#baird's beaked whales

[its-dean]

Hycia Weekly Update

To help aid in spreading the word (and to drive up interest) I'd like to start posting updates on Hycia's progress here on Tumblr. If you're into marine biology at all, then I can guarantee you that this card game is something you’ll be able to appreciate and get invested in!

With each Hycian I make, it's more than a visual. They all have a character of their own and a unique role to play in-universe, just like the sea creatures they're all inspired by:

It's been a while since the last weekly character update I've made, as I was working to get the card game printed, but now that I have that huge step behind me I can get back to designing more characters for the game. As promised, we're back this week with another batch of 4, it felt nice to get back to drawing and focusing on maintaining the artstyle I've created for this series. As always, if there are any examples of aquatic life you want to see made into characters, feel free to reply and let me know!

[whaleposters]

Marine Megafauna art print poster. Available at cetek.etsy.com

[inatungulates]

Baird’s beaked whale Berardius bairdii

Observed by anudibranchmom, CC BY-NC

[umbrasdoodles]

More of the Alternate Form Project! This is Berardius, a giant sky whale! He is specifically a Baird's beaked whale except much bigger and flying high in the sky instead of diving deep into the ocean

[deathmoth-blog]

Baird's beaked whale (Berardius bairdii), also known as the northern giant bottlenose whale, North Pacific bottlenose whale, giant four-toothed whale, northern four-toothed whale and the North Pacific four-toothed whale, is a species of whale from the genus Berardius. Baird's and Arnoux's beaked whales are so similar that researchers have debated whether or not they are simply two populations of the same species. However, genetic evidence and their wide geographical separation has led them to be classified as separate. Baird's beaked whale is the second largest living species of toothed whale after the sperm whale.

Baird's beaked whales were first described in 1883 by American zoologist Leonhard Stejneger based on a skull from a specimen that had been found stranded on the eastern shore of Bering Island the previous fall. The species was named after Spencer Fullerton Baird, the then Secretary of the Smithsonian. A few months after Stejneger's description was published, Swedish zoologist August Wilhelm Malm published a description of a new species in the Beradius genus, Beradius vegae, based on a portion of a skull found on Bering Island in 1879. Beradius vegae was later determined to be a junior synonym of Beradius bairdii.

The species reaches lengths of about 11.9 metres (39 ft) for males and 12.8 metres (42 ft) for females.

The snout, called a beak, is elongated and lacks all teeth except for one or two sets in the lower mandible, which are called "battle teeth" for their use in intra-species conflict. Individuals often bear scars from such confrontations.

Baird's beaked whale can live for up to 84 years.

[whaleswagbracket]

Whale Tournament Masterpost!

Welcome to the whale swag bracket, a competition to determine the best species of whale! This competition will include 64 species (who have already been selected) in the infraorder Cetacea, which includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises. 

All match ups were decided randomly, and I did my best to prevent any ridiculously unfair matchups. I encourage everyone to make an effort to learn about some lesser-known competitors, I’m sure you’ll find them quite interesting!

The only rules are to have fun, be nice to everyone, and don’t bot the polls please I love whales too but let’s make this fair.

The first round of polls will be split up into two groups to prevent too many polls running at once, and the first round will begin on Friday, February 17th at 12 PM EST. Links to all the polls, as well as the complete bracket, can be found here!

Bracket

Round One, Part One: CLOSED

Gray whale vs True’s beaked whale

Northern bottlenose whale vs Strap-toothed whale

Atlantic spotted dolphin vs Dall’s porpoise

Northern right whale dolphin vs Rice’s whale

White-beaked dolphin vs Cuvier’s beaked whale

Killer whale vs false killer whale

Tucuxi vs Risso’s dolphin

Sei whale vs Narwhal

Heaviside’s dolphin vs Blue whale

Dwarf sperm whale vs Harbor porpoise

Antarctic minke whale vs Hector’s dolphin

Striped dolphin vs Rough-toothed dolphin

Commerson’s dolphin vs Spectacled porpoise

Pygmy right whale vs Sato’s beaked whale

Atlantic white-sided dolphin vs Southern right whale dolphin

Hourglass dolphin vs Common dolphin

Round One, Part Two: CLOSED

Yangtze finless porpoise vs Blainville’s beaked whale

Bottlenose dolphin vs Indus river dolphin

Melon-headed whale vs Southern right whale

Omura’s whale vs Amazon river dolphin

Pygmy sperm whale vs Australian humpback dolphin

Baiji vs Vaquita

Spinner dolphin vs Bowhead whale

Pantropical spotted dolphin vs Dusky dolphin

Australian snubfin dolphin vs Bryde’s whale

Short-finned pilot whale vs Pygmy killer whale

Beluga vs Humpback whale

North Atlantic right whale vs Fin whale

Common minke whale vs Irrawaddy dolphin

Sowerby’s beaked whale vs La Plata river dolphin

Sperm whale vs Indo Pacific humpback dolphin

Baird’s beaked whale vs Pacific white-sided dolphin

Round Two: ONGOING

Gray whale vs Strap-toothed whale

Atlantic spotted dolphin vs Northern right whale dolphin

Cuvier’s beaked whale vs Killer whale

Tucuxi vs Narwhal

Blue whale vs Harbor porpoise

Antarctic minke whale vs Striped dolphin

Commerson’s dolphin vs Sato’s beaked whale

Southern right whale dolphin vs Hourglass dolphin

Yangtze finless porpoise vs Indus River dolphin

Southern right whale vs Amazon river dolphin

Pygmy sperm whale vs Vaquita

Spinner dolphin vs Dusky dolphin

Australian snubfin dolphin vs Pygmy killer whale

Beluga vs Fin whale

Irrawaddy dolphin vs La Plata river dolphin

Sperm whale vs Pacific white-sided dolphin

Round Three: CLOSED

Gray whale vs Atlantic spotted dolphin

Killer whale vs Narwhal

Blue whale vs Striped dolphin

Commerson’s dolphin vs Hourglass dolphin

Yangtze finless porpoise vs Amazon river dolphin

Vaquita vs Spinner dolphin

Australian snubfin dolphin vs Beluga

Irrawaddy dolphin vs Sperm whale

Round Four: CLOSED

Atlantic spotted dolphin vs Narwhal

Blue whale vs Hourglass dolphin

Amazon river dolphin vs Vaquita

Beluga vs Sperm whale

[forkandknife]

I think my parents and I have seen two different kinds of beaked whales just off shore in our city. My mom and I saw something that looked sort of like a harbor seal without a face that I think was a cuvier’s beaked whale, and my parents saw something in another part of town that they describe as looking like a large, dark colored baiji (river dolphin with a long beak) which sounds a lot like a baird’s beaked whale

[antiqueanimals]

Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia, vol. 11, Mammals II. 1972. Illustrated by Peter Barrett.

Beaked whales;

1.) Baird's beaked whale (Berardius bairdii)

2.) Strap-toothed whale (Mesoplodon layardii)

3.) True's beaked whale (Mesoplodon mirus)

4.) Sowerby's beaked whale (Mesoplodon bidens)

5.) Northern bottlenose whale (Hyperoodon ampullatus)

White whales and narwhals;

6.) Beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas)

7.) Narwhal (Monodon monoceros)

Long snouted dolphins;

8.) Rough-toothed dolphin (Steno bredanensis)

9.) Atlantic humpback dolphin (Sousa teuszii)

True dolphins;

10.) Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus)

11.) Common dolphin (Delphinus delphis)

12.) Striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba)

13.) Atlantic white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus acutus)

14.) Common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)

15.) Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus)

16.) Northern right whale dolphin (Lissodelphis borealis)

Pilot and killer whales;

17.) Long-finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas)

18.) Pygmy killer whale (Feresa attenuata)

19.) Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris)

20.) Orca (Orcinus orca)

21.) False killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens)

Commerson's dolphins;

22.) Commerson's dolphin (Cephalorhynchus commersonii)

Porpoises;

23.) Harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena)

24.) Spectacled porpoise (Phocoena dioptrica)

25.) Dall's porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli)

26.) Indo-Pacific finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides)

[noaasanctuaries]

Whale you know what they say, the best things in life come when you’re not looking for them! 

That’s exactly what happened with whale watchers in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary recently when they had some surprise visitors. A pod of rare Baird’s beaked whales were spotted swimming in the area, including some calves. The elusive whales are usually found far out at sea, and likely traveled to Monterey Bay following food, like squid and fish. 

(Photo: Douglas Croft) 

[Image description: A few Baird's beaked whales swimming with their heads above the water's surface.]

[nazrigar]

Last month, during Mermay, I was researching how big beaked whale’s were, and one of the most shocking things I learned was that Baird’s Beaked Whale weighs an astounding 10 tons! That’s heavier than Spinosaurus!

[graveyardrabbit]

top 5 whales please

thank you so much, anon, I was hoping someone would ask this (for purposes of this list I'm including dolphins and porpoises)

California gray whale

(photo source)

These whales are common along the coast of the part of California near where I live. Those are my neighbors. 2. Orca

(photo source)

Love absolutely everything these guys have going on. 10/10

3. Dwarf sperm whale

(photo source)

there she goes

these are some of the smallest whales, measuring on average between 6-8 feet long. it's entirely within the realm of possibility for one to have a life-size plush of one of these guys.

4. Amazon river dolphin

( photo source )

supremely threatening aura. I love them so much.

5. Baird's beaked whale

( photo source )

the second largest living species of toothed whale. absolute units, they're doing a great job.

[xiphosuras]

Little detail :)

Colours are done, so we’re onto the lettering.

[earthstory]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by ABC7 Eyewitness News (@abc7la)

abc7la An #abc7eyewitness caught drone footage of an extremely rare whale species in Monterey Bay! @markgirardeau was aboard the Monterey Bay Whale Watch tour Saturday when he caught this unexpected sight with his drone: A pod of Baird's beaked whales. Experts say the species tends to avoid ships, making this moment even more rare. Girardeau said they can dive to depths over 5,000 feet and stay underwater for more than an hour which makes them almost impossible to track by whale watchers. He says this is likely the first drone footage of them ever. Baird's beaked whales are apparently only found in the North Pacific. Researchers say their range is from Japan to the Southern California/Baja area northward to the Bering Sea.

[plaguedocboi]

Hey guess what we’re talking about beaked whales today

BEAKED WHALES are somewhere between a sperm whale and a dolphin phylogenetically. Much like their name suggests, they have long snouts!

Unlike a dolphin, they usually only have two teeth, which come in a variety of interesting shapes and sizes!

The reason beaked whales are rarely mentioned in whale discussion is because not much is known about them. They’re super elusive and live almost exclusively in deep trenches, where they spend most of their time at great depth hunting squid and fish. The longest and deepest diving mammal is the Cuvier’s beaked whale, which has been recorded descending to nearly 10,000 ft and staying underwater for over three hours!

I know what you’re thinking; these things just kinda look like a weird dolphin, why are they considered a whale? Well, it’s because they be Big. The largest is the Baird’s beaked whale, which is roughly the same size as a gray whale.

They also have FIN POCKETS, which is exactly what it sounds like. Little pockets to tuck their fins into to become super-streamlined.

(Very shaped beasts, these)

In summary!

Beaked

Whale

Thank you

[jinipigpaints-blog]

The Gentle Giant #10

Baird's Beaked Whale