Editing Mesoplodon (section)

==Physical description==
[[File:Scars from cookie-cutter shark bites on Gray's beaked whale.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=The flank of a stranded whale, showing several round scars|Round scars from cookiecutter shark bites can be seen on the flank of this stranded Gray's beaked whale.]]
Mesoplodont beaked whales are small whales, {{Convert|3.9|m|abbr=on}} (pygmy beaked whale) to {{Convert|6.2|m|abbr=on}} (strap-toothed whale) in length,<ref name="Pitman-char-taxo" /> even compared with closely related whales such as the [[bottlenose whale]]s and [[giant beaked whale]]s.
The spindle-shaped body has a small dorsal fin and short and narrow flippers.  The head is small and tapered and has a semicircular blow hole that is sometimes asymmetric. The beak, which vary in length between species, blends with the small melon without a crease.<ref name="Pitman-char-taxo" />

Sexual dimorphism is poorly known, but the females tend to be the same size or larger than males at least in some species.<ref name="Pitman-char-taxo" />  The males typically have a bolder coloration and a unique dentition.
The males of most species are covered in scars from the teeth of other males.

The lower jaw often forms a huge arch in some species, sometimes extending above the rostrum in a shape comparable to a playground slide. Every species has large (sometimes tusk-like) teeth of variable size, shape, and position.

Both sexes often have bites from [[cookie-cutter shark]]s. The [[dorsal fin]] is rather small and located between two-thirds and three-quarters down the back of the animal. Information on longevity and lactation is non-existent, and information on gestation is nearly so.