Editing Beaked whale (section)

===Feeding===
The throats of all beaked whales have a bilaterally paired set of grooves that are associated with their unique feeding mechanism, suction feeding.<ref name="Rommel et al., 2006"/><!-- {{Harvnb|Rommel|Costidis|Fernandez|Jepson|2006|p=190}} --> Instead of capturing prey with their teeth, beaked whales suck it into their oral cavity. Suction is aided by the throat grooves, which stretch and expand to accommodate food. Their tongues can move very freely. By suddenly retracting the tongue and distending the gular (throat) floor, pressure immediately drops within the mouth, sucking the prey in with the water.

Dietary information is available from stomach contents analyses of stranded beaked whales and from whaling operations. Their preferred diet is primarily deep-water squid,<ref name="Dalebout et al., 2008"/><!-- {{Harvnb|Dalebout|Steel|Baker|2008|p=857}} --> but also benthic and benthopelagic fish and some crustaceans, mostly taken near the sea floor.<ref name="MacLeod and D'Amico, 2006"/> In a recent study, gouge marks in the sea floor were interpreted to be a result of feeding activities by beaked whales.<ref>{{Cite journal
 | last1 = Auster | first1 = Peter J.
 | last2 = Watling | first2 = Les
 | title = Beaked whale foraging areas inferred by gouges in the seafloor
 | year = 2010 | journal = Marine Mammal Science | volume = 26 | issue = 1 | pages = 226–233
 | doi = 10.1111/j.1748-7692.2009.00325.x | bibcode = 2010MMamS..26..226A
 }}<!-- {{Harvnb|Auster|Watling|2010|loc=Abstract}} --></ref>

To understand the hunting and foraging behavior of beaked whales, researchers used sound and orientation recording devices <!-- (DTAGs) --> on two species: [[Cuvier's beaked whale]] (''Ziphius cavirostris'') and [[Blainville's beaked whale]] (''Mesoplodon densirostris''). These whales hunt by echolocation in deep water (where the majority of their prey is located) between about {{Convert|200|and|1885|m|abbr=on}} and usually catch about 30 prey per dive. Cuvier's beaked whales must forage on average at {{Convert|1070|m|abbr=on}} for 58 minutes and Blainville's beaked whales typically forage at {{Convert|835|m|abbr=on}} deep for an average of 47 minutes.<ref name="Tyack et al., 2006"/><!-- {{Harvnb|Tyack|Johnson|Soto|Sturlese|2006|loc=Abstract}} -->