Mesoplodon peruvianus

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	MAMMALIA	CETARTIODACTYLA	ZIPHIIDAE

Scientific Name:

Mesoplodon peruvianus

Species Authority

Reyes, Mead & Van Waerebeek, 1991

Common Name/s:

English	–	Pygmy Beaked Whale, Lesser Beaked Whale, Peruvian Beaked Whale
French	–	Mésoplodon Pygmée

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Data Deficient ver 3.1

Year Assessed:

2008

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.

Evaluator/s:

Hammond, P.S. & Perrin, W.F. (Cetacean Red List Authority)

Justification:
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).

History:

1996	–	Data Deficient (Baillie and Groombridge 1996)
1994	–	Insufficiently Known (Groombridge 1994)

Geographic Range [top]

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.
Countries:	Native: Colombia; Costa Rica; Ecuador; El Salvador; Guatemala; Honduras; Mexico; Nicaragua; Panama; Peru Vagrant: New Zealand (South Is.)
FAO Marine Fishing Areas:	Native: Pacific – southeast
Range Map:	(click map to view full version)

Population [top]

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).
Population Trend:	Unknown

Habitat and Ecology [top]

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.
Systems:	Marine

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	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).

Major Threat(s):

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 [top]

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.

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. In: IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 19 November 2008.
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