Editing Mesoplodon (section)

{{Short description|Genus of beaked whales}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| image = Faroe stamp 197 Mesoplodon bidens.jpg
| image_caption = [[Sowerby's beaked whale]] (on Faroese stamp)
| taxon = Mesoplodon
| authority = [[Paul Gervais|Gervais]], 1850
| type_species = ''[[Mesoplodon bidens|Delphinus sowerbensis]]'' <ref>{{MSW3|id=14300157}}</ref>
| type_species_authority = de Blainville, 1817
| subdivision_ranks = [[Species]]
| subdivision = 16, ''See text''.
}}

'''Mesoplodont whales''' are 16 [[species]] of [[toothed whale]] in the genus '''''Mesoplodon''''', making it the largest genus in the cetacean [[order (biology)|order]].<ref name="Pitman-intro">{{Harvnb|Pitman|2008|p=721}}</ref>  Two species were described as recently as 1991 (pygmy beaked whale) and 2002 (Perrin's beaked whale), and [[marine biologist]]s predict the discovery of more species in the future.<ref name="Pitman-char-taxo" />  A new species was described in 2021.{{sfn|Carroll|McGowen|McCarthy|Marx|2021}} They are the most poorly known group of large mammals.<ref name="Pitman-intro" />  The generic name "mesoplodon" comes from the [[Greek language|Greek]] ''meso''- (middle) - ''hopla'' (arms) - ''odon'' (teeth), and may be translated as 'armed with a tooth in the centre of the jaw'.<ref name="Pitman-char-taxo">{{Harvnb|Pitman|2008|loc=Characters and Taxonomic Relationships, pp. 721–724}}</ref>