NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Ramari's beaked whale
Mesoplodon eueu Carroll, McGowen, McCarthy, Marx, Aguilar, Dalebout, Dreyer, Gaggiotti, Hansen et al., 2021
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
![Sampling locations in the NA (black circles) and SH (yellow circle). Global map viewed as a Spilhaus projection that shows the connectedness of the ocean, with sampling locations and distribution of Mesoplodon mirus and proposed species M. eueu shown by the key (sourced from 3,11]), with the artist's impression of the species in top right. Credit: Vivian Ward, University of Auckland.](/assets/optimized/c1a1441130063f47f8caa9fdfce0958be684dd74e5a530650f2d3ee9693e4f74.webp)
Sampling locations in the NA (black circles) and SH (yellow circle). Global map viewed as a Spilhaus projection that shows the connectedness of the ocean, with sampling locations and distribution of Mesoplodon mirus and proposed species M. eueu shown by the key (sourced from 3,11]), with the artist's impression of the species in top right. Credit: Vivian Ward, University of Auckland.
Vivian Ward · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Ramari's beaked whale (Mesoplodon eueu) is a medium size whale in the genus Mesoplodon. It is found in cool waters of the Southern Hemisphere. The species name, eueu, comes from the Khwedam word meaning 'big fish', as most of the strandings of these whales come from Khoisan territories in South Africa. The common name honours Māori whale expert Ramari Stewart.
It was previously thought to represent an Indian Ocean population of True's beaked whale (M. mirus), although there was speculation that it could be a distinct subspecies of True's beaked whale. However, studies of the Indian Ocean beaked whales found them to be genetically distinct from True's beaked whale, having diverged in the early Pleistocene, and also found them to have a much wider range throughout the Southern Hemisphere. They were thus described as a distinct species, M. eueu.
Wikipedia contributors, Ramari's beaked whale; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T09:15:21.545275+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Mesoplodon eueu Carroll, McGowen, McCarthy, Marx, Aguilar, Dalebout, Dreyer, Gaggiotti, Hansen et al., 2021
- Name authority
- Carroll, McGowen, McCarthy, Marx, Aguilar, Dalebout, Dreyer, Gaggiotti, Hansen et al., 2021
- Common name
- Ramari's beaked whale
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Cetacea
- Family
- Hyperoodontidae
- Genus
- Mesoplodon
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderCetacea Brisson, 1762
- suborderOdontoceti Flower, 1867
- familyHyperoodontidae Gray, 1846
- genusMesoplodon Gervais, 1850
- speciesMesoplodon eueu Carroll, McGowen, McCarthy, Marx, Aguilar, Dalebout, Dreyer, Gaggiotti, Hansen et al., 2021
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Mesoplodon. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| North Atlantic beaked whaleMesoplodon bidens (Sowerby, 1804) | HyperoodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Hubbs' Beaked WhaleMesoplodon carlhubbsi Moore, 1963 | HyperoodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Blainville's Beaked WhaleMesoplodon densirostris (Blainville, 1817) | HyperoodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ginkgo-toothed Beaked WhaleMesoplodon ginkgodens Nishiwaki & Kamiya, 1958 | HyperoodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Gray's Beaked WhaleMesoplodon grayi von Haast, 1876 | HyperoodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Hector's Beaked WhaleMesoplodon hectori (Gray, 1871) | HyperoodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Deraniyagala's Beaked WhaleMesoplodon hotaula Deraniyagala, 1963 | HyperoodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bering Sea beaked whaleMesoplodon stejnegeri True, 1885 | HyperoodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Antillean beaked whaleMesoplodon europaeus (Gervais, 1855) | HyperoodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Layard's beaked whaleMesoplodon layardii (Gray, 1865) | HyperoodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| True's Beaked WhaleMesoplodon mirus True, 1913 | HyperoodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Perrin's Beaked WhaleMesoplodon perrini Dalebout, Mead, Baker, Baker & van Helden, 2002 | HyperoodontidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Eastern Atlantic Ocean
Indo-West Pacific
Western Atlantic Ocean
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Carroll, Emma L., Michael R. McGowen, Morgan L. McCarthy, Felix G. Marx, Natacha Aguilar, et al. (2021). Speciation in the deep: genomics and morphology reveal a new species of beaked whale Mesoplodon eueu. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Vol. 288, No. 20211213. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:BVPS8. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.