Other Common Names
None known.
Description
True's beaked whales reach a length of at least 16 feet (4.9 m) long. They are chunky in midbody and narrow rapidly towards the tail, closely resembling goosebeaked whales (p. [70]). In overall body shape, the head is small with a slight indentation in the area of the blowhole, a slight bulge to the forehead, and a pronounced beak. The flippers are small (from one-fourteenth to one-tenth the body length). The dorsal fin is small, slightly falcate, located in the latter third of the back, and followed by a pronounced ridge on the tail stock. The flukes, which sometimes contain a very slight notch, are broad (to almost one-fifth the body length).
True's beaked whales are dull black to dark gray on the back, lighter slate gray on the sides, and white on the belly. The body is frequently covered with light colored spots or splotches and bears numerous pairs of scratch marks, presumably tooth rakes ([Fig. 76]).
The flippers are all black and are attached in the dark coloration of the animal's side. The flukes are dark above and below.
May Be Confused With
True's beaked whales are most likely to be confused with goosebeaked whales (p. [70]) but may also be confused with any of the other beaked whales species (p. [74] and [Fig. 78]).
Distribution
True's beaked whales appear to be primarily temperate in distribution. They have been reported from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia south as far as Flagler Beach in Florida. Northernmost records are for summer months.