LAYARD'S BEAKED WHALE 



LAYARD'S BEAKED WHALE 



(Mesoplodon layardi) 



Layard's Beaked Whale is the most striking and 

 interesting of the Beaked Whales by reason of its 

 enormous strap-like teeth which grow out of the 

 lower jaw and, curving over the upper jaw, almost 

 meet above. This Whale is an inhabitant of the 

 Southern Ocean, and is comparatively rare. It has 

 been recorded at intervals in the seas around the 

 South African coast. A specimen in the flesh was 

 washed ashore at the mouth of Zwartkops tidal 

 river in Algoa Bay on February i8, 1907. It was 

 a male, 19 feet 2 inches long ; tail 4 feet 6 inches 

 from tip to tip ; root of tail 9 inches- in diameter ; 

 flippers 22 inches in length; dorsal fin 13 inches 

 wide, II inches high, and situated 34 inches from 

 the tail. From point of beak to the eye 38 inches ; 

 externally 4 feet from tip of beak to its base ; penis 

 16 inches. 



The strap-like curved teeth were of ivory, sur- 

 mounted by a small conical elevation of enamel, 

 in appearance like a little canine tooth growing 

 on top of the tusk. These great, curved, flat-sided 

 teeth were eleven inches long from the surface of 

 the gum to the tip. 



The colour of the back was dark brown, almost 

 black on the back ; gradually .growing lighter on 

 the sides and tail, and gradually merging into dirty 



219 



