A True's beaked whale ( Mesoplodon mirus ) on the coast of Brazil: adding a new beaked whale species to the Western Tropical Atlantic and South America

A male True's beaked whale ( Mesoplodon mirus ) stranded alive on 04 May 2004, on the northern coast of Sao Paulo State, southeastern Brazil, and died twenty minutes later. To date, this species has only been recorded from the North Atlantic, southeast Africa and southern Australia. The complete skeleton was saved and the heart, stomach, testis, epizoites, samples of tissues, and blood were collected. This is the first record of M. mirus for the Western Tropical Atlantic (south of the Equator) and for South America. The record provides important information on this poorly known species.