Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-30T20:32:25.673Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Filling in the gaps: first record of Sousa teuszii in Benin (Gulf of Guinea: Africa)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 June 2014

Sander J. Zwart  and
Caroline R. Weir
Sander J. Zwart
Affiliation:
Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), Cotonou, Benin
Caroline R. Weir*
Affiliation:
Ketos Ecology, 4 Compton Road, Kingsbridge, TQ7 2BP, UK School of Biological Sciences (Zoology), University of Aberdeen, Tillydrone Avenue, Aberdeen, AB24 2TZ, UK
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: C.R. Weir, Ketos Ecology, 4 Compton Road, West Charleton, Kingsbridge Devon, TQ7 2BP, UK email: [email protected] or [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

A sighting of four Atlantic humpback dolphins (Sousa teuszii) was recorded and photographed close to the Benin coast on 3 November 2013. This is the first record of the species for Benin, and also represents the first verified record within a 3,065 km stretch of coast extending from Sierra Leone to Nigeria (encompassing the entire northern coast of the Gulf of Guinea). The sighting supports the possibility that some other potential range states may have remained unconfirmed to date due to a paucity of field research in suitable nearshore habitat rather than an absence of the species.

Keywords

Atlantic humpback dolphindistribution rangerange statesightingAtlantic Ocean
Type
Research Article
Information
Marine Biodiversity Records , Volume 7 , 2014 , e59
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Bamy, I.L., Van Waerebeek, K., Bah, S.S., Dia, M., Kaba, B., Keita, N. and Konate, S. (2010) Species occurrence of cetaceans in Guinea, including humpback whales with southern hemisphere seasonality. Marine Biodiversity Records 3, e48. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1755267210000436 Google Scholar
Collins, T., Ngouessono, S. and Rosenbaum, H.C. (2004) A note on recent surveys for Atlantic humpback dolphins, Sousa teuszii (Kükenthal, 1892) in the coastal waters of Gabon. Paper SC/56/SM23 presented to the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission, Sorrento, Italy, 2004.Google Scholar
IHO (1953) Limits of oceans and seas. International hydrographic organisation special publication 23. 3rd edition. Monaco: International Hydrographic Organisation.Google Scholar
IUCN (2013) The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org (accessed 21 November 2013).Google Scholar
Kükenthal, W. (1892) Sotalia teuszii n. sp. eine pflanzenfressender (?) Delphin aus Kamerun. Zoologische Jahrbucher, Abteilung für Systematik 6, 442–446.Google Scholar
Notarbartolo di Sciara, G., Politi, E., Bayed, A., Beaubrun, P.-C. and Knowlton, A. (1998) A winter cetacean survey off southern Morocco, with a special emphasis on right whales. Reports of the International Whaling Commission 48, 547–550.Google Scholar
Van Waerebeek, K. (2002) Introducing whale and dolphin watching to Benin, 2002 exploratory survey. Report to The Netherlands Committee for IUCN, small grants programme for Benin (NC-IUCN/SGPB-2), Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 14 pp.Google Scholar
Van Waerebeek, K., Tchibozo, S., Montcho, J., Nobime, G., Sohou, Z., Sohouhoué, P. and Dossou, C. (2001) The Bight of Benin, a North Atlantic breeding ground of a Southern Hemisphere humpback whale population, likely related to Gabon and Angola substocks. Paper SC/53/IA21 presented to the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission, London, 2001.Google Scholar
Van Waerebeek, K., Barnett, L., Camara, A., Cham, A., Diallo, M., Djiba, A., Jallow, A.O., Ndiaye, E., Samba Ould Bilal, A.O. and Bamy, I.L. (2004) Distribution, status, and biology of the Atlantic humpback dolphin, Sousa teuszii (Kükenthal, 1892). Aquatic Mammals 30, 56–83.Google Scholar
Van Waerebeek, K., Ofori-Danson, P.K. and Debrah, J. (2009) The cetaceans of Ghana: a validated faunal checklist. West African Journal of Applied Ecology 15, 61–90.Google Scholar
Weir, C.R. (2009) Distribution, behaviour and photo-identification of Atlantic humpback dolphins Sousa teuszii off Flamingos, Angola. African Journal of Marine Science 31, 319–331.Google Scholar
Weir, C.R. (2011a) Ecology and conservation of cetaceans in the waters between Angola and the Gulf of Guinea, with focus on the Atlantic humpback dolphin (Sousa teuszii) . PhD thesis. University of Aberdeen, UK.Google Scholar
Weir, C.R. (2011b) Distribution and seasonality of cetaceans in tropical waters between Angola and the Gulf of Guinea. African Journal of Marine Science 33, 1–15.Google Scholar
Weir, C.R., Van Waerebeek, K., Jefferson, T.A. and Collins, T. (2011) West Africa's Atlantic humpback dolphin (Sousa teuszii): endemic, enigmatic and soon Endangered? African Zoology 46, 1–17.Google Scholar
Weir, C.R. and Pierce, G.J. (2012) A review of the human activities impacting cetaceans in the eastern tropical Atlantic. Mammal Review 43, 258–274.Google Scholar