[4] Named Berardius arnuxii in 1851 for the French surgeon, M. Arnoux, who presented the skull to the Paris Museum of Natural History in 1846.

Their lower jaw is longer than the upper, and once sexual maturity is reached the front teeth are visible even when the mouth is fully closed.

[6][7] Among the observed differences in the sexes is their size: female Baird's and Arnoux giant beaked whales are slightly larger than the males.

[8] Beachings in New Zealand and Argentina indicate the whale may be relatively common in the Southern Ocean between those countries and Antarctica; sporadic sightings have been recorded in polar waters, such as in McMurdo Sound.

This review corroborated their presumed range in the Southern Ocean, and found that Arnoux's beaked whales prefer the coasts of icy landmasses.