Shepherd's beaked whale is a beaked whale with functional teeth in both upper and lower jaws in both sexes. It lives in deep, cool offshore waters of the Southern Hemisphere, but is rarely seen at sea and much about its biology remains unknown.
The back is dark brownish-black, while the sides and belly are paler. Unlike other beaked whales, it has a full set of functional teeth in both jaws in both sexes.
In January 2017, an underwater camera recorded two Shepherd’s Beaked Whales near Inaccessible Island in the Tristan da Cunha group. The mid-water camera system was suspended about 10 m below the surface and captured the whales as they crossed its field of view.
The footage was the first underwater record from the island group. The last reported live sighting there had been in 2002.
Researchers used the video to document visible features of the two whales and add information about a species rarely seen at sea.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
The camera survey produced the first underwater record from Tristan da Cunha and the first reported live sighting there since 2002.