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A stranded pygmy killer whale on the coast of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2010

Jailson Fulgencio de Moura ,
Bruna Pagliani S. di Dario ,
Luciano Moreira Lima  and
Salvatore Siciliano
Jailson Fulgencio de Moura*
Affiliation:
PPG em Saúde Pública e Meio Ambiente, Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública/FIOCRUZ Grupo de Estudos de Mamíferos Marinhos da Região dos Lagos–Projeto Aves, Quelônios e Mamíferos Marinhos na Bacia de Campos–CENPES/PETROBRAS and ENSP/FIOCRUZ–Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública—FIOCRUZ, Departado de Endemias, Rua Leopoldo Bulhões, 1480–6 andar, Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 21041-210Brazil
Bruna Pagliani S. di Dario
Affiliation:
Grupo de Estudos de Mamíferos Marinhos da Região dos Lagos–Projeto Aves, Quelônios e Mamíferos Marinhos na Bacia de Campos–CENPES/PETROBRAS and ENSP/FIOCRUZ–Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública—FIOCRUZ, Departado de Endemias, Rua Leopoldo Bulhões, 1480–6 andar, Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 21041-210Brazil
Luciano Moreira Lima
Affiliation:
Grupo de Estudos de Mamíferos Marinhos da Região dos Lagos–Projeto Aves, Quelônios e Mamíferos Marinhos na Bacia de Campos–CENPES/PETROBRAS and ENSP/FIOCRUZ–Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública—FIOCRUZ, Departado de Endemias, Rua Leopoldo Bulhões, 1480–6 andar, Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 21041-210Brazil
Salvatore Siciliano
Affiliation:
Grupo de Estudos de Mamíferos Marinhos da Região dos Lagos–Projeto Aves, Quelônios e Mamíferos Marinhos na Bacia de Campos–CENPES/PETROBRAS and ENSP/FIOCRUZ–Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública—FIOCRUZ, Departado de Endemias, Rua Leopoldo Bulhões, 1480–6 andar, Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro, RJ 21041-210Brazil
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: J.F. de Moura, PPG em Saúde Pública e Meio Ambiente, Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública/FIOCRUZ email: [email protected]
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Abstract

The pygmy killer whale (Feresa attenuata) is a small cetacean that can be found worldwide in offshore tropical and warm temperate waters. Most information about F. attenuata has been attributed to stranded or accidentally caught specimens and rarely through observation of free-ranging individuals. There is very little information about this cetacean in South Atlantic waters. In Brazil, only two confirmed strandings and four sightings have been published up to date. In this study we present the third confirmed stranding of the pygmy killer whale on the Brazilian coast. The current and previous records of Brazilian specimens suggest that F. attenuata may eventually use the continental shelf to feed and rest, principally in some areas of the Brazilian waters where this oceanographic feature is narrow.

Keywords

Feresa attenuatapygmy killer whaleBrazilian coaststrandingRio de Janeiro State
Type
Research Article
Information
Marine Biodiversity Records , Volume 3 , June 2010 , e11
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2010

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