Skip to main content

Story: Whales

Southern bottlenose skeleton

Image
Southern bottlenose skeleton

There are at least half a dozen species of beaked whale found very occasionally around New Zealand. One is the southern bottlenose whale. This skull is held at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

Using this item

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Reference: B.013806

Permission of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page

Gerard Hutching, Whales – Beaked whales, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/object/7106/southern-bottlenose-skeleton (accessed 24 June 2026).

Story by Gerard Hutching, published 2 March 2009.