Bairds Beaked Whale Skull

Bairds Beaked Whale Skull measures 59x31x20 inches. Bairds Beaked Whale Skull is museum quality polyurethane cast. Made in USA. Berardius bairdi is the scientific name. Cast of an original California Academy of Sciences specimen male skull. 2-part skull (separate cranium and jaw). Oversize shipment – Please call 509-951-3557 for shipping and crate quote. Our precise skull can be used as a teaching tool, museum skull exhibit, beach home decor skull, or office decor skull.

Bairds Beaked Whale or Berardius bairdi is found in the northern Pacific Ocean, the Sea of Japan and the southern part of the Sea of Okhotsk.

Specimens have been recorded as far north as the Bering Sea and as far south as the Baja California peninsula.

Bairds Beaked Whale or Berardius bairdi is the largest of the beaked whales, has an estimated population around 30,000 individuals, sometimes reaching a maximum length of 42 feet or 12.8 m. This species may be the only large beaked whale found in the North Pacific.

Bairds Beaked Whale or Berardius bairdi are unique among toothed whales in that most species only have one pair of teeth. The teeth are tusk-like, but are only visible in males, which are presumed to use these teeth in combat for females for reproductive rights. In females, the teeth do not develop and remain hidden in the gum tissues.

The throats of all beaked whales have a bilaterally paired set of grooves that are associated with their unique feeding mechanism, suction feeding. Instead of capturing prey with their teeth, beaked whales suck it into their oral cavity. Suction is aided by the throat grooves, which stretch and expand to accommodate food.

Their tongues can move very freely. By suddenly retracting the tongue and distending the gular (throat) floor, pressure immediately drops within the mouth, sucking the prey in with the water.

Dietary information is available from stomach contents analyses of stranded Bairds Beaked Whales or Berardius bairdi and from whaling operations. Their preferred diet is primarily deep water squid, but also benthic and benthopelagic fish and some crustaceans, mostly taken near the sea floor.

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