Mesoplodon

Mesoplodont whales are 16 species of toothed whale in the genus Mesoplodon, making it the largest genus in the cetacean order. Two species were described as recently as 1991 (pygmy beaked whale) and 2002 (Perrin's beaked whale), and marine biologists predict the discovery of more species in the future. A new species was described in 2021. They are the most poorly known group of large mammals. The generic name "mesoplodon" comes from the Greek meso- (middle) - hopla (arms) - odon (teeth), and may be translated as 'armed with a tooth in the centre of the jaw'.

==Physical description== thumb|upright|alt=The flank of a stranded whale, showing several round scars|Round scars from cookiecutter shark bites can be seen on the flank of this stranded Gray's beaked whale. Mesoplodont beaked whales are small whales, (pygmy beaked whale) to (strap-toothed whale) in length, even compared with closely related whales such as the bottlenose whales and giant beaked whales. The spindle-shaped body has a small dorsal fin and short and narrow flippers. The head is small and tapered and has a semicircular blow hole that is sometimes asymmetric. The beak, which vary in length between species, blends with the small melon without a crease.