[Illustration: Figure 77.--Various views of a herd of five or six unidentified beaked whales, possibly dense-beaked whales, 12 miles off Pokai Bay, Oahu, Hawaii. The animals were very shy and had low indistinct blows, making them difficult to spot and track. As they surfaced, individuals frequently bucked their heads and slapped the chin against the surface, rather than rolling. They did not raise their tail flukes when beginning their long dives. (_Photos by E. Shallenberger, Sea Life Park, Hawaii._)
(Because so little is known of beaked whales every encounter should be recorded in as much detail as possible.)]
[Illustration: Figure 78.--Adult male beaked whales, showing the body profile and the relative positions of the teeth. Remember that the teeth of females and immature males are concealed beneath the gums. (_Drawing by L. Winn._)]
True's beaked whales reach a length of at least 16 feet (4.9 m) long. They are chunky in midbody and narrow rapidly towards the tail, closely resembling goosebeaked whales (p. 70). In overall body shape, the head is small with a slight indentation in the area of the blowhole, a slight bulge to the forehead, and a pronounced beak. The flippers are small (from one-fourteenth to one-tenth the body length). The dorsal fin is small, slightly falcate, located in the latter third of the back, and followed by a pronounced ridge on the tail stock. The flukes, which sometimes contain a very slight notch, are broad (to almost one-fifth the body length).
True's beaked whales are dull black to dark gray on the back, lighter slate gray on the sides, and white on the belly. The body is frequently covered with light colored spots or splotches and bears numerous pairs of scratch marks, presumably tooth rakes (Fig. 76).
The flippers are all black and are attached in the dark coloration of the animal's side. The flukes are dark above and below.
True's beaked whales are most likely to be confused with goosebeaked whales (p. 70) but may also be confused with any of the other beaked whales species (p. 74 and Fig. 78).
True's beaked whales appear to be primarily temperate in distribution. They have been reported from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia south as far as Flagler Beach in Florida. Northernmost records are for summer months.