ACOUSTIC OBSERVATIONS OF ARNOUX'S BEAKED WHALE (BERARDIUS ARNUXII) OFF KEMP LAND, ANTARCTICA

Arnoux's beaked whale, Berardius arnuxii, has a circumpolar distribution in the Southern Ocean, with sightings reported as far north as 34 degree S (Balcomb 1989, Paterson and Parker 1994). Its status is considered uncommon. Few specimens have been examined and described, and the species is known mostly from strandings around New Zealand and recent observations off the east Antarctic coast (Ponganis and Kooyman 1995, Hobson and Martin 1996). It is similar in anatomical structure to the northern congeneric species, Baird's beaked whale, Berardius bairdii, with the exception that it is smaller in size (Balcomb 1989).