Long-beaked and short-beaked common dolphins sympatric off central-west Africa. Scientific Committee document SC/49/SM46, International Whaling Commission, Bournemouth, UK

Sympatric occurrence of Delphinus capensis and D. Delphis is demonstrated for Gabon and Angola based on cranial evidence. As in eastern Pacific common dolphins, key characteristics include cranial size, rostrum length relative to zygomatic width and tooth width. Two phenotypes of the proximal part of the palatinal ridge are found to be discriminatory between both Delphinus species

Bushmeat and bycatch: the sum of the parts

In many developing countries, the killing of wild animals for commercial purposes (the bushmeat trade) is a significant factor in the reduction of biodiversity, and probably represents a major threat to the survival of many more populations than we know. This includes marine species such as cetaceans, sea turtles and sirenians (‘marine bushmeat’), which are often neglected in the discussion of this issue. Estimating the impact of the bushmeat trade anywhere is problematic because even the most thorough visual surveys of meat markets cannot easily translate an observed quantity of butchered products into the number of animals killed. In this issue of Molecular Ecology, Baker et al. provide a powerful new tool for such assessments: molecular identification of commercially available products from a depleted population of minke whales in South Korea is combined with genotyping and novel capture–recapture methods to estimate not only the number of individuals taken, but also the persistence of the resulting products in the marketplace

A note on the southern distribution range of inshore and offshore common bottlenose dolphins <i>Tursiops truncatus</i> in the Southeast Pacific. Scientific Committee document SC/60/SM18, International Whaling Commission, June 2008, Santiago, Chile

Both inshore and offshore forms of T. truncates occur off Peru and Chile. The inshore form in Chile is best documented from a single community resident around 29°S, while there is genetic evidence for a large, wide-ranging Peru-Chile offshore population. Oliver (1946) indicated T. truncates for the Gulf of Arauco (at 37°06’S,73°20’W) and despite there was no authentication for half a century it has been the accepted southernmost range in the SE Pacific. However five recent records shift the focus further south to Región de Aisén. In August 2004 two common bottlenose dolphins stranded at Isla Quenu (41°49'.41S,73°9'.01W); next a mother-calf pair was reported inside a fjord at ca. 42°22’S,72°24’W. From habitat and small group size an inshore form was suspected. However, three new sightings of large group size (40-120 individuals) between 43°-45°S in January and December 2007 compelled us to reevaluate the southern distribution range of the species and of each form/ecotype. The bottlenose dolphins were morphologically (very large, stocky bodies with short snout) and behaviourally (large group size) attributable to an offshore form, despite being encountered deep inside fjords of Chilean Patagonia, one at ca. 50 nmiles from open water. All groups were actively attracted to a large RIB and both video and still photographs were collected as voucher material. Our records extend the summer range of T. truncates in the SE Pacific south to 45°05'.597S,73°19'.996W, Magdalena Island, however we expect that additional survey effort may extend this even farther. The population will need to be identified with precision to allow management recommendations