Beaks and Bottles Trivia Quiz

Answer: 24

There are 24 known species of beaked whale, in six different genera, in the 2020s. Many have only been described recently, and only a few are well known. They are very elusive, and tend to dive quite deep. They all feed by suction, and eat mainly squid, sometimes taking deep-sea fish and crustaceans.

Answer: Male

Most female beaked whales have no teeth at all, and even males only tend to have 2-4 (with some exceptions). These teeth are often situated on the front of their lower jaw, and aren't used for hunting.

Answer: They wrap around their upper jaw and stop it from fully opening.

The male strap-toothed beaked whale has long teeth that erupt from its lower jaw and wrap around their jaw, which can restrict their gape by up to half. This does not stop them from feeding, however, as they use suction to suck up squid.

Strap-toothed whales also have interesting colouration. While most marine animals have countershading (light on bottom, dark on top, for camouflage), they are dark on the bottom and light on the top. The purpose of this is not known, but calves have usual countershading and change colours as they age.

Answer: Their large cheek bulges.

Blainville's beaked whales of both sexes have large, exaggerated cheek bulges, which are unique among beaked whales. Males have a larger bulge and teeth erupt from them. Their species name is densirostris, which means "dense beak". The bone of their rostrum is the densest bone in the animal kingdom, and its function is uncertain.

Answer: They have a full set of functional teeth.

Both sexes have functional, non-vestigial teeth in their upper and lower jaws; the males have and extra pair of tusks. They reach a maximum of 7 m (23 feet). Calves are born about 3 m (9.8 feet) long.

Answer: Deepest and longest mammalian dives

The Cuvier's beaked whale (also known as goosebeak whale), has been recorded diving to almost 3 km (1.86 miles), and for 222 minutes. The sperm whale comes in a close second for this record.

The largest brain goes to the sperm whale, while the record for the largest animal goes to the blue whale, which is the largest animal to ever exist on Earth (in human knowledge). The longest living cetacean is believed to be the bowhead whale, which is estimated to reach ages in excess of 200 years.

Answer: True

Orcas are apex predators that often prey on species much larger than them, such as the baleen whales, even sometimes on great white sharks. Records exist of them preying on Cuvier's beaked whales, strap-toothed beaked whales and other mesoplodont whales.

Answer: Baird's beaked whale

Baird's beaked whale is the largest beaked whale species, reaching up to 13 m (42.65 feet). They are the second-largest species of toothed whale behind the sperm whale. They often bear scars from fights with other Baird's beaked whales. Like other beaked whales, they dive deep and feed on deep-sea fish and squid.

Answer: The white "cap" on their head and their dark colour.

Hubb's beaked whales are dark in colour, with a white beak and a white "cap" on their head. They are morphologically similar to Andrew's beaked whale, though Andrew's has no white "cap". They grow up to 5.3 m (17.39 feet). They use echolocation to locate their prey and suction them up.

Answer: Pygmy beaked whale

The pygmy beaked whale, also known as the Peruvian beaked whale, is found in deep ocean from Baja California to Peru. They have also been recorded in Chile, Monterey Bay, California, and New Zealand, though the latter is considered a vagrant individual. They only reach up to 4.1 m (13.45 feet) in length and are occasionally confused with dolphins at sea.