The northern bottlenose whale (Hyperoodon ampullatus) is one of three bottlenose whale species. The other two are the southern bottlenose whale and the Indo-Pacific or tropical bottlenose whale, also known as Longman's beaked whale. 

Bottlenose whales have very prominent, fleshy melons and narrow snouts. 

Description

Northern bottlenose whales are relatively large beaked whales.  They can be up to 32 feet long and 17,000 pounds (about 8 tons) in weight.


Males may be larger than females. 

Northern bottlenose whales have a robust body, bottle-shaped snout (rostrum), crescent-shaped blowhole and small dorsal fin, which is located about two-thirds of the way down their back. The skin of northern bottlenose whales can be dark gray, brownish or olive-colored, and may have light spots, markings or scars. Males have two small teeth that angle out from their lower jaw.

The melon of the northern bottlenose whale seems to change with age - it becomes more pronounced as the animals (especially males) age. 

Classification

• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Chordata
• Subphylum: Vertebrata
• Superclass: Gnathostoma
• Superclass: Tetrapoda
• Class: Mammalia
• Subclass: Theria
• Order: Cetartiodactyla
• Suborder: Cetancodonta
• Infraorder: Cetacea
• Superfamily: Odontoceti
• Family: Ziphiidae
• Genus: Hyperoodon
• Species: ampullatus

Habitat and Distribution

Northern bottlenose whales are found singly or in small groups, although they may occasionally be seen in groups as large as 50 whales. They live in the North Atlantic Ocean in cold temperate and subarctic waters that are deeper than 6,500 feet.

 

Feeding

Northern bottlenose whales appear to feed mostly near or on the seafloor. Primarily prey seems to be squid, although they will also eat fish (e.g., herring, redfish) and echinoderms. These whales are capable of long, deep dives - their dives may last up to 2 hours. 

Reproduction

Northern bottlenose whales become sexually mature at 7-11 years. Like other cetaceans, Baird's beaked whales reproduce sexually with internal fertilization. The gestation period is about 12 months, after which the female gives birth to a calf that is about 10-11.5 feet long and weighs about 600 pounds. Females appear to have calves about every two years.  

Conservation

The northern bottlenose whale is listed as "data deficient" on the IUCN Red List. 

Northern bottlenose whales tend to be curious around ships, and stay near other bottlenose whales that have been wounded, which made them especially susceptible to whaling. These whales were hunted for their "spermaceti," meat and oil during the 1800 and 1900's, and more than 80,000 whales were killed. Because of whaling, which made specimens available for scientific examination, northern bottlenose whales are one of the most well-studied beaked whale species. 

Current threats to northern bottlenose whales include human-made noise in the ocean, which may interfere with feeding, communication and navigation.  Other threats include entanglement or being caught as bycatch in fishing gear, ship strikes, and offshore oil and gas exploration. 

References and Further Information

• Hooker, S.  and Gowans, S. Northern Bottlenose Whale (H. ampullatus). Society for Marine Mammalogy. Accessed May 30, 2014.
• Mead, J.G. 2002. "Beaked Whales, Overview" In Perrin, W.F., Wursig, B., and J.G.M. Thewissen. Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals. Academic Press. 1413pp.
• NOAA Fisheries. 2012. Northern Bottlenose Whale (Hyperoodon ampullatus). Accessed May 30, 2014.
• WDC Species Guide: Northern Bottlenose Whale. Accessed May 30, 2014.