What is the maximal age a Blainville’s beaked whale reaches?
An adult Blainville’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris) usually gets as old as 27 years.
When born, they weight 2 grams (0 lbs) and measure 8.9 cm (0′ 4″). They are a member of the Ziphiidae family (genus: Mesoplodon). Fully grown, they reach a bodylength of 4.59 meter (15′ 1″).
As a reference: Usually, humans get as old as 100 years, with the average being around 75 years. After being carried in the belly of their mother for 280 days (40 weeks), they grow to an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″) and weight in at 62 kg (137 lbs), which is obviously highly individual.
Blainville’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris), or the dense-beaked whale, is the widest ranging mesoplodont whale and perhaps the most documented. The French zoologist Henri de Blainville first described the species in 1817 from a small piece of jaw — the heaviest bone he had ever come across — which resulted in the name densirostris (Latin for “dense beak”). Off the northeastern Bahamas, the animals are particularly well documented, and a photo identification project started sometime after 2002.
Animals of the same family as a Blainville’s beaked whale
Not really brothers and sisters, but from the same biological family (Ziphiidae):
- Andrews’ beaked whale growing to a mass of 2600 kgs (5732.01 lbs)
- Shepherd’s beaked whale growing to a mass of 2500 kgs (5511.55 lbs)
- Stejneger’s beaked whale growing to a mass of 4800 kgs (10582.18 lbs)
- Gervais’ beaked whale growing to a mass of 5600 kgs (12345.87 lbs)
- Hubbs’ beaked whale growing to a mass of 3400 kgs (7495.71 lbs)
- Berardius becoming 71 years old
- Hector’s beaked whale growing to a mass of 1000 kgs (2204.62 lbs)
- Northern bottlenose whale becoming 37 years old
- Tropical bottlenose whale growing to a mass of 2200 kgs (4850.16 lbs)
- Strap-toothed whale growing to a mass of 1500 kgs (3306.93 lbs)
Animals that reach the same age as Blainville’s beaked whale
With an average age of 27 years, Blainville’s beaked whale are in good companionship of the following animals:
- Tiger usually reaching 26.25 years
- Mona monkey usually reaching 30 years
- Greater mouse-eared bat usually reaching 22 years
- Chamois usually reaching 22 years
- Malayan porcupine usually reaching 27.25 years
- Grivet usually reaching 31.58 years
- South American sea lion usually reaching 24.75 years
- Gelada usually reaching 28 years
- Eurasian beaver usually reaching 25 years
- Ryukyu flying fox usually reaching 31 years
Weighting as much as Blainville’s beaked whale
A fully grown Blainville’s beaked whale reaches around 2300 kg (5070.63 lbs). So do these animals:
- White rhinoceros weighting 2272.97 kilos (5011.04 lbs) on average
- Tropical bottlenose whale weighting 2200 kilos (4850.16 lbs) on average
- Andrews’ beaked whale weighting 2600 kilos (5732.01 lbs) on average
- Shepherd’s beaked whale weighting 2500 kilos (5511.55 lbs) on average
- True’s beaked whale weighting 2100 kilos (4629.7 lbs) on average
Animals as big as a Blainville’s beaked whale
Those animals grow as big as a Blainville’s beaked whale:
- Indian rhinoceros with 3.74 meter (12′ 4″)
- Beluga whale with 4.25 meter (14′ 0″)
- Ginkgo-toothed beaked whale with 4.88 meter (16′ 1″)
- Northern giraffe with 4.18 meter (13′ 9″)
- Narwhal with 5.1 meter (16′ 9″)
- Pygmy beaked whale with 3.72 meter (12′ 3″)
- Northern elephant seal with 3.72 meter (12′ 3″)
- Southern elephant seal with 3.69 meter (12′ 2″)
- Andrews’ beaked whale with 4.26 meter (14′ 0″)
- True’s beaked whale with 5.18 meter (17′ 0″)