New information on the Southern Bottlenose Whale, Hyperoodon planifrons (Cetacea: Ziphiidae), from a recent stranding in Victoria, Australia.

Abstract

Few strandings of the Southern Bottlenose Whale, Hyperoodon planifrons Flower, have been recorded on Australian shores. The general biology of this southern species has received little study, compared with those on the northern species H. ampullatus. The stranding of a juvenile male H. planifrons at Mentone, Port Phillip Bay, Victoria in September 1992 provided an opportunity for a wide range of observations and analyses to be made. New information is presented here on general morphology, feeding, ectoparasites, and organochlorine assays.