Cetaceans in Greece: Present status of knowledge

Drawing by Massimo Demma / ICRAM
Taxonomy
Ziphius cavirostris G. Cuvier, 1823
Order: Cetacea (Κητώδη)
Suborder: Odontoceti (Οδοντοκήτη)
Suprafamily: Ziphioidea (Ζιφιοειδή)
Family: Ziphiidae (Ζιφιίδες)
Subfamily: Ziphiinae (Ζιφιίνες)
Genus: Ziphius
Species: Ziphius cavirostris
Relevant common names
Cuvier’s beaked whale
Scientific name: Ziphius cavirostris
Common Ζιφιός
name:
Transcription: Zifiós
Pronunciation: zifjós
EN Cuvier’s beaked whale AR (zifius)
FR ziphius TR Kuvier balinasi
ES zifio de Cuvier AL baleen me sqep
IT zifio HR Cuvierov kit
DE Cuvier schnabelwal HE (zifyus chalul chartom)
PT zifio ML baliena ta’ Kuvjer
Size
Information on the body size of Cuvier’s beaked whales in the Mediterranean Sea originates
from stranded animals and clearly indicates smaller sizes than those observed in the oceans
where animals larger than 6 m are recorded. The average size for both sexes globally is 6 m
and the largest reliably measured individual was 6.93 m according to Heyning (1989).
However, the largest Cuvier’s beaked whales recorded in the Mediterranean were 7.6 m (a
female; Casinos & Vericad 1976) and 6.3 m (Duguy 1985). These measurements are much
longer than the third and fourth longer available ones (5.8 and 5.70 m; Centro Studi Cetacei
1995, 1996). The largest specimen measured in Greece was a male 5.32 m long, bearing
erupted small teeth. The total length at birth globally is 2.7 m (Heyning 1989). However, a
2.20 m individual stranded in Greece does not seem to be an aborted fetus based on the
available photos, suggesting that size at birth may be smaller.
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