Largest beaked whale

The largest species of beaked whale (family Ziphiidae) is Baird's beaked whale Berardius bairdii, one of three species categorized as giant beaked whales. Native to cold temperate waters in the North Pacific, it attains a maximum confirmed length of 13 m, and weighs up to 14 tonnes. The very closely related Arnoux's beaked whale B. arnuxii, another member of the giant beaked whale trio, has been estimated to grow to 12 m, but no dead specimen exceeding 9.75 m has so far been recorded.

Apart from size differences, Baird's beaked whale and Arnoux's beaked whale are indistinguishable externally when seen at sea. Genetically, however, they are very distinct. Fortunately, they can never be confused with one another because their respective geographical distributions do not overlap. Baird's beaked whale occurs only in the North Pacific, whereas Arnoux's beaked whale occurs only in the Southern or Antarctic Ocean.