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FIRST SIGHTINGS OF MELON‐HEADED WHALES ( PEPONOCEPHALA ELECTRA ) IN THE GULF OF MEXICO
Author(s) -
Mullin Keith D.,
Jefferson Thomas A.,
Hansen Larry J.,
Hoggard Wayne
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
marine mammal science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.723
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1748-7692
pISSN - 0824-0469
DOI - 10.1111/j.1748-7692.1994.tb00488.x
Subject(s) - miami , fishery , marine fisheries , wildlife , fisheries science , geography , oceanography , fish <actinopterygii> , fishing , fisheries management , environmental science , ecology , geology , biology , soil science
Little is known about the distribution of the melon-headed whale (Peponocephala electra). It is thought to be distributed worldwide in subtropical and tropical waters (Perrin 1976, Leatherwood and Reeves 1983, Perryman et al. 1994). The distribution of melon-headed whales in the eastern tropical Pacific is reasonably well documented (Perrin 1976, Wade and Gerrodette 1993, Perryman et al. 1994). However, there are only 16 records from the Atlantic Ocean. Atlantic records include five animals captured near the Caribbean island of St. Vincent (Caldwell et al. 1976, Mead et al. 1986), one animal captured offshore in the tropical Atlantic (03”03’N, 24’4O’W) (Goodwin 1945), and one sighting from the tropical Atlantic (17”N, 3S”W) (Pilleri 1982). All of the other records are of strandings: South Africa, one (Best and Shaughnessy 198 1); Senegal, two (van Bree and Cadenat 1968); Brazil, two (Siciliano et al. 1987, Lodi et al. 1990); Maryland, USA, one (Potter 1984, Mead et al. 1986); and the United Kingdom, one (Mikkelsen and Sheldrick 1992). Barron and Jefferson (1993) reported the first two records from the Gulf of Mexico. These were strandings of single animals in Texas in 1990 and in Louisiana in 1991. Here, we report the first eight sightings of melon-headed whales in the Gulf of Mexico (Table 1). All of the sightings were made during marine mammal assessment surveys conducted during 1992 and 1993 by the Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) from NOAA Ship Oregon ZZ (six sightings) and by Texas A&M University (TAMU) from R/V Pelican (two sightings) (Fig. 1). The surveys covered waters deeper than 100 m in the U.S. Gulf (the area approximately north of a line between Key West, Florida and Brownsville, Texas). Surveys were conducted using line transect sampling methods, aided by the use of 25 x binoculars (see Holt and Sexton 1989). At sea melon-headed whales can potentially be confused with false killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) and pygmy killer whales (Feresa attenuata). Both of these species were also sighted during the surveys. We are confident in our ability to distinguish between P. electra, F. attenuata, and P. crassidens, based on size, dorsal cape pattern, lip pigmentation, facial coloration, and the shape and size of the head and flippers (Leatherwood and Reeves 1983, Perryman et al. 1994) (Fig. 2).