ミナミオウギハクジラ

Meanings

Gray's beaked whale

usually written using kana alone

A species of beaked whale (Mesoplodon grayi) found in Southern Hemisphere waters. The name is a taxonomic compound: 南 (south) + 扇歯 (ougi-ha, 'fan-shaped teeth') + 鯨 (kujira, 'whale').

ミナミオウギハクジラは南みなみ半はん球きゅうの温おん帯たいから亜あ南なん極きょく海かい域いきにかけて生せい息そくしている。
Gray's beaked whale inhabits temperate to subantarctic waters of the Southern Hemisphere.

Kanji

南south
扇fan, folding fan
歯tooth, cog
鯨whale

Related words

オウギハクジラ
Refers to the genus Mesoplodon (beaked whales) in general, or specifically to other species within the genus, while ミナミオウギハクジラ is the specific species Mesoplodon grayi.

Built from

南みなみ+オウギハクジラ

Written forms

南みなみ扇おうぎ歯は鯨くじら
Kanji spelling is rare and mostly seen in taxonomic or specialized contexts; the word is usually written in kana.
みなみおうぎはくじら
Hiragana spelling is also used, though katakana is more common for animal species names.

Etymology

Compound of 南 (minami, 'south') + 扇歯 (ougi-ha, 'fan-shaped teeth', referring to the tooth shape characteristic of the genus) + 鯨 (kujira, 'whale'). The name reflects the species' Southern Hemisphere distribution and its dental morphology.