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Beaked whales are a type of toothed whales that belong to the family Ziphiidae. The cetaceans are well known for their elongated beaks that are somewhat similar to dolphins. They are ultimate divers, considered as the best in the whole world. They can keep diving for very long durations, commonly 20 to 30 minutes, to extreme depths of 1,899 meters and even more! Beaked whales are mysterious mammals and very little is known about them. They have 21 kinds, out of which only 3 to 4 have been studied in details. Beaked whales have a medium size. Their heights can range from 13 feet to 43 feet, and weight can be from 1 ton to 15 tons! Besides having a beak, there a few more characteristics feature that distinguish them from other cetaceans. These include absent notches on the flukes of their tails and a pair of merging grooves under their throats. Male beaked whales have only one to two pairs of tusk like teeth, and the dentition is absent, or fails to erupt, in female whales. Researchers have concluded that teeth in males are secondary sexual trait. Along with differences in dentition, the male beaked whales have enormous bulging foreheads. The whales are sexually dimorphic. All species of beaked whales are almost physically similar and it is hard to distinguish one from other in the wild. They have slight differences in size, color, shape of the forehead and length of the beak, and only a keen observer can tell the difference. Acknowledged as great deep divers, they usually dive below 500 meters in search of prey by echo-locative techniques, and then have a series of dives less deep. They mostly favor living in deep water. Deep diving in mammals means coming across various challenges like holding breathe for long periods of time, and others related to hydrostatic pressure. Beaked whales have adopted certain anatomical changes to overcome the difficulties of prolong deep diving. These adaptations are larger spleen, liver and adequate body shape with small dimples on each side that allow them to have a tight grip on their pectoral fins to speed up streamlining. Aside from anatomical adjustments, physiological changes also occur such as slow heart rate during the dives and changes in blood flow that result in increased oxygen storage. The coinciding pair of grooves on the underside of the throat helps in feeding mechanism which is suction feeding. Instead of using their teeth to grab the prey, they use the grooves to suck food in to their oral cavity. They withdraw their freely moving tongues and stretch their throats which cause the pressure of mouth to drop down and sucking up the food inside. Their diet primarily consists of squids living in deep sea. Other prey includes benthic species, benthopelagic fish and crustaceans that dwell near the oceanic floor. Beaked whales inhabit a wide range of oceans, from Polar Regions to equators; they live in offshore deep regions which are at least 300 meters.
Beaked Whales in Pacific Coast of Costa Rica
Over thousands of people travel all the way to Costa Rica?s pacific side to observe whales. The least known of all cetaceans, beaked whales are a mystery that fascinates people. Thus, their sighting along the pacific coast has caused much fuss. Playa Dominical, located on the southern pacific is popular for arranging successful whale watching tours. Nearby is a town of Uvita which has the amazing Whales National Park, a great place to observe whales like humpbacks, Sei, pilot, Orcas and of course, beaked whales! Osa Peninsula is present on the south-eastern portion of Province of Puntarenas. The place is a natural wonderland with lush vegetation and turquoise aqua. Cano Island Biological Reserve is a park there which is ideal for whale watching and aquatic sports. North to Osa Peninsula is a similarly beautiful Drake Bay, which has an idyllic set up for enticing vacations. The oceans are rich with marine life and in the right months, one might see a beaked whale diving offshore. Other sights on the pacific coast include Nicoya Peninsula, Cocos Island, Tortuga Island and Tambor Bay.
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References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaked_whale
http://muchacostarica.com/what-to-do/nature-activities/dolphin?whale-watching-.aspx
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Source: http://www.costarica-scuba.com/beaked-whales/
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