Blainville's beaked whales, which are among the world's most enigmatic cetacea, go silent in shallow waters.

Using suction cups, the researchers attached electronic listening devices to eight Blainville's beaked whales, recording them for 102 hours in total.

The body of Blainville's beaked whale is robust, but also somewhat compressed laterally compared with other mesoplodonts.

Studies of Blainville's beaked whales have revealed groups usually consist of a number of females, calves and/or juvenile animals.

Mesoplodon densirostris (Blainville's beaked whale)

ARKive - images and movies of the Blainville's beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris)

Unlike other species such as Blainville's beaked whale and Andrews' beaked whale, the teeth do not arch over the rostrum.

The beak is of moderate length, and the lower mandible almost arches over the rostrum, similar to the condition in a Blainville's beaked whale, but less extreme.

Possible functions of the Ultradense bone in the rostrum of Blainville's beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris).

He was the binomial author of numerous zoological species, extinct and extant; including the eponymous Blainville's beaked whale, Mesoplodon densirostris.

The results, published in the journal Marine Mammal Science, revealed that Blainville's beaked whales fell silent once they entered waters that are shallower than 170m.

Only three species have been studied in any detail: northern bottlenose whales, Blainville's beaked whales, and Baird's beaked whales.

Blainville's beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris), or the dense-beaked whale, is the widest ranging mesoplodont whale and perhaps the most documented.

Marine species reported are bridled dolphin, Atlantic spotted dolphin, Long-beaked common dolphin, blue whale, bunch, Blainville's beaked whale, common porpoise, barracuda's, moray eels and marine turtles (5 species).

"For Blainville's beaked whales that live in cohesive associations and co-ordinate their activities, keeping silent near the surface is an unexpected behaviour and strikingly in contrast with that of other toothed whales," the researchers write in the journal.

For example, northern and southern bottlenose whales (H. ampullatus and H. planifrons), Cuvier's beaked whales and Blainville's beaked whales (Mesoplodon densirostris) have a reported maximum group size of 20 individuals, with the average ranging from 2.5 to 3.5 individuals.

Blainville's beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris), or the dense-beaked whale, is the widest ranging mesoplodont whale and perhaps the most documented.

ARKive - images and movies of the Blainville's beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris)

Possible functions of the Ultradense bone in the rostrum of Blainville's beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris).

He was the binomial author of numerous zoological species, extinct and extant; including the eponymous Blainville's beaked whale, Mesoplodon densirostris.

Blainville's beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris), or the dense-beaked whale, is the widest ranging mesoplodont whale and perhaps the most documented.

For example, northern and southern bottlenose whales (H. ampullatus and H. planifrons), Cuvier's beaked whales and Blainville's beaked whales (Mesoplodon densirostris) have a reported maximum group size of 20 individuals, with the average ranging from 2.5 to 3.5 individuals.