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(Mesoplodon Hotaula) Or Ginkgo‐Toothed Beaked Whale

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(Mesoplodon Hotaula) Or Ginkgo‐Toothed Beaked Whale Integrative Zoology 2020; 0: 1–11 doi: 10.1111/1749-4877.12507 ORIGINAL ARTICLE First live sighting of Deraniyagala’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon hotaula) or ginkgo-toothed beaked whale (Mesoplodon ginkgodens) in the western Pacific (South China Sea) with preliminary data on coloration, natural markings, and surfacing patterns Massimiliano ROSSO,1,2 Mingli LIN,1 Francesco CARUSO,1 Mingming LIU,1 Lijun DONG,1 Anna BORRONI,1,2 Wenzhi LIN,1 Xiaoming TANG,1 Alessandro BOCCONCELLI1,3 and Songhai LI1 1Marine Mammal and Marine Bioacoustics Laboratory, Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya, China, 2CIMA Research Foundation, Savona, Italy and 3Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA Abstract Beaked whales represent around 25% of known extant cetacean species, yet they are the least known of all ma- rine mammals. Identification of many Mesoplodon species has relied on examination of a few stranded individ- uals. Particularly, the ginkgo-toothed beaked whale (Mesoplodon ginkgodens) and Deraniyagala’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon hotaula) are among the least-known of beaked whale species, without confirmed sightings of liv- ing individuals to date. We present a sighting of 3 free-ranging individuals of M. ginkgodens/hotaula whale from a dedicated marine mammal vessel survey carried out in the South China Sea in April and May 2019. Photo- graphic data (301 photographs) from the sighting were compared to photos of fresh stranded ginkgo-toothed beaked whale and Deraniyagala’s beaked whale from both historical and unpublished records. We found that free-ranging M. ginkgodens and M. hotaula individuals can be easily distinguished from other Mesoplodon species due to differ- ences in melon and gape shapes and coloration patterns. However, accurate at-sea differentiation of M. ginkgodens and M. hotaula may not be possible due to high similarity in both coloration and scarring patterns. In addition to our photo-identification data, we collected what we believe to be the first preliminary descriptions of surfacing behavior and diving patterns of one of these species. Finally, the presence of scars possibly caused by fishing gear or marine litter raises concerns about anthropogenic impacts and conservation of these poorly known species. Key words: Deraniyagala’sbeaked whale, ginkgo-toothed beaked whale, marine litter, Mesoplodon, South China Sea Correspondence: Massimiliano Rosso and Songhai Li, Marine Mammal and Marine Bioacoustics Laboratory, Institute of INTRODUCTION Deep-sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Beaked whales belong to the Ziphiidae family, which Sciences, Sanya 572000, China. is the least known of all cetacean families. At least 23 Email: [email protected], beaked whale species belonging to 6 genera have been [email protected] described thus far comprising approximately one fourth © 2020 International Society of Zoological Sciences, Institute of Zoology/ 1 Chinese Academy of Sciences and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd. M. Rosso et al. of the world’sextant cetacean species (Committee on Tax- Dalebout et al. 2014) but the Deraniyagala’sbeaked whale onomy 2020). Beaked whale species mostly live in deep appears to have a more restricted distribution range than offshore waters (e.g. Correia et al. 2015) performing long the ginkgo-toothed beaked whale (Brownell et al. 2013). and deep dives in search of their food (e.g. MacLeod et al. The Deraniyagala’s beaked whale is currently identified 2006). Although knowledge of their ecology increased from only 8 specimens collected from tropical islands in substantially during the last 2 decades, most beaked whale the western and central Indian Ocean and central Pacific species remain little studied and knowledge regarding (Dalebout et al. 2014; Lacsamana et al. 2015). these species is based on examination of few stranded in- Deraniyagala’s beaked whale (hereafter DBW) and dividuals (Hooker et al. 2019). Due to the difficulty in ginkgo-toothed beaked whale (hereafter GBW) are both detection and recognition, basic information about among the least-known of beaked whale species. Data diving behavior of some Mesoplodon species, such as the from strandings indicate that the 2 species may be a sim- ginkgo-toothed (Mesoplodon ginkgodens; Nishiwaki & ilar size (Brownell et al. 2013); however, almost noth- Kamiya 1958) and Deraniyagala’s beaked whale (Meso- ing is known about their appearance and biology. Thus, plodon hotaula; Deraniyagala 1963a), have yet to be col- great uncertainty remains concerning the diagnostic fea- lected (Hooker et al. 2019). tures of these species, making them almost impossible to The ginkgo-toothed beaked whale was first described identify with certainty at sea. Some sightings and acous- from a specimen stranded in 1957 (Nishiwaki & Kamiya tic recordings of Mesoplodon species around Palmyra 1958). M. ginkgodens is known from less than 40 strand- Atoll (central Pacific) are believed to be of these species ing records restricted to the Pacific and Indian Oceans (Baumann-Pickering et al. 2010, 2013). Particularly, a (Brownell et al. 2013), approximately half of which are mother and calf pair of presumable DBW was pho- from Chinese Taiwan and south western Japan (Nishi- tographed at Palmyra Atoll in late 2007 (Pitman & Bal- waki & Kamiya 1958; Yamada et al. 2012). Strandings lance 2008; Brownell et al. 2013). So far, there are still have also been reported in mainland China (Mead et al. no confirmed live sightings of GBW. In order to better 1988), however after (i) a mtDNA analysis and (ii) the understand the distribution and population status of these re-analysis of skull specimens and comparison with spec- species, the priority is to learn to identify them in the imens of skull, nasal, mandible, and teeth of ginkgo- field. toothed beaked whales stranded in Chinese Taiwan, the Here, we present a vessel-based, at-sea sighting of three specimens stranded in mainland China were re-identified free-ranging individuals of GBW/DBW with accompany- as Blainville’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris) ing photographic evidence from dedicated marine mam- (Wang et al. 2011). mal surveys in the South China Sea. We believe this is the In 2014, Dalebout and colleagues showed genetic and first description of pigmentation and scarring pattern and osteological evidence supporting the recognition of a surface behavior of living individuals of these species. previously synonymized species of Mesoplodon beaked whale in the tropical Indo-Pacific, the Deraniyagala’s beaked whale. The Deraniyagala’s beaked whale was rec- MATERIAL AND METHODS ognized as a different species closely related to M. ginkgo- dens. The Deraniyagala’s beaked whale was initially The scientific expedition was conducted onboard the described in 1963 (Deraniyagala 1963a,b), but was 50-m-long RV Tian’e from April 26 to May 10, 2019 (for quickly synonymized with M. ginkgodens (Moore & details, see Lin et al. 2020). The study area extended Gilmore 1965). With the recent recognition of the on the northern part of the South China Sea (Fig. 1). Deraniyagala’s beaked whale it is currently uncer- In order to collect cetacean sightings, during daylight tain how many of the historical records relating to hours, a group of 4 to 6 observers were continuously the ginkgo-toothed beaked whale were actually De- scanning the 180° forward sector using 7 × 50 binoc- raniyagala’s beaked whale (Waller 2017). This confu- ulars. Cetacean sighting reports included location, date, sion was partly resolved by Dalebout et al. (2014) time, species identifications, group size, and environmen- that genetically validated the identifications of 5 nom- tal data (e.g. sea and wind state). Data about surface be- inal specimens of the ginkgo-toothed beaked whale havior (travelling, logging, breaching, etc.) and inter and and 6 nominal specimens of Deraniyagala’s beaked intra-dive duration were recorded. Video and photographs whale. Both these species of Mesoplodon whales are were also taken. The videos collected were used to es- present in the Pacific and Indian Oceans where they timate the average number of respiration per minute per appear to be largely parapatric (Brownell et al. 2013; whale (respiratory frequency). 2 © 2020 International Society of Zoological Sciences, Institute of Zoology/ Chinese Academy of Sciences and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd. First sighting of beaked whale species Figure 1 Study area and survey route (solid line when the sampling was in “on effort” mode); the depth contours unit is meter. The black dot indicates the position of the beaked whales sighting. Following Yahn et al. (2019) methods, fin and body whales. The group size estimated in situ was of 3 indi- measurements were obtained from at-sea photographs of viduals, afterward confirmed by 301 photographs and ap- the sighted whales. Seven lateral and three vertical lengths proximately 2 min of video taken during the encounter. were measured in pixels and compared as relative mea- The 3 animals were similar in size and visually estimated surements (Table 1). Moreover, we quantified the number to be 4.5 to 5 m long. Biopsy sampling was not attempted of cookie-cutter shark (Isistius spp.) bite scars either re- since the animals were always out of the cross-bow range pigmented or not, visible on the whales flank. The ratio (distance from the ship >50 m). between fresh and re-pigmented cookie-cutter shark scars Good quality photographs were collected from 2 of was assessed. 3 individuals sighted, hereafter indicated as ind#1 and The photographic data collected during the survey was ind#2. The general body profile was similar to other ziphi- compared with photos from fresh stranded specimens, ids, with a relatively small, moderately falcate dorsal fin which species were confirmed through genetic analysis: set approximately two third of the body length posterior (i) GBW—2 adult males from New Zealand (fig. 8 and to the rostrum (Fig. 2). The whale rostrum graded into suppl. fig. 6 in Dalebout et al.
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