This species was classified by two Japanese scientists, Nishiwaki and Kamiya, in 1957. The common and specific name, ginkgodens , refers to the shape of its teeth, which resemble the leaves of the Japanese ginkgo tree.
Adult males are dark grey in colour, and females are lighter with pale undersides.
The teeth on the lower jaw are found towards the middle of the beak and erupt only in mature males. The longest female measured 4.9m, the longest male 4.7m. The Ginkgo-Toothed Beaked Whale inhabits tropical to warm temperate waters. Indivuiduals have been caught in Japan's small cetacean fisheries.