Mesoplodon bidens (Sowerby, 1804) . Trans. Linn. Soc. London, 7:310.

TYPE LOCALITY: UK, Scotland, "stranded on the estate of James Brodie, Esq. F. L. S., in the county of Elgin."

DISTRIBUTION: North Atlantic and Baltic Sea: temperate waters. Occurence in the Mediterranean Sea was discussed by van Bree (1975), who considered the evidence unconvincing; however, Casinos and Filella (1981) supported a report from the Italian coast (Brunelli and Fasella, 1929). There is one report from the Gulf of Mexico (Bonde and O'Shea, 1989) that is also considered a stray.

STATUS: CITES - Appendix II.

SYNONYMS: dalei, micropterus, sowerbyensis, sowerbyi.

COMMENTS: Reviewed by J. G. Mead (1989c).