Sperm Whale Physeter Macrocephalus
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Secac Sightings! 3.900 There’s evidence of 30 species of cetaceans belon - sightings ging to 7 families in the Canary Archipel, which is a 34.5 % of the 87 species described in the whole pla - net; this makes The Canary Islands one of the areas with more diversity of cetaceans in the Atlantic North, specially with rare oceanic species and little known globally. Journeys Under effort Out of effort are one of The Canary Islands diversity the areas with more tlantic of cetaceans in the A North. teventura Lanzarote and Fuer t of high are a reference poin ns: 28 diversity of cetacea he Canary species of the 30 in t here. Islands are present Secac Secac 4.700 horas 58.820 miles hours Watching Sailing (108.010 km) Marine Mammals Did you Marine Mammals There’s evidence of 87 cetaceans species in the planet. As all the mammals, they’re warm-blooded animals, know they do breath atmospheric air, they give birth and feed the young with the milk from their mammary glands. that… There’s a huge variety of shapes and sizes, from 1,5m exceeding rarely the 50 kg (as for example the Vaquita) , to 28 m and more with 100.000kg (as the Blue rorqual). More than 70 million years of evolution 65 million years Mesonchids Pakicetus Ambulocetus The incursion into the water was gradual and took As a result of a progressive adaptation to this environment, cetaceans show place probably in the rivers , lakes and estuaries. an extreme anatomic and physiologic specialization, considering that they’ve lost the majority of the morphological characteristics which identify the rest of the mammals. Adaptation to the marine environment These animals have colonized a wide range of aquatic ecosystems, as the freshwater species located in the watercourses of some rivers (Amazon, Indo, Ganges and the Yellow River); and many other marine species distributed in the estuaries, shallow-water coves, continental coasts and the open sea. These ones show a cosmopolitan distribution in the seas and oceans, and the other ones are located only in certain areas. Social behaviour · Strong association. They do prefer to associate with other cetacean species. · They can recognise each other after a long-term separation. · Long-lasting bonds are present between the mother and the young. · They help each other in case of sickness or blessures. · They are capable of recognising themselves in front of the mirror. · Sex is important either to solve conflicts among them, either to experience pleasure. · They are able to learn the language of symbols. ·They have different personalities. Feeding 30 million years Rodocetus Basilosaurus Humpback whales or yubarta Killer whale Their eyes and kidneys had to face a high-concentration of salt; their hair There were some changes in their anatomy and stopped being and insulating thermal medium, to develop an adaptive physiology in order to dive into deeper waters. mechanism as for example a layer of grease avoiding the heat-loss, or the increase of size, among others. Rough-toothed dolphin Steno bredanensis ant! The rough-toothed dolphin is a relati - mport I d vely large species, with adults ranging ution an e distrib gh- from 175 and 275 cm in length, and Th f the Rou ulation o rly weighing between 100 and 150 kilo - pop in is poo ed Dolph n. grams. Most of the research activity tooth unknow ood and concerning the dolphin has been di - underst t to be e though rected to the tropical and subtropical roups ar ges, G ssembla oceanic waters and this specie is pre - porary a als tem individu sent in The Canary Archipel during the y related closel ith one whole year. aining w 150 Kg and rem another. 275 Cm Common bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus tant! The maximum length for adults animals is Impor 381 cm for the males and 367 cm for the fe - erally are gen he Females males, t males, weighing between 150 and 650 kg; ing than ngest-liv is 50. this specie is present in The Canary Archipel lo of living ge age me during the whole year; common bottlenose avera ribed so has desc as dolphins live in little groups called pods that The EU ry Island he Cana typically number about 15 individuals; some reas of t ecial a eas of sp bottlenose populations live closer to the ected ar prot ue to the shore which depth does not exceed 600 m. vation d conser pecies. of this s 650 Kg presence 381 Cm Sh ort-beak ed comm on dolp Important! Delp hin hinus de They have a complex system lphis of coloration in both sides A dults vary in length of the body which reminds graphica dependin l zone wi g of the g thoug th a maxi eo- of a sand clock into h the ma mum of 2 ex jority of t 60 cm; horizontal position, what is ceed the his specie 230; male s does no and hea s are gen t very positive to blur their vier, and erally lon 130 kg range in ger . This spe mass from silhouette and mislead Isla cies is pre 80 to nds from sent in Th decembe e Canary preys and predators. r to April. 136 Kg 260 Cm Stri ped dolp Important! Stenella hin One or two black bands circle coerule the eyes, and then run across the oalba back, to the flipper. These bands Adu widen to the width of the flipper lts length a vary from which are the same size. Two fur- nd weigh 180 and 2 ing betwe 50 cm ther black stripes run from be- The strip en 80 an hind the ear; one is short and ed dolph d 165 kg. or tro in inhabit ends just above the flipper. The pical an s tempera wa d subtrop te other is longer and thickens ters. This ical, off- species is shore along the flanks until it curves nary Islan present in ds the wh the Ca- down under the belly just prior to ole year. the tail stock. This is a shy spe- cies before the presence of ships. 165 Kg 250 Cm Sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus 18 m 57.000 Kg Males are 18 m long and weight 57.000 kg and females doesn’t exceed the 13 m long and weight 20.000 kg. They are frequently in the waters of the Canary Archipel du - ring the whole year. Sperm whales are usually found in groups of females travelling together with the young. Risso’s dolphin Grampus griseus Adults length vary between 330 y 410 cm being the males usually t! longer than females, weighing between 250 and 500 kg, though portan they don’t use to exceed the 400 kg. Population is all around the Im eus ithet gris ecific ep st world. The presence in the Canary Islands is evident during the The sp led almo the mott in whole year, with resident population in the North of Gran Cana - efers to of the sk r y colour ria and in the eastern part of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. rred gre rn sca dually tu h will gra iduals whic der indiv . Even ol whitish ite. ostly wh appear m 500 Kg 410 Cm portant! Im species, several feed on , but They nt squid y the gia uid, notabl lossal sq arger co lso the l rse fish, a and dive opuses, t of the oct main die this the . being n waters norther males in ce of There’s been eviden giants squids type 13 m Architheusis in their sume stomachs. They con body a 3 to 3.5 % of their ents weight which repres dults. 20.000 400 to 1.000 kg in a Kg Cuvier’s beaked whale Ziphius cavirostris nt! The length and weight of adults can Importa reach up to 650 cm and 2.000 kg respec - Cuvier makes The long dive of the tively. It is widely distributed in the wa - g mammal it the deepest-divin ters which depth reached is more than d is 3.000 m which depth reache 1.000 m. Cuvier's has a cosmopolitan This species ( two hours diving). distribution in deep, offshore waters r Zifius species) (together with othe from the tropics to the cool temperate ass strandings has suffered many m seas. The presence in the Canary Islands s and in other in the Canary Island is evident during the whole year with lit - 2.000 ue to the use of parts of the world d tle population in some of the islands es - Kg ises during naval antisubmarine no pecially in the eastern part of Lanzarote exercises. and Fuerteventura. 650 Cm Atlantic spotted dolphin Stenella frontalis portant! The length and weight of this adult Im omposed lation is c species vary depending on the geo - ing popu re’s Herd s, and the graphical area. The maximum length dividual of 200 in wo f at least t and weight in the Canary Islands is vidence o : one e l varieties 190 cm and 80 kg respectively. This graphica the geo ocated in specie is endemic to temperate- warm l variety l coasta m and the and tropical waters of the Atlantic. It al platfor ontinent rounding is present in the Canary Islands during c c, and sur er oceani s the the whole year. oth nds, as it i eanic isla the oc Islands. 80 Kg e Canary case of th 190 Cm Killer whale Orcinus orca nt! 980 Cm Importa of killer The type n in the Males adults are much bigger than females.