|Scientific Name:||Mesoplodon peruvianus|
|Species Authority:||Reyes, Mead & Van Waerebeek, 1991|
|Taxonomic Notes:||The Pygmy Beaked Whale or Lesser Beaked Whale was only described as a new species in 1991 (Reyes et al. 1991). Whales now thought to be of this species had previously been sighted in the eastern tropical Pacific (Pitman et al. 1987, Pitman and Lynn 2001). Since it was unknown to what species they belonged, they were listed in some previous publications as “Mesoplodon sp. A.” (Pitman 2002).|
|Red List Category & Criteria:||Data Deficient ver 3.1|
|Assessor(s):||Taylor, B.L., Baird, R., Barlow, J., Dawson, S.M., Ford, J., Mead, J.G., Notarbartolo di Sciara, G., Wade, P. & Pitman, R.L.|
|Reviewer(s):||Hammond, P.S. & Perrin, W.F. (Cetacean Red List Authority)|
There is almost no information on abundance and no information on trends in global abundance for this species. As a relatively uncommon species it is potentially vulnerable to low-level threats and a 30% global reduction over three generations cannot be ruled out (criterion A).
|Previously published Red List assessments:||
|Range Description:||The pygmy beaked whale is known from a handful of specimens and several dozen sighting from the eastern tropical/warm temperate Pacific, including the Gulf of California (Urban-Ramirez and Aurioles-Gamboa. 1992, MacLeod et al. 2006). These records extend from about 30°S to 28°N, and suggest that the species may be an eastern Pacific endemic. However, there is a single record of a stranding in New Zealand (Baker and Van Helden 1999), possibly suggesting that this species may have a more extensive distribution than previously believed. Alternatively, the New Zealand record may be an extralimital wandering.|
Native:Colombia; Costa Rica; Ecuador; El Salvador; Guatemala; Honduras; Mexico; Nicaragua; Panama; Peru
Vagrant:New Zealand (South Is.)
|FAO Marine Fishing Areas:||
Pacific – southeast
|Range Map:||Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.|
|Population:||There are no estimates of global abundance for this species. Ferguson and Barlow (1999) estimate a total abundance of 32,678 beaked whales in the genus Mesoplodon in the eastern Pacific (corrected for missed animals). The majority of these were Mesoplodon peruvianus and Mesoplodon densirostris (Pitman and Lynn 2001).|
|Current Population Trend:||Unknown|
|Habitat and Ecology:||Like other members of the genus, it occurs in deep waters beyond the continental shelf.
The diet consists of small mid-water fishes, oceanic squids, and shrimps. Presumably these are taken at moderate to great depths.
Some pygmy beaked whales are caught incidentally in drift gillnets for sharks off Peru (Reyes et al. 1991).. Entanglement in fishing gear, especially gillnets in deep water (e.g., for billfish and tuna), is probably the most significant threat.
There is no information on global abundance or trends in abundance for this species. It is not believed to be uncommon but it is potentially vulnerable to low-level threats and a 30% global reduction over three generations cannot be ruled out
In recent years, there has been increasing concern that loud underwater sounds, such as active sonar and seismic operations, may be harmful to beaked whales (Malakoff 2002). The use of active sonar from military vessels has been implicated in mass strandings of a number of beaked whales including several Mesoplodon species and Indopacetus pacificus (Balcomb and Claridge 2001, Jepson et al. 2003, Cox et al. 2006, Wang and Yang 2006). Sound impacts may be important for all ziphiid species.
Pygmy beaked whales have been recorded ingesting plastic items, which may eventually lead to death (e.g. Scott et al. 2001).
Predicted impacts of global climate change on the marine environment may affect this species of whale, although the nature of impacts is unclear (Learmonth et al. 2006).
|Conservation Actions:||The species is listed in Appendix II of CITES. Research is needed to determine the impacts of potential threatening processes on this species.|
|Citation:||Taylor, B.L., Baird, R., Barlow, J., Dawson, S.M., Ford, J., Mead, J.G., Notarbartolo di Sciara, G., Wade, P. & Pitman, R.L. 2008. Mesoplodon peruvianus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2008: e.T13251A3430977. . Downloaded on 24 May 2016.|
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