Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Mesoplodon densirostris
ballena picuda de Blainville, Blainville's Beaked Whale
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Mammalia
Order
Cetartiodactyla
Suborder
Cetancodonta
Superfamily
Odontoceti
Family
Ziphiidae
Genus
Mesoplodon
Species
densirostris
Taxon category: Accepted
Syn.: Delphinus densirostris de Blainville, 1817, Nodus densirostris Galbreath, 1963, Ziphius sechellensis Gray, 1846 (Horton et al., 2021).
Origin: Native
Distribution: Western Indian Ocean, Indian Ocean, Madagascar, Mediterranean Sea, Mozambique, New Zealand, North Atlantic Ocean, Republic of Mauritius, Tanzania and Galapagos Island (Horton et al., 2021).
- Constant, P. (2007) Marine Life of the Galapagos. The Diver's guide to Fishes, Whales, Dolphins and marine Invertebrates, 307 pp.
- Horton, T. Horton, T., Kroh, A., Ahyong, S., Bailly, N., Boyko, C. B., Brandão, S. N., Gofas, S., Hooper, J. N. A., Hernandez, F., Holovachov, O., Mees, J., Molodtsova, T. N., Paulay, G., Decock, W., Dekeyzer, S., Poffyn, G., Vandepitte, L., Vanhoorne, B., Adlard, R., ... Zhao, Z. (2021) World Register of Marine Species. Available from https://www.marinespecies.org at VLIZ.
- IUCN (2015) The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2015-4. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 20 November 2015.
- Merlen, G. (1995) A field guide to the marine mammals of Galapagos. Charles Darwin Foundation.
- Palacios, D.M. Salazar, S. (2002) Cetaceos. In: Danulat, E. & G.J. Edgar (eds.): Reserva marina de Galápagos. Línea base de la biodiversidad. Fundación Charles Darwin/Servicio Parque Nacional Galápagos, Santa Cruz, Galápagos, Ecuador. p. 291-302.
You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.
This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Mesoplodon densirostris", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=5225. Accessed 1 November 2026.