Sowerby's beaked whales have a small head with a prominent forehead and long beak; there is an indent before the blow hole. The adult male has a pair of triangular teeth midway down its beak on the lower jaw and scarring on the upper body. Females do not exhibit teeth or scarring. Sowerby's beaked whales have a curved dorsal fin set well back on their body. This species is a lot more slender than the Cuvier’s beaked whale and northern bottlenose whale and is more like an elongated dolphin in shape.