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Two live sightings of Sowerby's beaked whale (Mesoplodon bidens) from the western Mediterranean (Tyrrhenian Sea)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2017

Luca Bittau ,
Mattia Leone ,
Adrien Gannier ,
Alexandre Gannier  and
Renata Manconi
Luca Bittau
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Scienze della Natura e del Territorio (DIPNET), Università di Sassari, via Muroni 25, 07100 Sassari, Italy SEA ME Sardinia (Scientific Education & Activities in the Marine Environment), via delle Ginestre 6, 07024 La Maddalena, Italy
Mattia Leone
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Scienze della Natura e del Territorio (DIPNET), Università di Sassari, via Muroni 25, 07100 Sassari, Italy SEA ME Sardinia (Scientific Education & Activities in the Marine Environment), via delle Ginestre 6, 07024 La Maddalena, Italy
Adrien Gannier
Affiliation:
GREC (Groupe de Recherche sur les Cétacés), BP 715, 06633 Antibes cedex, France
Alexandre Gannier
Affiliation:
GREC (Groupe de Recherche sur les Cétacés), BP 715, 06633 Antibes cedex, France
Renata Manconi*
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Scienze della Natura e del Territorio (DIPNET), Università di Sassari, via Muroni 25, 07100 Sassari, Italy SEA ME Sardinia (Scientific Education & Activities in the Marine Environment), via delle Ginestre 6, 07024 La Maddalena, Italy
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: R. Manconi, Dipartimento di Scienze della Natura e del Territorio (DIPNET), Università di Sassari, via Muroni 25, 07100 Sassari, Italy email: r.manconi@uniss.it
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Abstract

Sowerby's beaked whale (Mesoplodon bidens) was previously known in the Mediterranean Sea from a single live stranding of two individuals in the French Riviera. We report here on two live sightings in the western Mediterranean, central-western Tyrrhenian Sea off eastern Corsica (Montecristo Trough) and off eastern Sardinia (Caprera Canyon) in 2010 and 2012, respectively. In both cases single individuals, possibly the same individual, occurred within groups of Cuvier's beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) suggesting inter-specific interactions. Based on our close observations of mixed-species groups of Sowerby's and Cuvier's beaked whales, we hypothesize that some previous long-distance sightings of beaked whales in the Mediterranean may not be reliably attributed to Z. cavirostris. The present sightings and previous live stranding indicate that the western Mediterranean Sea is the easternmost marginal area of M. bidens within the North Atlantic geographic range. Notes on behaviour are also provided.

Keywords

Marine biodiversityZiphiidaecetaceans inter-specific interactionsCaprera Canyonbiogeography
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 98 , Special Issue 5: Marine Mammals , August 2018 , pp. 1003 - 1009
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2017 

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