strandings Previous strandings have actually taken place in a vast array of places, including Japan, the US West Coast, Australia, the Galapagos Islands, Thailand, New Zealand, Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, China, South Korea, and Mexico– all in temperate, subtropical, and tropical waters. This research study is the first report of Mesoplodon ginkgodens from the chillier waters of the North Pacific.
” Another stranding that might have been a ginkgo-toothed beaked whale was reported on November 29, 2021, but the specimen was lost due to bad weather condition,” stated Kuroda. “Our findings indicate that these whales might have migrated near Hokkaido throughout the winter.” Recommendation: “Northernmost Record of the Ginkgo-Toothed Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon ginkgodens)” by Wojtek Bachara, Kuroda Mika, et al., 9 July 2023, Aquatic Mammals.DOI: 10.1578/ AM.49.4.2023.356.
