Tag Archives: ziphius cavirostris

May 06 2013
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Ocean

What’s in a name?

Choosing a name for our drone was not easy but with plenty of brainstorming we finally made a decision. Turns out choosing the name of the goose beaked whale – Ziphius Cavirostris – was a good match. At that time we did not know how similar they would look!

Like Ziphius Cavirostris, our drone is fast and can amaze you by playing in the water…

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…it also has a dorsal fin. Even the yellowish shades in its black body are similar to our top color choice…

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…and they both float like they are waiting for the best chance to surprise you.

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Credit: M. Rosso photos – CIMA Foundation (thank you!)

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Apr 08 2013
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Ocean

But… what is a ziphius?

What does this strange name mean, you wonder? Well, Ziphius cavirostris is a goose-beaked whale (because its head is said to be shaped like the beak of a goose). It is more commonly known as Cuvier’s beaked whale, due to the name of its discoverer Georges Cuvier. This whale has a white coloured head, being the rest of the body of a greyish blue colour. It also got known in medieval cultures as a mythological creature. It was often named The Ziphius, Water-Owl (body of a fish, head of an owl) or The Mediterranean Sea Monster (said to be very dangerous for the sea crews). Luckily, this whale is quite common in the Azores, but it is not the only kind of Ziphius that was born there.

Our Ziphius was born in the Azores. It is curious and friendly. It was named Ziphius due to its nature and organic design but also because of our commitment to explore the oceans. Whales are for sure one of the most amazing sea creatures and are able to cruise the oceans, something that we would love to do.

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