Described as a distinct species only in 2002, Perrin's Beaked Whale was identified from several specimens stranded on the Californian coast. For years, these had been mistakenly identified as a more familiar beaked whale species, an error resolved by genetic analysis of skulls preserved in museums. Like other beaked whales, Perrin's Beaked Whale is an extreme diver, spending most of its life in deep, open-ocean waters far from the coast. This explains why it is one of the least-sighted and least-known cetaceans in the entire eastern Pacific. Adult males develop a pair of visible teeth in the lower jaw, which they use in fights among themselves. This is a trait shared with other beaked whales, and it leaves very characteristic linear bite marks on the skin of older individuals. Almost everything known about Perrin's Beaked Whale comes from a handful of stranded specimens, as no live at-sea sighting has ever been confirmed.
Perrin's Beaked Whale is medium-sized, with a greyish fusiform body. Adult males show linear scars from intraspecific fights. It has a small head with a short, slightly bulging snout, and a small, falcate dorsal fin set very far back on the body. At sea, it is confused with other beaked whale species from the eastern Pacific, from which it is practically indistinguishable without genetic or cranial examination. Almost all confirmed records come from strandings, not live sightings.
It leaves no tracks on land; Perrin's Beaked Whale is detected almost exclusively through strandings, as no confirmed live sighting at sea has ever occurred. On the surface, it makes very prolonged dives typical of beaked whales, with a low, inconspicuous blow difficult to detect from a distance. Adult males show characteristic linear scars from fights with other males, a visible sign on stranded specimens that helps distinguish the individual's sex and age.
Deep open-ocean waters, generally over the continental slope or beyond it. Distributed throughout the temperate eastern Pacific, with most confirmed records off the coast of California, in the north-eastern Pacific Ocean.
Perrin's Beaked Whale probably feeds on squid and deep-sea fish. Like other beaked whales, it catches these by suction feeding during prolonged dives. However, there are no direct data on its specific diet.
Pelagic and very elusive, Perrin's Beaked Whale is known almost exclusively from stranded specimens. Adult males fight each other using the two visible teeth of the lower jaw, leaving characteristic linear scars on their bodies. While this social behaviour is poorly documented in Perrin's Beaked Whale, it is typical of other beaked whales.
The population trend of Perrin's Beaked Whale is unknown due to the almost complete scarcity of records. All available information comes from a very small number of strandings in California. There are no reliable estimates of its total population.
Bycatch in deep-sea fishing gear, underwater acoustic pollution that can alter diving behaviour, and pollution from plastic and other accidentally ingested waste are documented risks for other beaked whale species. These are presumably shared by Perrin's Beaked Whale.
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