Longman’s Beaked Whale is a very rare whale. The scientific name for it is Indopacetus Pacificus. H.A. Longman discovered it back in 1882. He discovered a skull and beak in Queensland, Australia beach. It is a fairly good size whale, as an adult it is about 6 to 9 meters long, and about 2.9 meters when it is a calf. The color of the Longman whale is a dark grayish, bronze, brown, or olive color that extends from their blowhole and eye down to their back. They have a bulging forehead; and a relatively small, low, bushy blow that is usually visible and slightly angled forward. They also have a large hooked shape dorsal fin located far down their back. Its flippers are dark, small, rounded, narrow flippers that fit into a depression on either side of the body.

 

Longman whales generally live in warm water, usually in about 69.8-87.8 degrees Fahrenheit. Longman whales live in deep waters usually greater than 3,300 ft deep, in the waters of the tropical and subtropical regions. We know very little of the Longman whale simply because of its rareness, we know Longman whales come from the tropical regions of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.  That is why it has the name “Indo-“, because specimens were found in those two regions. Many beaked whales are mostly squid eaters and Longman’s beaked whale isn’t different form the other whales. A Longman was stranded in the Philippines and had only squid in its stomach. And another stranded in Japan also had squid beaks with no sign of any fish in its stomach.

 

The Longman whale has been observed, and it has been determined that it travels in large groups. These groups are larger than any other species of beaked whales. They can travel in groups of 10 to 100, but a group of about 15 to 20 is very normal. These groups are quite cohesive, and they are known to associate with other species such as Bottlenose Dolphins, and Short-Finned Pilot Whales. They also have been known to surface the water in short blows, with their dives timed at about 18 to 25 minutes.

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Interesting Facts: There are no records of this whale of being hunted, or accidentally caught by fishermen’s nets. It is also unknown if they are affected by sonar. The Longman whale as a baby is a calf, the female are called a cow, and males are bulls. When they travel in groups they are called gam, pod, or herd. The Longman whale is the most least know species,  the only way its know is because of the bone and few sightings at sea. Scientist do not know how many there are or how long they live. Longman whale is the first complete specimen ever found.

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Unfortunately we know very little about the Longman Beaked Whale because it is an extremely rare whale. While I was doing the research for this project, I realized how much we don’t know about our world we live in. There is so many species that we don’t know about, or we know very little about because the earth is so big. Hopefully while technology improves, we will find it easier to discover new species that share our world with us. 

 

Author: Joshua G
Published: 2/13/11

Sources:
"Tropical Bottlenose Whale." itsnature. © 2007 - 2010 itsnature.org, 02072010. Web. 12 Feb 2011. http://www.itsnature.org/sea/aquatic-mammals/tropical-bottlenose-whale/

"Indopacetus pacificus." CMS. © 2004 UNEP, n.d. Web. 12 Feb 2011. http://www.cms.int/reports/small_cetaceans/data/I_pacificus/i_pacificus.htm

"Longman's Beaked Whale (Indopacetus pacificus)." Office of Protected Resources. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb 2011. http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/cetaceans/beakedwhale_longmans.htm

Folkens, Peter. Guide to Marine Mammals of the World. 1st ed. Chanticleer Press, Inc., 2002. 266. Print.