Species guide
Gervais' beaked whale
Mesoplodon europaeus
At a glance
Conservation, taxonomy and Madeira records reviewed . Review sources.
- Global IUCN conservation status
- Least Concern — assessment published .
Global extinction risk is separate from sighting frequency in Madeira.
- Identification
- Robust, medium sized beaked whale mainly bluish grey to grey on the upperside and whitish below.
- Small, narrow head with indistinct melon and mid-length beak
- Size
- Maximum length: 5.2 m
- Recorded occurrence in Madeira
- Reported on local trips, including August 2021.
- Madeira records and season
- No dependable seasonal window established by the cited records.
Identification and size summarize profile notes updated . Local records are past observations, not a prediction of sightings.
Read the identification notes ↓- Taxonomic authority
- (Gervais, 1855)
- Family
- Ziphiidae
- Cetacean group
- Odontoceti
Sightings in Madeira
The confirmed Gervais' beaked whale records in the 2012 checklist are strandings in April and May 2007. Later trip reports are operator identifications, not a new independently validated checklist. Historical evidence.
Our August 2021 trip report lists this species. This is an operator observation, not a population estimate.
No dependable seasonal window established by the cited records. The months in individual reports should not be treated as the limits of a season.
ID characteristics
Robust, medium sized beaked whale mainly bluish grey to grey on the upperside and whitish below.
Small, narrow head with indistinct melon and mid-length beak
Mature male has a pair of teeth that erupt towards the tip of jawline
Small dorsal fin with variable shape, from shark-like to curved with a rounded tip
Surface behaviour
Rarely seen at sea and it probably avoids vessels.
When surfacing beak emerges first.
Distribution
Central and North Atlantic Ocean whale ranging from 50º North to 15º South
Deep subtropical and warm waters of the North and Central Atlantic
Social
In groups between 2 to 5 individuals
Diet
Squid
Biometrics
Max length: 5.2 m
Adult weight: 1 to 2 ton
Blow
Weak and difficult to see at sea
Common names in other languages
- Portuguese: Baleia de bico de Gervais, Baleia bicuda de Gervais
- German: Gervais-Zweizahnwal, Europäischer Schnabelwal
- French: Mésoplodon de Gervais
- Spanish: Zifio de Gervais, Zifio europeo, Ballena de pico de Gervais
- Italian: Mesoplodonte di Gervais
- Dutch: Spitssnuitdolfijn van Gervais
- Polish: Wal europejski
- Swedish: Gervais näbbval
- Danish: Gervais' næbhval
Other English names
Antillian beaked whale, Gulf Stream beaked whale, European beaked whale
Names vary by language and region. This list is not exhaustive. Multilingual name records.
Review sources
Conservation, taxonomy, local occurrence and seasonality checked on . The assessment publication year is separate from this editorial review date. Identification, size, other biology notes and multilingual aliases are outside this review unless a specific source is cited alongside them.
- IUCN Red List: Mesoplodon europaeus — global species assessment, published 2020.
- Society for Marine Mammalogy: species and subspecies list (April 2026) — Scientific names, authorities, families and English names. Mysticeti and Odontoceti are treated as unranked groups.
- IUCN SSC Cetacean Specialist Group: Red List status of cetaceans — Global species categories cross-checked against the specialist group's overview, updated October 2025. Regional and subpopulation assessments are separate.
- IUCN Cetacean Specialist Group: December 2020 assessments — Global beaked-whale assessments. Several changes from Data Deficient reflect revised guidance, not demonstrated recovery.
- Freitas et al. (2012): New records of cetacean species for Madeira Archipelago with an updated checklist — Table 1 and species accounts distinguish sightings, catches and strandings. Record totals and last-record dates describe evidence available through December 2012.
The linked trip reports document operator observations. They do not independently confirm every identification or measure population size, abundance or the probability of a sighting.