Mass stranding of pygmy killer whales ( Feresa attenuata ) in the British Virgin Islands

The pygmy killer whale ( Feresa attenuata ) is an offshore, tropical and subtropical delphinid found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. The species has only recently been studied, mostly from specimens collected from strandings. While over 52 reports exist for the Atlantic Ocean, only one r...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
Main Authors: Mignucci-Giannoni, Antonio A., Toyos-González, Gian M., Pérez-Padilla, Janice, Rodríguez-López, Marta A., Overing, Julie
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2000
Subjects:
Aquatic Science
Pacific
Indian
Killer Whale
Killer whale
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0025315499002076
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0025315499002076
Description
Summary:The pygmy killer whale ( Feresa attenuata ) is an offshore, tropical and subtropical delphinid found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. The species has only recently been studied, mostly from specimens collected from strandings. While over 52 reports exist for the Atlantic Ocean, only one record exists for the Caribbean Sea. A new record of a mass stranding of pygmy killer whales from the British Virgin Islands is documented and the pathology and life history of the specimens is described, associating the stranding process with the meteorological and oceanographic disturbance of Hurricane Marilyn, which devastated the Virgin Islands a day prior to the stranding. This stranding event constitutes the sixth known mass stranding for the species worldwide, the first record for pygmy killer whales for the northeastern Caribbean and the second for the entire Caribbean Sea.

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