In a letter recently published in the journal Marine Mammal Science, we call on the marine mammal science community to discard the use of the English common name “Cuvier’s beaked whale” for Ziphius cavirostris. Instead, we recommend adoption of the alternative English common name for this species, the goose-beaked whale. We make this request because of Georges Cuvier’s foundational role in creating and disseminating scientific racism and his misogynistic beliefs. In the letter, we urge our colleagues around the world to engage with diverse scholars from varying backgrounds to generate common names that reflect the attributes of each species, including their distribution, morphology, and behavior. We want the field of marine mammal science to be an inclusive space for everyone, especially those who have been historically marginalized. To do so, we must work to address the history of scientific racism and do our part in acknowledging and rectifying the harm that this history carries.
