Haplotype characterization of a stranded common minke whale calf (Balaenoptera acutorostrata lacépède, 1804): Is the mediterranean sea a potential calving or nursery ground for the species?

• Main Authors: MAIO, NICOLA, PETRACCIOLI, AGNESE, GUARINO, FABIO MARIA, DE STASIO, ROBERTA, ODIERNA, GAETANO, Giovannotti, Massimo, Barucchi, Vincenzo Caputo, Pollaro, Francesco, Splendiani, Andrea
• Other Authors: Maio, Nicola, Petraccioli, Agnese, Guarino, FABIO MARIA, DE STASIO, Roberta, Odierna, Gaetano
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: Balaenoptera acutorostrata; Balaenopteridae; Cetacea; MtDNA control region; Stranding; Suckling calf; Tyrrhenian Sea; Ecology; Evolution; Behavior and Systematic; Animal Science and Zoology; minke whale; North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11588/661605; https://doi.org/10.4404/hystrix-27.2-11661; http://www.italian-journal-of-mammalogy.it/article/download/11661/pdf_11661

The stranding of a suckling calf of Common Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) on the coast near Salerno (Campania, Southern Italy) is reported. The molecular analysis of a partial sequence of the mitochondrial DNA control region shows that the animal bore a haplotype identical to haplotype Ba169 considered as typical of individuals from North Atlantic population. Historical data and our results suggest the possibility that the Mediterranean Sea might be a potential calving or nursery ground for this species.