An update on anomalously white cetaceans, including the first account for the pantropical spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuata graffmani)

1 Geo-Marine, Inc. 550 East 15th Street, Plano, Texas 75074 USA. 2 Corresponding author: dfertl@geo-marine.com. 3 Center for Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Research, Mote Marine Laboratory. 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, Florida 342361004 USA. 4 Southwest Fisheries Science Center, NOAA, National Marine Fisheries Service. 8604 La Jolla Shores Drive, La Jolla, California 92037 USA. 5 8753 Barcin Circle, Riverview, Florida 33569-4951 USA. 6 2469 168th Place, NE, Bellevue, Washington 98008 USA. 7 Chandler, T., Calambokidis, J. and Sears, R. (2001) First report on sightings of a white blue whale. Page 41 in Abstracts, XIV Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, 28 November 03 December, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Mammalian color is almost entirely dependent on presence (or absence) of the pigment melanin in the skin, hair, and eyes. Hypo-pigmented (anomalously white) individuals are often presumed to be true albinos; however, pigmentation patterns should not be the only criterion (Fertl and Rosel, 2002). Anomalously white individuals have been reported for a number of cetacean and pinniped species (Fertl and Rosel, 2002); Fertl et al. (1999) reviewed the infrequent occurrence of this aberrant pigmentation for 20 cetacean species. Additional records have since become available, including the first for the blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) (Chandler et al., 20017) and details of an all-white humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) still living in Australian waters (Forestell et al., 2001). We present the first known account for an allwhite pantropical spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuata graffmani), off the Pacific coast of Panama, as well as a subsequent record for Gulf of Mexico common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus).