Additional records of metazoan parasites from Caribbean marine mammals, including genetically identified anisakid nematodes

Studies of marine mammal parasites in the Caribbean are scarce. An assessment for marine mammal endo- and ectoparasites from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, but extending to other areas of the Caribbean, was conducted between 1989 and 1994. The present study complements the latter and enhances identification of anisakid nematodes using molecular markers. Parasites were collected from 59 carcasses of stranded cetaceans and manatees from 1994 to 2006, including Globicephala macrorhynchus, Kogia breviceps, Kogia sima, Lagenodelphis hosei, Mesoplodon densirostris, Peponocephala electra, Stenella longirostris, Steno bredanensis, Trichechus manatus. Tursiops truncatus, and Ziphius cavirostris. Sixteen species of endoparasitic helminthes were morphologically identified, including two species of acanthocephalans (Bolbosoma capitatum, Bolbosoma vasculosum), nine species of nematodes (Anisakis sp., Anisakis brevispiculata, Anisakis paggiae, Anisakis simplex, Anisakis typica, Anisakis ziphidarium, Crassicauda anthonyi, Heterocheilus tunicatus, Pseudoterranova ceticola), two species of cestodes (Monorygma grimaldi, Phyllobothrium delphini), and three species of trematodes (Chiorchis groschafti, Pulmonicola cochleotrema, Monoligerum blairi). The nematodes belonging to the genus Anisakis recovered in some stranded animals were genetically identified to species level based on their sequence analysis of mitochondrial DNA (629 bp of mtDNA cox 2). A total of five new host records and six new geographic records are presented.L'articolo è disponibile sul sito dell'editore http://www.springerlink.com

A New Dolphin Species, the Burrunan Dolphin Tursiops australis sp. nov., Endemic to Southern Australian Coastal Waters

Small coastal dolphins endemic to south-eastern Australia have variously been assigned to described species Tursiops truncatus, T. aduncus or T. maugeanus; however the specific affinities of these animals is controversial and have recently been questioned. Historically ‘the southern Australian Tursiops’ was identified as unique and was formally named Tursiops maugeanus but was later synonymised with T. truncatus. Morphologically, these coastal dolphins share some characters with both aforementioned recognised Tursiops species, but they also possess unique characters not found in either. Recent mtDNA and microsatellite genetic evidence indicates deep evolutionary divergence between this dolphin and the two currently recognised Tursiops species. However, in accordance with the recommendations of the Workshop on Cetacean Systematics, and the Unified Species Concept the use of molecular evidence alone is inadequate for describing new species. Here we describe the macro-morphological, colouration and cranial characters of these animals, assess the available and new genetic data, and conclude that multiple lines of evidence clearly indicate a new species of dolphin. We demonstrate that the syntype material of T. maugeanus comprises two different species, one of which is the historical ‘southern form of Tursiops’ most similar to T. truncatus, and the other is representative of the new species and requires formal classification. These dolphins are here described as Tursiops australis sp. nov., with the common name of ‘Burrunan Dolphin’ following Australian aboriginal narrative. The recognition of T. australis sp. nov. is particularly significant given the endemism of this new species to a small geographic region of southern and south-eastern Australia, where only two small resident populations in close proximity to a major urban and agricultural centre are known, giving them a high conservation value and making them susceptible to numerous anthropogenic threats

First records of dwarf sperm whale (Kogia sima) from the Union of the Comoros

The world distribution of dwarf and pygmy sperm whales (Cetacea: Kogiidae) [Kogia spp.] is poorly known, and derived mostly from records of stranded animals. At sea, both species are elusive and difficult to identify. We photo-documented the presence of dwarf sperm whale (Kogia sima) in the waters of the Union of the Comoros. All three occurrences were sightings of apparently healthy animals from 2011 to 2013 in and near Itsandra Bay, off the island of Grande Comore. We discuss the importance of the Mozambique Channel and the Agulhas Current Large Marine Ecosystem for the species in the Western Indian Ocean