1981 - 10

Biological Services Program

FWS/OBS-80/41
February 1981

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Bureau of Land Management

Fish and Wildlife Service
U .S. Department of the Interior
 The Biological Services Program was established within the U .S . Fish
and Wildlife Service to supply scientific information and methodologies on
key environmental issues that impact fish and wildlife resources and their
supporting ecosystems . The mission of the program is as follows :

To strengthen the Fish and Wildlife Service in its role as

a primary source of information on national fish and wild-
life resources, particularly in respect to environmental
impact assessment .

~ To gather, analyze, and present information that will aid

decisionmakers in the identification and resolution of
problems associated with major changes in land and water
use .

~ To provide better ecological information and evaluation

for Department of the Interior development programs, such
as those relating to energy development.

Information developed by the Biological Services Program is intended

for use in the planning and decisionmaking process to prevent or minimize
the impact of development on fish and wildlife . Research activities and
technical assistance services are based on an analysis of the issues, a
determination of the decisionmakers involved and their information needs,
and an evaluation of the state of the art to identify information gaps
and to determine priorities . This is a strategy that will ensure that
the products produced and disseminated are timely and useful .

Projects have been initiated in the following areas : coal extraction

and conversion ; power plants ; geothermal, mineral and oil shale develop-
ment ; water resource analysis, including stream alterations and western
water allocation ; coastal ecosystems and Outer Continental Shelf develop-
ment ; and systems inventory, including National Wetland Inventory,
habitat classification and analysis, and information transfer .

The Biological Services Program consists of the Office of Biological

Services in Washington, D .C ., which is responsible for overall planning and
management ; National Teams, which provide the Program's central scientific
and technical expertise and arrange for contracting biological services
studies with states, universities, consulting firms, and others ; Regional
Staffs, who provide a link to problems at the operating level ; and staffs at
certain Fish and Wildlife Service research facilities, who conduct in-house
research studies .
 FWS/OBS - 80/41
February 1981

MARINE MAMMALS OF THE SOUTHEASTERN

UNITED STATES COAST AND THE GULF OF MEXICO

by

David J . Schmidly
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences
Texas Agricultural Experiment Station
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas 7743

Contract No . 14-16-0009-79-951

Project Officer
David M . Smith
National Coastal Ecosystems Team
U .S . Fish and Wildlife Service
NASA-Slidell Computer Complex
1010 Gause Boulevard
Slidell, Louisiana 70458

This project was sponsored by the

Bureau of Land Management

In cooperation with
U .S . Fish and Wildlife Service
Denver Wildlife Research Center
New Orleans Field Station
Belle Chasse, Louisiana 70037

Prepared for
Coastal Ecosystems Project
Office of Biological Services
Fish and Wildlife Service
U .S . Department of the Interior
Washington, D .C . .20240

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U .S . Government Printing Office, Washington, D .C. 2002
This report should be cited as follows :

Schmidly, David J . 1981 . Marine mammals of the Southeastern United States

coast and the Gulf of Mexico . U .S . Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Bio-
logical Services, Washington, D .C . FWS/OBS-80/41 163 pp .
 PREFACE

This report is one of several resulting from a 1979 pilot study on the distri-
bution and abundance of marine birds, mammals, and turtles, and the endangered
manatee of the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico . The report synthesizes all
available data on cetaceans and pinnipeds in the study area, including the
results of the 179 aerial surveys conducted in the pilot study. The infor-
mation is presented in two sections : an analysis of observations section and
individual species accounts . The analysis of observations compares the fre-
quency of strandings, sightings, and captures for each species and for each
month . Analyses also include ,the frequency of strandings in different
sections of coastline and in different months . The species accounts present
distribution, abundance, status, seasonal movements, and life history informa-
tion for 35 species .

Suggestions or questions regarding this report or requests for copies should

be directed to the following :

Information Transfer Specialist

National Coastal Ecosystems Team
U .S . Fish and Wildlife Service
NASA-Slidell Computer Complex
1010 Gause Boulevard
Slidell, Louisiana 7045

iii
 CONTENTS

Page

PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

FIGURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v

TABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " " " " " " " " . . . . viii

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . " " " "

METHODS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Sources of Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Methods for Analysis of Data and Species Accounts . . . . . . 5

ANALYSIS OF OBSERVATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " " " " " " 7

Strandi ngs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Sightings . . . . . .- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Captures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

ACCOUNTS OF SPECIES . . . . . . . . . . . . " " "

Order Cetacea . . . . . .. . . . . . . " "

Family Balaenidae . . . . . . . . .

Family Bal enopteri dae . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Family Physeteridae . . . . . . . . . . " " " " " " " " " 58

Family Zi phi i dae . . . . . . . . . .

Family Delphinidae . . . . . . . . .

Family Phocoeni dae . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Order Pinnipedia . . . . . . . . . . " " " " " " " " . . . . . 145

Family Otari i dae . . . . . . . . . . " " " . . . . . . . 145

Family Phocidae . . . . . . . . " " " " " " " . . . . . . 148,

SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS . . . . . . . . . . " . . . . . . . . . 156

REFERENCES . . : . . . . . " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " " . . . . 158

iv
 FIGURES

Number Page

1 Map of Study Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2 Map of study area showing major sections and quadrat

numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

3 Distribution of the right whale, Eubalaena glacialis . . . 38

4 Distribution of the blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus . . . 42

5 Distribution of the sei whale, Balaenoptera borealis . . . 44

6 Distribution of the fin whale, Balaenoptera physalus . . . 47

7 Distribution of the Bryde's whale, Balaenoptera edeni . . . 51

8 Distribution of the minke whale, Balaenoptera

acutorostrata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

9 Distribution of the humpback whale, Megaptera

novaeangl iae . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

10 Distribution of the sperm whale, Physeter catodon . . . . . 59

11 Distribution of the pygmy sperm whale, Kogia breviceps . . 66

12 Distribution of the dwarf sperm whale, Kogia simus . . . . 70

13 Distribution of Blainville's beaked whale, Mesoplodon

dens i rostri s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

14 Distribution of the Antillean beaked whale, Mesoplodon

europaeus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

15 Distribution of True's beaked whale, Mesoplodon mirus . . . 79

16 Distribution of the goosebeaked whale, Ziphius

cavi rostri s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

17 Distribution of the pygmy killer whale, Feresa

attenuate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

18 Distribution of the false killer whale, Pseudorca

crassidens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

19 Distribution of the killer whale, Orcinus orca . . . . . . 91

20 Distribution of the Atlantic pilot whale, Globicephala

mel aena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

v
 FIGURES (continued)

Number Page

21 Distribution of the short-finned pilot whale, Globicephala

macrorhynchus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

22 Distribution of the rough-toothed dolphin, Steno

bredanensis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

23 Distribution of the saddleback dolphin, Delphinus

delphis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

24 Distribution of the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops

truncatus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

25 Distribution of the grampus, Gram p us griseus . . . . . . . 124

26 Distribution of the bridled dolphin, Stenella

frontal i s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

2? Distribution of the Atlantic spotted dolphin, StenellG

plagiodon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

28 Distribution of the striped dolphin, Stenella

coeruleoalba . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

29 Distribution of the spinner dolphin, Stenella

longirostris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

30 Distribution of the short-snouted spinner dolphin,

Stenella clymene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

31 Distribution of the harbor porpoise, Phocoena

phocoena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

32 Distribution of the California sea lion, Zalophus

californianus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

33 Distribution of the harbor seal, Phoca vitulina . . . . . . 149

34 Distribution of the hooded seal, Cystophora cristata . . . 152

35 Distribution of the West Indian seal, Monachus

tropicalis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

vi
 TABLES

Number Pale

1 Cetaceans and pinnipeds of the Southeastern United States

coast and the Gulf of Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . .

2 List of data sources used in this study . . . . . . . . . 23

3 Summary of cetacean-pinniped observations for each

species in the study area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

4 Summary of cetacean-pinniped , observations by month for

each species in the three major sections of the study
area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

5 Summary of species which have mass-stranded in the study

area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

6 Sumnary of strandings for each quadrat of coastline in

the study area . . . . . . . . . . . .

7 Monthly tabulations of stranding records for the entire

study area and each major section . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

8 Observations of short-finned pilot whales recorded frog?

NMFS vessels in the study area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . '$

vii
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Financial support for this study was provided by the hew Orleans Outer
Continental Shelf Office, Bureau of Land Management, U .S . Department of the
Interior .

Greatly appreciated are the assistance and cooperation of Drs . Thomas

Fritts and Robert Reynolds of the U .S . Fish and Wildlife Service, National
Fish and Wildlife Laboratory (now the Denver Wildlife Research Center), New
Orleans Field Station at the Tulane University Museum of Natural History,
Belle Chasse, Louisiana .

Likewise, Mr . Larry Hobbs and Mr. Wayne Hoffman, of the National Fish and
Wildlife Laboratory (NFWL) offices in Washington, D .C ., offered numerous sug-
gestions about descriptions and identification cues for each species .

Several persons aided in the final stages of manuscript preparation .

Peyton Hughes aided with the location of stranding records in the literature .
Barbara Dorf assisted with documentation of strandings and sightings as well
as summarizing natural history information for many species . Gail Barber
deserves special mention for making the distribution maps as well as for typ-
ing and editing the entire manuscript . Bob Maze assisted in making the dis-
tribution maps . Gary Binderim wrote a computer program to aid in summarizing
and categorizing information about strandings, sightings, and captures .

This paper represents contribution No . B-1320 of the Texas Agricultural

Experiment Station, Texas A&M University .

viii
 INTRODUCTION

The marine mammal fauna of the Southeastern United States coast and the
Gulf of Mexico consists almost entirely of cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and
porpoises), although pinnipeds (seals and sea lions) and sirenians (manatees)
also are represented . This paper only considers cetaceans and pinnipeds .
Thirty-five species occur regularly in this region or have occurred there
sometime in the historic past or have been reported so close to the boundaries
of the region that occasional strays may be expected . Table 1 lists the
discussed species, arranged by family . The nomenclature for scientific names
is that used by the Marine Mammal Commission (Anonymous 1976) .

The purpose of this paper is to synthesize all available data and liter-
ature about cetaceans and pinnipeds in the region of study . The study area
includes the coast and adjacent continental shelf of the United States from
Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, to the Florida Keys ; and from the Florida Keys
to the United States /Mexico boundary near Port Isabel/Brownsville, Texas
(Figure 1) . This area contains the warmest water in contact with the contig-
uous United States including the Florida Straits, the southern Gulf Stream,
and other important areas . Because of the extreme mobility of marine orga-
nisms, the remainder of the Gulf of Mexico, the northern portions of the
Caribbean Sea, and the portions of the South Atlantic extending slightly
beyond the 1000-fathom isobath (1,830 m) have also been included in the
survey .

METHODS

SOURCES OF DATA

Most reports of marine mammals from the study area are scattered
in literature accounts of stranded animals . However, several recent papers
are available which synthesize much of the older literature as well as present
additional information for specific geographic regions . These papers consti-
tute the primary basis for the species accounts which assess the status of
each species in the study area . They are listed below by geographic region,
author, and date, followed by a brief description of the contents of each
article .

l. Southeastern U .S . coast - Caldwell and Caldwell (1974) and Winn

et al . (1979) : a review of all published and unpublished records fron Cape
Hatteras, North Carolina, south to Cape Canaveral, Florida, including a
summary of all biological knowledge for species living in this area .

2. Florida - Moore (1553) : a checklist of Florida species, with

detailed annotations, and a compilation of pld records . Layne (1965) : a
checklist of Florida records primarily after Moore, but with some comments on
the earlier records and with detailed annotations .

3. Northeastern Gulf - Caldwell and Caldwell (1973) : an annotated

checklist of marine mammals along the Gulf coast of Florida, Mississippi, and
Alabama as well as an assessment of their status .

1
Table 1 . Cetaceans and pinnipeds of the Southeastern United States coast and
the Gulf of Mexico .
Page

Order Cetacea
Suborder h1ysticeti - Baleen whales
Family Balaenidae - Right whales
Eubalaena alacialis - Right whale . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Family Balaenopteridae - Rorquals
Balaenoptera musculus - Blue whale . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Balaenoptera borealis - Sei whale . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Balaenoptera physalus - Fin whale . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Balaeno ptera edeni - Bryde's whale . . . . . . . . . . 49
Saanoptera acutorostrata - Minke whale . . . . . . . . 51
Megaptera novaeangliae - Humpback whale . . . . . . . . . 54
Suborder Odontoceti - Toothed whales
Family Physeteridae - Sperm whales
Physeter catodon - Sperm whale . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
KOgid breviceps - Pygmy sperm whale . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Kogia simus - Dwarf sperm whale . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Family Ziphiidae - Beaked whales
R'esoplodon densirostris - Elainville's beaked whale . . . 72
Msesoplodon europaeus - Antillean beaked whale . . . . . . 75
hgesoplodon mirus - True's beaked whale . . . . . . . . . 78
Zi'phius cavirostris - Goosebeaked whale . . . . . . . . . 80
Family Delphinidae-Delphinids
Peponocephala electra - Many-toothed dolphin . . . . . . 83
Feresa attenuata - Pygmy killer whale . . . . . . . . . . 84
Pseudorca crassidens - False killer whale . . . . . . . . 85
Orcinus orca - Killer whale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Globicephala melaena - Atlantic pilot whale . . . . 92
Globicephala r^acrorhynchus - Short-finned pilot whale . . 95
Steno bredanensis - Rough-toothed dolphin . . . . . . . . 101
Lagenodelphis hosei - Fraser's dolphin . . . . . . . . . 103
Delphinus delphis - Saddleback dolphin . . . . . . 104
Tursiops truncatus - Atlantic bottlenose dolphin . . . . 108
Gramp us rig ~ seus - Grampus . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Stenella frontalis - Bridled dolphin . . . . . . . . . . 125
Stenella plagiodon - Atlantic spotted dolphin . . . . . . 127
Stenella coeruleoalba - Striped dolphin . . . . . . . . . 133
te eTTa on irostris - Spinner dolphin . . . . . . . . . 137
tea cl mene - Short-snouted spinner dolphin . . . . 140
Family Phocoenidae - Porpoises
Phocoena phocoena - Harbor porpoise . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Order Pinnipedia
Family Otariidae - Eared seals
Zalophus california nus - California sea lion . . . . . . . . 145
Family Phocidae - Hair seaTs
Phoca vitulina - Harbor seal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Cystophora cristata - Hooded seal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Monachus tropicalis - West Indian seal . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

a Not recorded in study area but occur on periphery .

2
Figure 1 . Map of the study area .
 4. Louisiana - Lowery (1974) : a summary of all stranding records and
observations of marine mammals in Louisiana waters .

5. Texas - Schmidly and Melcher (1974) : annotated checklist and key to

the cetaceans of Texas waters . Schmidly and Shane (1978) : a revision of the
checklist with additional records resulting from a two-year stranding network .

Search of the published literature and unpublished records resulted in

2,034 observations of cetaceans or pinnipeds which could be analyzed . Obser-
vations were obtained from five types of sources : (1) published literature,
(2) records of Smithsonian Institute programs, (3) museum records, (4) unpub-
lished records, and (5) aerial sightings made in 1979 . Each of these sources
is discussed below.

Published sources provided 1,256 observations (49 .3% of total) of ceta-

ceans and pinnipeds in the study area . One major drawback of this sample of
records is the reliability of species identifications, particularly for some
of the more taxonomically complex groups (such as species of Balaenoptera ,
Kogia , and Stenella ) . For example, in analyzing the distribution records of
Balaenoptera edeni and B . borealis along the eastern coast of the United
States, Mead 1979 found that 38% of the records were erroneous, and an addi-
tional 38% were unreliable or undocumented, leaving only 24% as usable records
for critical purposes . We were unable to verify the identity or accuracy of
each literature observation, and undoubtedly several incorrect identifications
still are present in this sample . All publications pertaining to species in
the study area are listed by author and assigned numbers i n Table 2, at the
end of this section (p . 24) .

The second data source consists of 518 records (20 .3% of total) compiled
during five years of operation of the Smithsonian's Scientific Event Alert
Network (SEAN) . These are reported in the SEAN bulletins and also include
records compiled during the first three years of the Smithsonian Institution's
Marine Mammal Salvage Program (MMSP) . Virtually all MMSP records have been
confirmed and most are represented by museum specimens . However, most other
SEAN records have not been verified . Because they have not been scrutinized
and reviewed by experts (every report submitted is reported without further
verification and documentation), the SEAN bulletins are listed in Table 2
under unpublished sources .

The third data source consists of 491 museum records (19 .2% of total) .
Many of these records, especially the extralimital records of rare species,
have been published . However, many museums also have unpublished records of
more common species . To explore this heretofore untapped data source, ques-
tionnaires were sent to 51 museums known or suspected of having marine mammal
specimens from the study area . Of these, 32 responded as having records, and
these have been listed in Table 2, at the end of this section .

The fourth main data source consists of miscellaneous, unpublished infor-

mation, for which voucher specimens or other documentation is usually lacking .
This category includes personal communications with noted cetologists familiar
with the study area, and observations gathered by personnel aboard U .S .
National Marine Fisheries Service research vessels traversing the study area .
A word of caution is in order about the use of such data sources, especially
those which produce records from offshore waters . Inasmuch as those represent

4
only sight records, often by inexperienced observers, they are subject to mis-
identification unless supported by photographs or unless the sightings were
made by competently trained cetologists .

The fifth data source consists of aerial sightings made in 1979 during a
pilot project partially designed to conduct preliminary aerial inventories of
marine mammals within the Gulf of Mexico . The project, in which the author of
this paper participated, was sponsored by the Bureau of Land Management (BLF1)
and coordinated from the New Orleans Field Station of the National Fish and
Wildlife Laboratory (NF4:L) on the Riverside Campus of Tulane University . Sur-
veys were conducted at four Gulf of Mexico study areas : (1) Naples, Florida ;
(2) Clearwater, Florida ; (3) Corpus Christi, Texas ; and ~(4) Brownsville, Texas
(for detailed descriptions, see Fritts and Reynolds 1980) . Each study site
encompassed borders of approximately 111 km (60 nm) on the shoreline and
extending 221 km (120 nm) perpendicular to the shoreline . These surveys repre-
sent the first attempt to develop a systematic sampling scheme for estimating
population sizes of marine mammals in the Gulf of Mexico . Sightings made dur-
ing .these aerial surveys, which were conducted by experts experienced in the
identification of cetaceans, are indicated in the appropriate species account
and referenced using the acronym NFWL-BLM .

METHODS FOR ANALYSIS OF DATA AND SPECIES ACCOUNTS

A computerized data management system was developed to tabulate and sum-

marize all data . Each observation was assigned a unique number and the
following information coded onto a computer sheet : (1) species identification ;
(2) geographic location of the observation ; (3) type of observation (whether
it represented a stranding, sighting, or capture) ; (4) source of information ;
and (5) nature of the observation (including date and number of individuals
seen) .

Geographic location was recorded by area (western Gulf, eastern Gulf,

Atlantic, and Caribbean) and quadrat number (see Figure 2) . Each observation
was categorized, if possible, according to whether it represented a stranding,
sighting, or capture . All marine mammals found along a shoreline were
referred to as "stranded," and a distinction was made between those which came
ashore alive and those simply washed ashore dead . It is often difficult to
make this distinction since it is usually impossible to determine whether an
animal was alive or dead when it arrived on the beach . Therefore, in coding
our data, we recorded animals as having stranded alive only when the account
of the stranding clearly indicated this was the case . Consequently, our tabu-
lations certainly represent a minimum estimate, and these kinds of data
summarization must be viewed with caution .

Sightings were recorded according to whether they resulted from aerial,

boat, or land observations . Captures were coded according to whether they
resulted from whaling, oceanaria/zoo collecting, fishery activities, scien-
tific collecting, or nonscientific collecting . The source of information was
coded according to whether the observation was a published record, SEAM event,
museum specimen, or some other unpublished data source (such as NMFS log
records) . For each stranding or sighting, the date was recorded as well as

5
whether the observation involved a single individual or a group of indivi-
duals . All data were tabulated using a computer program written for the SAS
system at Texas A&M University by Mr . Gary Binderim .

Detailed species accounts have been prepared for each of the cetaceans
and pinnipeds, in the study area, and these include the following categories
of information :

1. Other Common and Scientific Names

Both the "scientific" and "common" names of several species vary from one
publication to another and from place to place . While we used the names recom-
mended by the Marine Mammal Commission (Anonymous 1976), we have attempted to
list all scientific and common names used in the literature to refer to ceta-
ceans and pinnipeds from the study area . Many of the scientific names used in
the old literature have been placed in synonymy as a result of recent taxo-
nomic research .

2. Description and Identification

A brief description of each species is provided with emphasis given to

diagnostic features, especially those which might be visible from the air or a
ship . Much of this information was taken from the excellent account of whales,
dolphins, and porpoises of the western North Atlantic written by Leatherwood
et al . (1976) .

3. Distribution

General statements on each species' distribution are followed by detailed

accounts of their distribution within the study area . Where appropriate, known
records are plotted on a study area map using a set of eight symbols . In most
situations, only a single type of observation was evident at a given locality
(although the same type of observation may have occurred at different times),
and these are plotted using the following symbols :

stranding Q aerial sighting (NFWL-BLM study)

Q sighting (literature) /capture

For a few of the more common species, several types of observation were
recorded at different times and at the same location . These are represented
by the following symbols :

stranding + sighting []stranding + sighting + capture

p sighting + capture Q stranding + capture

Also included in this section are descriptions of general habitat prefer-

ences (e .g ., onshore-offshore) as well as relationships to major oceanographic
features, if these are known . These data are usually nonrandom and biased in
various ways that relate to roan's distribution rather than to a particular
cetacean or pinniped species .

4. Seasonal Movements

There are few data regarding seasonal distribution of cetaceans or pinni-

peds in the study area, primarily because records of sightings and strandings
6
are scattered and sporadic . Patterns of strandings, sightings, or captures
were tabulated for each species in each major section of the study area . In
some cases monthly data were not available for the sighting or stranding .
These were plotted on the distribution maps, but not considered in assessment
of movement patterns .

5. " Status and Abundance

Whenever possible, some account of the abundance of a species, is given .

However, with a few exceptions, the number of any species of cetacean or pin-
niped which frequents the stuffy area is not known, and one can only infer its
abundance from reports of casual sightings or from the number of strandings .
The stranding or the washing up of a whale, alive or dead, on the beach is not
a completely random occurrence, and some species are definitely more subject
to this accident than are others . For this reason, we are badly in need of
adequate censusing of the marine mammals in the study area . Based on our
knowledge of abundance, we have attempted to assess the status (stable,
increasing, decreasing) of each species, if possible . Several species in the
study area are considered endangered, and their status is listed as determined
by the U .S . authorities (U .S . Fish and Wildife Service 1973) and in the Red
Data Book (IUCN 1972) .

6. Life History

In general, life history and biological data on marine mammals are very
limited . For each species, all literature references pertaining to reproduc-
tion, food habits, and behavior in the study area are discussed . Where no
information is available specifically from the study area, references summar-
izing life history parameters in other geographic regions have been used .

7. Records of Occurrence

For each species, the exact location of every sighting or stranding and
the reference or references referring to each are given . The records are
arranged by quadrats and major sections of the study area as shown in Figure
2 . Within each quadrat (called quads ), the localities are arranged from north
to south and west to east in that order of preference . Following each local-
ity, the number or numbers in parentheses refer to the reference for that
stranding or sighting as listed in Table 2 . To find the exact location and
reference for a dot on a distribution map, one must first determine what quad
the dot is in (using the map in Figure 2) and then look up that quad number in
the records of occurrence list . Using the reference rule of north before
south and west before east, one then can determine the exact location and
reference for every dot on each distribution map . For a few species, a single
dot may represent more than one locality .

ANALYSIS OF OBSERVATIONS

Of the 2,034 observations of cetaceans and pinnipeds recorded, 1,220

(60 .0%) represented strandings, 559 (27 .5%) were sightings, and 255 (12 .5%)
were captures . Of these, 1,132 (55 .9) involved single individuals, 560
(27 .6%) involved more than one individual, and 7n 342 (16 .5%) instances the
number of individuals involved could not be determined . Of the 1,220 strand-
ings, 142 (11 .6%) represented animals that stranded alive, 452 (37 .C%) were

7
 ,r,

i... ..~_.. .

Figure 2 . Map of the study area showing major sections (western Gulf, eastern
Gulf, Atlantic, and Caribbean) and quadrat numbers .

8
dead when they arrived on the shoreline, and in 626 (51 .3%) instances it could
not be determined whether the animal stranded alive or dead .

Tabulations of observations for each of the major sections of the study

area are as follows :

Geographic area Strandings Sightings Captures Totals (X)

Western Gulf 158 100 10 268 (13 .2)

Eastern Gulf 220 278 77 575 (28 .3)

Atlantic 835 177 164 1,176 (57 .8)

Caribbean 7 4 4 15 (00 .7)

Totals 1,220 559 255 2,034

Data are heavily biased by observational effort, being very high in a few
selected areas and totally lacking elsewhere . Almost 60% of the observations
have been recorded from the Atlantic portion of the study area, with about 28%
being recorded from the eastern Gulf and 13% from the western Gulf . Virtually
nothing is available from the Caribbean . These figures reflect the greater
amount of cetological activity along the Atlantic coast as compared to the
Gulf of Mexico .

Tabulations of observations by species are shown in Table 3 . Twenty-nine

cetaceans and four pinnipeds have stranded, been sighted, or captured in the
study area . To evalute these data, the sample was stratified into stranding
and nonstranding (sightings and captures) categories . The stranding category
primarily includes inshore, coastal species with very few offshore, pelagic
species represented . With the exception of Tursiops truncatus (for which
there are numerous inshore sightings), the sighting-capture sample is domi-
nated by offshore species .

Tabulations of observation s by month for each species are shown in

Table 4 . Once again, the data a re separated into stranding and nonstranding
categories . This information is the primary basis for interpreting seasonal
distributional patterns for each species in the study area, and these data are
discussed at the appropriate plac e in each species account .

STRANDINGS

Strandings provide a valuable source of data for marine mammals . When

conducted in a systematic fashion over a long period of time, data derived
from stranding studies help to fill important gaps in present knowledge
regarding stocks, life history, natural mortality rates, and proportional
abundance . However, certain sampling biases are evident when using these data
(Mead 1979) . The stranding of a particular species on a given coastline may
be influenced by several factors . Inshore species may be represented by indi-
viduals which either die in their normal area of distribution and are washed
ashore, or by ill or stray individuals that wind up as live stranded animals .

9
Table 3 . Summary of cetacean-pinniped observations for each species in the
study area .

Strandings Nonstrandings
Species Alive Dead Unknown Sightings Captures Totals

Eubalaena Ql ~
acialis 2 2 5 30 6 45
a aenop era musculus 0 0 2 0 0 2
Balaenoptera borealis 1 0 4 0 0 5
Balaenoptera ~~,,~sal~us 1 9 8 5 0 23
Balaenoptera e ed ni 3 2 5 0 1 11
Balaenoptera acutorostrata 4 2 5 0 1 12
Plegaptera novaeangliae 1 3 8 3 18 33
Physeter catodon 8 9 25 11 181 234
Kogia breviceps 39 40 62 4 2 147
Kogia simus 6 9 22 0 0 37
Mesoplodon densirostris 1 1 6 0 0 8
hiesoplodon europaeus 2 7 20 0 0 29
Meso lodon mirus 0 0 6 0 0 6
1p 1U5 cave
ostris 5 3 31 0 0 39
Feresa attenuata 2 1 3 0 0 6
s~rca
c rassidens 2 2 10 9 4 27
Orcinus orca 1 0 8 10 1 20
Globicephala melaena 2 0 4 0 0 6
Globicephala macrorhynchus 18 8 92 18 1 137
Steno bredanensis 1 1 7 1 1 11
Delphinus delphlS 1 4 10 12 5 32
Tursiops truncatus 16 264 213 257 12 762
Gram p us rg iseus 4 1 8 0 0 13
Stenella frontalis 0 1 6 0 0 7
Stenella plag oon 4 12 28 148 7 199
Stenella coeruleoalba 7 9 3 15 0 34
Steela longirostris 5 4 5 0 1 15
Stenella cl yme~ n_e. 0 2 2 1 0 5
oicoena phocoena 0 54 2 0 0 56
Zalophus californianus 0 0 0 21 3 24
Phoca vitulina 6 2 13 2 2 25
Cystophoracristat& 0 0 3 0
Plonachus tropic 6s 0 0 0 12 9 21

Totals 142 452 626 559 255 2,034

10
Table 4 . Summary of cetacean-pinniped observations ay month for each species in the three major sections
(western Gulf, eastern Gulf, Atlantic) of the study area . Underlined values represent the number of non-
strandings (sightings and captures) ; other values indicate the number of stranded animals .

Month
Geographic area J F M A M J J A S 0 N D No date
Eubalaena glacial is
Western Gulf 1
Eastern Gulf 1
Atlantic 1 ;12 2 ;7 1 ;12 4 1 1 1 ;2
Balaenoptera musculus
Western Gulf 1 1
Eastern Gulf
Atlantic

Balaenoptera borealis
Western Gulf
Eastern Gulf 2
Atlantic 1 1

Balaenoptera physalus
Western Gulf 1
Eastern Gulf 2 1 1 ;1 1 1 1 1
Atlantic 1 2 3 ;1 1 2 1 1

Ba aenoptera edeni
Western Gulf
Eastern Gulf 1 1 1 1
Atlantic 1 2 1 1 1

Ba aenoptera acutorostrata
Western Gulf 1 1 1
Eastern Gulf 1 1 1 2
Atlantic 2 1 1

Continued
Table 4 . Continued .

Month
Geographic area J F M A M J J A S 0 N D No date
Megaptera novaeangliae
Western Gulf
Eastern Gulf 1 1 1 1 2
Atlantic 2;5 2 3 2;6 2 1 1 2

Physeter catodon
Western Gulf 1 1 1 3 2 2 1 2
Eastern Gulf 1 1 ;1 1 ;4 1;7 14 25 13 1 1 3 1 2
Atlantic 2;10 2 ;2 2 ;6 2 ;11 14 9 3;15 4;8 3 1 ;9 20 8 10

Ogld reviceps
Western Gulf 2 2 1 1 2 2 1
Eastern Gulf 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 3
Atlantic 12 9 12 ;1 8 8 7 ;1 6 9 14 10 6 8 10

Kogia simus
Western Gulf 2 1 1
Eastern Gulf 1 1 1
Atlantic 4 1 5 1 1 3 2 1 1 5 6

Mesoplodon densirostris
Western Gulf 1
Eastern Gulf
Atlantic 1 2 2 1 1

F1esoplodon europaeus
Western Gulf 1 1 1
Eastern Gulf 1 1
Atlantic 3 1 1 4 3 1 1 1 5

Mesoplodon mirus
Western Gulf
Eastern Gulf
Atlantic 3 1 ._ 1 1
Continued
 Table 4 . Continued .

Month

Geographic areas J F M A M J J A S 0 N D No date

Ziphius cavirostris
Western Gulf 1
Eastern Gulf 1 1 1 1 1 2
Atlantic 2 7 3 2 1 3 3 1 2 1 4

Feresa attenuata
Western Gulf 1
Eastern Gulf 1
Atlantic 1 2 1

Pseudorca crassidens
Western Gulf
Eastern Gulf 1 4 3 1 2
Atlantic 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ;1 1 1 5

w Orcinus orca
Western Gulf 1
Eastern Gulf 1 1 1 2
Atlantic 3 1 1 1 7

Globicephala melaena
Western Gulf -
Eastern Gulf
Atlantic 1 2 1 1 1

ulobicepnaia macrornyncnus
Western Gulf 1 1 ;1 1 ;1 1 1 ;1 1 1 1 1 5
Eastern Gulf 1 3 1 1 ;1 2 3 ;1 2 6 ;1 1 2 1 1 12
Atlantic 5 9 ;1 6 9 ;1 5 ;3 2 3 4 1 4 2 ;2 2 ;1 21

Steno bredanensis
Western Gulf
Eastern Gulf 1 1 4
Atlantic 1 1 2

Continued
 Table 4 . Continued .
Month

Geographic area J F M A M J J A S 0 N D No date

Delphinus delphls
Western Gulf 1 2 2
Eastern Gulf 1 3 2
Atlantic 4 ;2 1 ;1 2 1 ;1 1 3 1 4

Tursiops truncatus
Western Gulf 8 13 22 10 ;2 8 ;9 7 ;1 2 ;9 2 2 3 ;13 8 ;4 15
Eastern Gulf 3 ;7 7 ;3 18 ;10 19 ;9 12;13 2 ;12 12;10 5 ;L7 3 ;6 4 ;10 7 ;25 1 ;5 15
Atlantic 28 36;1 57 27 25 ;5 14;1 5 9 ;63 7 11;2 12;1 20 ;2 51

Gram pus rig ~seus

Western Gulf
Eastern Gulf 1 1 1
Atlantic 1 3 1 2 1 2

w ne s
~' Western Gulf
Eastern Gulf 1
Atlantic 1 1 1 1 1

Stenella plagiodon
Western Gulf 1 2 2 20 4 4 2 ;1 7 2
Eastern Gulf 1 ;5 1 6 1 ;11 26 1 ;11 3;5 1 1 ;4 1 17
Atlantic 6 ;3 2 3;1 1;5 3 ;6 4 1 1 ;1 2 ;4 2;1 1 4;2 6

Stenella coeruleoalba
Western Gulf 1 2
Eastern Gulf 1 13 1 ;1
Atlantic 4 1 1 1 5 1 3 1

Stenella longirostris
Western Gulf. 1 1 1 1 1
Eastern Gulf 1 1 1 1
Atlantic 1 1 2 1 2

Continued
Table 4 . Concluded .

Month
is
ciymene
Western Gulf 1
Eastern Gulf 1
Atlantic 1 1 1

Phocoena phocoena
Western Gulf
Eastern Gulf
Atlantic 9 34 10 2 1

Zalophus californianus
Western Gulf 1
Eastern Gulf 1 1 1 1 1
Atlantic T 1 T T 2 1 1

Phoca vitulina
Western Gulf
Eastern Gulf
Atlantic 5 ;1 6 ;1 4 1 1 2 4

Cystophora cristata
Western Gulf
Eastern Gulf
Atlantic 1 1 1

s
Western Gulf 1 1 6
Eastern Gulf 1 1 1 4
Atlantic 2
Offshore species which die in their normal area of distribution are not likely
to be washed ashore because of the distance involved and the chance of scaven-
gers or decomposition breaking up the carcasses before they reach the coast .
Most of these carcasses probably sink without refloating, and these species
will only be represented by those individuals which stray from their normal
area of distribution and die on or near the coast .

Both population size and mortality rate in a given area contribute

directly to the relative abundance of a particular species in the stranding
record . Both factors may vary seasonally and result in regular changes in the
abundance of strandings . For these reasons, a relatively rare offshore spe-
cies, with regular inshore movements coincident with increased mortality, may
be represented by more records than a much more common species with an oppo-
site pattern of movement or mortality . Brown (1975) reported that stranding
mortality of small cetaceans in the northeast Atlantic Ocean from 1913 to 1872
did not correlate well with population abundance based upon sighting records .
The relationship between stranding mortality and population abundance, accord-
ing to Brown (1975), will vary with the nature of the coast and with short- or
long-term changes in environmental factors such as coastal currents and water
temperature .

In addition to the above factors, reporting biases may affect the strand-
ing record . Once an animal has stranded, it must be noticed and reported, and
finally the report must be recorded . Large, rare or unusually marked animals,
such as the great whales and the beaked whales, are much more likely to be
noticed and reported than small or common species . Consequently, past records
are likely to be relatively complete for the large whales, followed by rare
and unusual species, and least complete for common, or rare but unimposing
species .

Species Composition of Stranded Animals

Of the 33 cetaceans and pinnipeds known from the study area, 32 have
stranded on one or more occasions (Table 3) . Those species with fewer than 10
records are probably either rare or represent extralimital strays . This
accounts for 13 species, two of which ( Stenella clymene and Monachus trOpj_
calis ) are known primarily from the study area and should not be considered as
strays . The 20 remaining species represent the normal, or at least regularly
occurring, cetacean-pinniped fauna of this area . This group accounts for 94%
of the stranding s . Of these, 10 species with greater than 20 records account
for 88% of all stranding records and can be considered as common elements of
the fauna . The four most common species (greater than 50 records) are Kogia
breviceps , Globicephala macroryhnchus , Tursiops truncatus , and Phocoena pho_
coena ; they comprise 66% of all records and probably represent the regular
members of the fauna . (It should be noted that Phocoena only occurs in the
extreme northern part of the Atlantic portion of the study area .)

Tursio s truncatus, with a total of 493 records, is the most cor~rhon ele-
ment of the Stranding and sighting records suggest that this
species normally occurs near shore in relatively large numbers and is cer-
tainly the dominant cetacean element in the study area . The second most abun-
dant species, Kogia ~br_evice s (141 records), is somewhat surprising, as this
is usually considered to be a relatively rare, offshore animal . The large
number of strandings of this species may result from an inshore movement of

16
part of the population during a period of increased natural mortality, result-
ing in a somewhat disproportionate number of strandings . The next species in
order of relative abundance is Globicephala macrorhynchus . This is apparently
not an inshore species, but is probably represented in the study area by a
relatively large population .

There are too few records of the remaining species to permit comments
about their relative abundance . However, a few comments are pertinent for
some species because extenuating circumstances may exist which affect their
apparent abundance and distribution . All species of Balaenoptera present
problems of identification, particularly when their records are based upon
decomposed remains or partial specimens . According to Mead (1979), many of
the records presented in the literature as B, physalus probably represent
other species . A somewhat analogous situation exists for many early records
of Globicephala macrorhynchus which probably represent strandings of Pseudorca
crassidens . The differences between the two are evident to cetologists, but
descriptions formerly available to the general biological community were
inadequate, resulting in most strandings of large, black cetaceans being
referred to as G . macrorhynchus . A comparable problem exists for Delphinus
delphis and Stenella coereuleoalba . These species are frequently confused,
and since S . coeruleoalba is the lesser known of the two, the identification
is more likely to be given as D, delphis . Unless observations of such species
can be verified, conclusions based upon them must be regarded as tentative .

Live Strandings

It is useful to have some idea of the incidence of live strandings,

especially since the factors and species involved are likely to be different .
Only 12% of all stranding records involved animals known to be alive at the
time of stranding (Table 3) . Of the species with a relatively large (about
20) sample size, Stenella coeruleoalba had the highest percentage of live
strandings (37%) . KOgid breviceps was next with 28%, followed among the
smaller cetaceans by KOgld simus (16 .2%) and Globice hala macrorh nchus
(15 .2%) . Other species with smaller sample sizes less than 15 records), but
with a high percentage of live strandings include Gram p us rig 'seus (30 .8%) and
Stenella longirostris (28 .6%) Of the larger whales, Ph seter catodon was
most commonly found alive (19% of its stranding records . The most common
baleen whales were Balaenoptera acutorostrata (36%) and B, edeni (30%) .
Interestingly, all of the species with a high incidence of live strandings
were apparently offshore forms, whereas the most abundant inshore species,
Tursiops truncatus , had an extremely low incidence of live strandings (3 .2%) .
This is consistent with the viewpoint that stray individuals of offshore spe-
cies are most likely to wander onto the beach and be found while still alive .
The low incidence of live strandings of inshore species suggests that these
are generally more capable of avoiding the beach while alive, even though they
may be terminally ill or injured (Mead 1979) .

Mass Strandings

A total of 42 mass strandings (five or more individuals) of seven species

have been recorded in the study area (Table 5) . Globicephala macrorh.Y-n-c--h-u-s-
was by far the most common species involved, with 31 records, representing 74%
of all mass strandings . There have been 20 reported mass strandings of this
species in the Atlantic portion of the study area, 10 in the eastern Gulf, and

17
Table 5 . Summary of species which have mass-stranded in the study area .

No . mass No. Avg . no .

Species strandings individuals individuals

Physeter catodon 2 27 13 .5

Feresa attenuate 1 5 5 .0

Pseudorca crassidens 2 167 83 .5

Globicephala macrorhynchus 31 1,010 32 .6

Steno bredanensis 3 59 19 .7

Stenella plagiodon 1 7 7 .0

Stenella longirostris 2 65 32 .5

Totals 42 1,340 31 .9

1S
only one in the western Gulf . The total number of individuals involved in
these mass strandings was 1,010, with a mean of 32 .6 individuals per strand-
ing . This is probably only a minimal estimate since many of the strandings
appear to have been only partially reported . The largest mass stranding re-
corded for this species involved 200 individuals . The others clearly divide
into two size classes, those on the order of 50 to 100 individuals (14 in-
stances) and those on the order of 5 to 25 individuals (26 instances) ; these
probably represent different types of social groupings . Mass strandings of
this species have been recorded in every month except September, and there is
no seasonal pattern indicated .

Of the other species, only Pseudorca crassidens could be considered as

regularly stranding in multiple numbs.-Although Fis species is currently
only represented by two multiple stranding records, it is likely that a few of
the early records for G, macrorhynchus were actually P, crassidens . Steno
bredanensis , ,P~hy~se.~ter catodon, and Stenella longirostris are the only other
species for which mass strandings represent a significant portion of the total
records .

There have been no recorded mass strandings of mysticete cetaceans in the

study area . The majority of odontocetes stranded are pelagic species . Appar-
ently, coastal forms strand alive only rarely .

Geographic Distribution of Strandings

The total number of strandings for each coastline quadrat (Figure 2) in

the study area is given in Table 6 . There is considerable fluctuation in
stranding numbers with the lowest being 7 (Q .6% of the total) in Quadrat 22
and the highest, 230, in Quadrat 3 (19 .2%) . These differences probably do not
reflect real variation in abundance of marine mammals . Rather, they result
from the tremendous difference in cetological activity from one place in the
study area to another. The large number of records in Quad rat 3 (which in-
cludes the Outer Banks of North Carolina) reflects the concentrated effort
there by the Marine Mammal Salvage Program (P1MSP) of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion . The quadrats surrounding Florida (8, 12, 16, 48, 39, 31, 30, 22, 21)
encompass 43% of the total number of strandings . Florida has more recorded
strandings than any other state due to a long history of marine mammal activ-
ity and its having the longest coastline of the southeastern states .

Seasonal Distribution of Strandings

Table 7 presents monthly tabulations of stranding records for the study

area . The number of strandings is greatest during January through April, as
54% of the recorded strandings is greatest during these months . This pattern
holds for the entire study area as well as for each of the major sections .
Whether this trend is indicative of higher mortality among marine mammals in
colder months or simply a result of sampling error (seasonal fluctuations in
effort) cannot be ascertained at this time .

SIGHTINGS

Sightings from the study area are comparatively few, and only 17 of the
33 species have been sighted (Table 3) . Few attempts to develop a systematic

19
Table 6 . Summary of strandings for each quadrat (see Figure 2) of coastline
in the study area .

Quadrat Total strandings % of total

1 40 3 .3

74 6 .2
230 19 .2
31 2 .6

75 6 .2
124 10 .3

12 157 13 .1
16 68 5 .7

48 76 E .3

39 37 3 .1
31 18 1 .5
30 8 0 .7

22 7 0 .6

21 18 1 .5
ZD 60 5 .0
28 13 1 .1
27 13 1 .1

26 44 3 .7
25 22 1 .8

24 15 1 .2

32 70 5 .8

20
Table 7 . Monthly tabulations of stranding records for the entire study area
and each major section .

Stranding s
Western Eastern
Month Strandings (%) Gulf Gulf Atlantic Caribbean

J 117 (11 .4) 17 11 89 0

F 132 (12 .9) 20 15 96 1

P1 199 (19 .4) 28 26 145 0

A 109 (10 .6) 11 27 71 0

h1 90 (08 .8) 10 19 61 0

J 50 (04 .9) 3 9 38 0
J 55 (05 .4) 8 20 27 0

A 55 (05 .4) 6 17 32 0

S 50 (04 .9) 10 6 34 0

0 49 (04 .8) 5 9 35 0

N 54 (05 .3) 5 16 33 0

D 64 (06 .2) 13 6 45 0

Totals 1,024 136 181 706 1

% 13 .3 17 .7 65 .9 0 .1

21
and regular sampling scheme for sightings have been made and, consequently,
most sighting records come from incidental observations made by untrained
observers or are specific attempts by trained cetologists to sight selected
species . For example, Leatherwood (1975, 1979) used aerial techniques to
survey ~Tursiop_s populations in the inshore habitats at several places in the
Gulf ofe~zico and along the Atlantic coast of Florida . However, these
studies generally cover only a brief time period and a relatively small geo-
graphic area . Excluding the inshore sightings of Tursiops , 52% of the total
sightings are of Stenella plagiodon , probably the most common offshore species
in the study area .~5_5er species with a high percentage of their total
observations represented by sightings include Eubalaena glacialis , Stenella
coeruleoalba , Delphinus del his, Pseudorca crassidens , Zalophus californianus ,
and Monachus tropicalis . With the exception of Eubalaena glacialis , often
sighted along the Atlantic coast during its annual spring migration, and the
two Rinnipeds, these species are offshore, deep water forms .

CAPTURES

Captures constitute only 12 .5% of total study area observations, and only
17 of the 33 species have been captured (Table 3) . Of the 255 captures, 199
(78%) represent captures by whalers of two species, Megaptera novaeangliae and
Physeter catodon (summarized by Townsend 1435) . Of the remaining captures,
most are of Tursiops , collected by oceanaria for use in public display . We
could document only 12 captures of Tursiops for this reason, but there
undoubtedly have been many more . Other species for which captures constitute
a large percentage of their total observations include the pinnipeds, Zalophus
californianus and hlonachus tropicalis . Zalophus is not native to the study
area, and most captures are animals escaped from oceanarias . Monachus was
hunted extensively during colonial times as a source of oil .

22
Table 2 . List of data sources used in this stud
Literature records
1. Aguayo, C . G . 1954 . Notas sobre cetaceos de aguas Cubanas . Circ . Mus .
Bibli o . del Zool . Habana 13(351) :1125-1126 :

2. Allen, G . M . 1916 . The whalebone whales of New England . hem . Boston

Soc . Nat . Hist . 8 :107-322 .

3. Allen, G . M . 1925 . The bridled dolphin ( Prodelphinus froenatus ) on the

Flori da coast . J . Mammal . 6 :59 .
4. Allen, G . M1 . 1941 . Pigmy sperm whale in the Atlantic . Field Mus . Nat .
Hist . Publ . Zool . Ser. 27 :17-34 .

5. Allen, G . M . 1942 . Extinct and vanishing mammals of the western hemi-

sphere with the marine species of all the oceans . Am . Comm . Int .
W.ildl . Protection, Spec . Publ . 11 . 620 pp., New York.

6. Allen, J . A . 1887 . The West Indian seal (Monachus tropicalis ) . Bull .

Am. htus . Nat . Hist . 2 :1-34 .

7. Allen, J . A . 1908 . The North Atlantic right whale and its near allies .
Bull . Am. N9us . Nat. Hist . 24 :217-32Q .

8. Anonymous . 1976a . Rare right whales sighted . South Carolina Wildl .

July-August, p . 53 .

9. Anonymous . 1976b . Rare whale photographed near Beaufort . South Carolina

Wildl . March-April .

10 . Backus, R. H . 1961 . Stranded killer whale in the Bahamas . J . Mammal .

42 :418-419 .

11 . Baughman, J . L . 1946 . On the occurrence of a rorqual whale on the Texas

Coast . J . Mammal . 27 :392-393 .

12 . Breuer, J . F. 1951 . Gilchrist's whale . Texas Game and Fish 5 :24-25 .

13 . Brimley, C . S . 1944 . Mammals of North Carolina . Installment No . 6,

Carolina Tips 7(6) :22 .

14 . Brimley, C . S . 1946 . The Mammals of North Carolina . Installnents 17

and 18 . Carolina Tips 9(1) :2 and 9(2) :6,

15 . Brimley, H . H . 1894 . Whale fishing in North Carolina . The Bulletin,

Smithsonian Institution, National Museum .

16 . Brimley, H . H . 1937 . The false killer whale on the North Carolina Coast .
J . Mammal . 18 :71-73 .

17 . Brimley, H . H . 1943 . A second specimen of True's beaked whale, Meso-

lodon mirus True, frog North Carolina . J . Mammal . 24 :19Q--203,

Continued

23
Table 2 . Continued .
Literature records

18 . Brimley, H . H . 1945 . KOgld breviceps and Mesoplodon mirus in the neigh-

borhood of the Oregon Inlet, North Carolina . J . Mammal . 2E :434 .

19 . Brown, S . G . 1958 . Whales observed in the Atlantic Ocean . The Marine

Observer 28(181-182) :142-146, 209=216 .

20 Brown, D . H ., D . K . Caldwell, and M . C . Caldwell . 1966 . Observations on

the behavior of wild and captive false killer whales, with notes on
associated behavior of the other genera of captive delphinids . Los
Ang . Cty . Mus . Contrib . Sci . Q5 :1-32 .

21 . Bruyns, W . F . J . F1 . 1969 . Sight records and notes on the false killer

whale, Pseudorca crassidens (wens, 1846) . Saugetierkundliche Mitt .
17 :351-356 .

22 . Bullis, H . R ., and J . C . Moore . 1956 . Two occurrences of false killer

whales, and summary of American records . Are . h1us . Plovit . 1756 :1-5 .

23 . Burghard, A . 1935 . Whaling in Florida waters . Fla . Convervator 1(10) :4-5 .

24 . Caldwell, C . K . 1954 . Evidence of home range of an Atlantic bottlenose

dolphin . J . Mammal . 36 :304-305 .

25 . Caldwell, D . K . 1955 . Notes on the spotted dolphin, Stenella plagiodon ,

and the first record of the common dolphin, Delphinus delphis , in
the Gulf of Mexico . J . Mammal . 36 :467-47C .

26 . Caldwell, D . K . 1960 . Notes on the spotted dolphin in the Gulf of

Mexico . J . Mammal . 41 :134-136 .

27 . Cal dwell, D . K . 1961 . The harbor seal in South Carolina . J . Mammal .

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Continued

24
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25
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Table 2 . Continued .
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Continued
29
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Continued

30
Table 2 . Continued .
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Continued

31
Table 2 . Continued .
Literature records

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138 . Smalley, A. E . 1959 . Pygmy sperm whale in Georgia . J . Mammal . 4Q :452 .

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149 . True, F . W . 1884b. Aquatic mammals of the United States . Great Inter-
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150 . True, F . W . 1885 . Notice of the capture of a male pygmy sperm whale --
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Continued
32
Table 2 . Continued .
Literature records

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152 . True, F . W . 1880 . Observations on the life history of the bottlenose

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153 . True, F . W . 1904 . The whalebone whales of the North Atlantic . Smith .
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154 . True, F . W . 1910 . An account of the beaked whales of the family Ziphi-
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155 . True, F. W. 1913 . Description of R"esoplodon mirum , a beaked whale

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156 . True, F. W ., and F . A . Lucas . 1884 . On the West Indian seal ( Monachus
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157 . Ulmer, F . A . 1S41a . Kog ~is breviceps in South Carolina and New Jersey.
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158 . Ulmer, F . A. 1941b . Meso lodon mirus in New Jersey, with additional
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160 . Varona, L . S . 1964 . Un craneo de Zi hius cavirostris del sur de Isla de

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Continued

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Table 2 . Continued .
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169 . SEAN, vol . 2, 1977 .

170 . SEAN, vol . 3, 1978 .

171 . SEAN, vol . 4, 1979 .

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174 . David R . Caldwell, Marine Research Lab ., St . Auaustine, Fla ., personal

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175 . Bridge log observations, U .S . National Marine Fisheries Service research

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176 . American Museum of Natural History, New York, V .Y .

177 . British Museum of Natural History, London, England .

178 . Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, Calif .

179 . Charleston Museum of Natural History, Charleston, S .C .

180 . Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, Pa .

181 . Centenary College Vertebrate Collection, Shreveport, La .

182 . Museo Poey de Zoologica de Habana, Habana, Cuba .

183 . Everglades National Park Reference Collection, Homestead, Fla .

184 . Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, I11 .

Continued

34
Table 2 . Continued .
Museum Specimens

185 . The Florida State Museum, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla .

186. University of Georgia Museum of Natural History, Athens, Ga .

187 . Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvest University, Cambridge, Mass .

188 . Houston Museum of Natural Science, Houston, Tex .

189 . Museum of Natural History, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa .

190. Los Angeles County Museum, Los Angeles, Calif.

191 . Louisiana State University, Museum of Zoology, Baton Rouge, La .

192, rlcNeese State University Vertebrate Museum, Lake Charles, La .

193 . University of Miami, Department of Zoology, Miami, Fla .

154 . The Museum, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Tex .

195 . North Carolina State University, Department of Zoology, Raleigh, N .C .

196 . North Carolina State Museum, Raleigh, N .C .

197. Pan American University, Marine Lab, Brownsville, Tex .

198. Philadelphia Academy of Sciences, Philadelphia, Pa .

199 . Sam Houston State University Vertebrate Natural History Collection,

Huntsville, Tex .

200. University of South Alabama, Mobile, Ala .

201 . University of Southwestern Louisiana, Biology Museum, Lafayette, La .

202 . Stetson University Vertebrate Collection, Dept . of Biology, Deland, Fla .

203 . Texas Cooperative Wildlife Collection, Texas AO University, College Sta-

tion, Tex .

204 . Texas Memorial Museum, Vertebrate Paleontology Laboratory, University of

Texas, Austin, Tex .

205 . Systematic and Environmental Biology Laboratory, Tulane University, Belle

Chasse, La .

206 . United States National Museum, Washington, Q .C .

207 . Zoology Museum, University College of the West Indies, Jamaica .

Data from aerial surveys

208 . BLM project, U .S . Fish and Wildlife Service, National Fish and Wildlife
Laboratory (now Denver Wildlife Research Center), Belle Chasse, La .

35
 Order Cetacea

Family Balaenidae

RIGHT WHALE

Eubalaena glacialis (Muller 1776)

Other Common Names - Black right whale .

Other Scientific Names - Balaena glacialis , Balaena cisarctica .

Description and Identification

Right whales reach a length of about 53 ft (16 .2 m) . Th e rotund body

lacks a dorsal fin or dorsal ridge, and the upper jaw is long, narrow, and
together with the lips, highly arched . A series of bumps or callosities,
referred to as the "bonnet," is on the top of the head in front of the blow-
holes . The two blowholes are widely separated ; consequently, the blow is
projected upwards in a V-shape as two distinct spouts . The dark body is
sometimes black, but more often brown or mottled with a region of white on the
chin and belly, and sometimes with numerous small grayish-white scars (Leath-
erwood et al . 1976) .

Distribution

Right whales occur in the temperate waters of the North Atlantic, the
North Pacific, and the Southern Hemisphere . The southern populations are dis-
tinguishable as a separate subspecies (E . q. australis ) from E . g. glacialis
of the North Atlantic (Rice 1977) . In the western North Atlantic, right whales
are distributed from Iceland to Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, but their
range was probably greater during prewhaling days (Leatherwood et al . 1976) .

Records are numerous for the Atlantic portion of the study area (Figure
3) where these whales commonly pass along the coast from North Carolina to
Florida during their winter and spring migrations (Winn et al . 1979) . They
have been recorded only twice in the Gulf of Mexico, and their status there is
questionable . Moore and Clark (1963) reported two right whales off New Pass,
near Saratoga, Florida, on 10 March 1963 . More recently, on 30 January 1972,
one washed ashore near Freeport, Brazoria County, Texas (Schmidly et al .
1972b) .

Seasonal Movements

With two exceptions (one in November and one in May), all strandings and
sightings from the study area are from January through April, and most of
these are of females with calves observed in January, February, or March
(Table 4) . There are no records in the study area from June through October .

37
Figure 3 . Distribution of the right whale, Eubalaena Qlacialis . Symbols for
this and all other maps are as follows : 0 , strandin g ; 0 , sighting ; (j) ,
aerial sightings ; / , capture ; A , stranding + sighting ; Q , sighting +
capture ; Q , stranding + sighting + capture ; and Q , stranding + capture .
See text for additional explanation.

38
Apparently, these whales move north along the eastern Florida coast between
early January and late March . They also have been observed off southwestern
Florida and Texas in the Gulf of Mexico during this time . Right whales pass
the New England coast in fair numbers in spring and continue as far north as
Nova Scotia . Not much is known of the southbound migration, but apparently it
occurs much farther offshore, which would account for the scarcity of records
in the southern areas from April through December . From October to January
right whales are sighted off Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York, probably
on a southward migration (Winn et al . 1979) .

Status and Abundance

Right whales were once very common in the western North Atlantic ; how-
ever, overhunting, up until 1953, reduced them to near extinction . According
to Mitchell (1973), the western North Atlantic population may number in the
"high 10's to low 100's," although no accurate information is available .

Increased sighting reports over the past 25 years at the northern and
southern coastal approaches in New England and Florida, respectively, may be
cause for some optimism regarding the population's recovery and recolonization
of their historic range . They were protected by international agreement in
1929, and since then the western North Atlantic population has evidently
increased so that it is now infringing into the Gulf of Mexico, as evidenced
by two sightings in the last 20 years . These whales are considered endangered
by U .S . authorities (U .S . Fish and Wildlife Service 1;'73), and are so listed
in the Red Data Book (IUCN 172) .

Right whales approach very close to the coast on the United States
eastern seaboard where pairs and females with calves are often sighted only
several hundred meters offshore . Because of these habits, they are threatened
by pollution, habitat destruction, and ship traffic (Winn et al . 1979) . They
are not easily startled and may be readily approached by vessels (Prescott
et al . 1979) .

Life History

No data are available on life history parameters from the study area .
Mating probably occurs in late summer ; the gestation period is assumed to be
about a year, and the length of the young at birth is about one-fourth that of
the mother (Walker 1:'75) . Calves are suckled for about a year . Right whales
feed by "skimming," at or below the surface, on copepods and euphausids . Spe-
cific dietary items include Calanus finmarchius and Thysanoessa inermis
(Gaskin 1976) . One instance has been recorded of a right whale taking small
pelagic pteropod mollusks .

Records of Occurrence

Quad ~1 North Carolina : Beaufort (7, 14, 41, 153, 1S6) ; Cape Lookout (7, 15,
41, 140, 153, 189) .

Quad 3 North Carol ina : Hatteras Island, 35°31'PJ, 75° 28'W (171) ; 4 .8 km E
Ocracoke Island (126) .

39
Quad 4 South Carolina : Edisto Island, Edingsville Beach (37, ~,4, 126, 2uu,,
near Beaufort (8, 126) ; Port Royal (2, 126) . Georgia : Savannah, 32°04'N,
80°07'W (169) ; Savannah (37, 94, 126, 206) .

Quad 5 South Carolina : Myrtle Beach (37, 61, 126) ; Sullivan's Island (2,
78, 126) ; Charleston, Charleston Harbor (7, 41, 61, 78, 126, 153, 179) ;
near Charleston, 8 .5 mi N Edisto River entrance (8, 126) .

Q uad 8 Georgia : McIntosh Co ., Sapelo Island, Nannygoat Beach (186) ; 9 .5 km

E Jekyll Island, 31°Q3'N, fil°23'w' (171) ; Florida : Jacksonville (169) ;
Neptune Beach (34) ; St . Johns Co ., Fonte Vedra Beach (85) .

Quad 12 Florida : Vilano Beach, 2a°56'N, 81°17'W (169) ; St . Johns Co ., 2 mi

off St . Augustine (S5) ; St . Johns Co ., 1 mi off Crescent Beach (35) ; St .
Johns Co., Summer Haven (S5) ; Flagler Co ., 1 .5 mi N Marineland (85) ;
Flagler Co ., Marineland (85) ; Flagler Co ., off P?arineland (104) ; Flagler
Co ., 2 mi S Flagler Beach (85) ; Flagler Co ., N Flagler Beach (85) ;
Flagler Co ., Flagler Beach, 29°28'h, 81°07'W (104) ; Volusia Co ., Daytona
Beach (85, 104) ; near Cape Canaveral, 2E°13'N, 80°2C'W (lE6) ; Brevard
Co ., Canova Beach (85) ; S Melbourne, 28°04'N, 80°38'W (168) .

Quad 16 Indian River Co ., Vero Beach (85) ; Martin Co ., N Jupiter Inlet (85) ;
W Palm Beach, 26°42'N, 80°05'W (169) ; Pompano, Hillsboro Lighthouse (23,
104) .

Quad 25 Texas : Brazoria Co ., Surfside Beach (90, 132) .

Quad 39 Florida : Manatee Co ., New Pass (36, 109) .

Nat plotted North Carolina : Asheville (187) .

Family Balaenopteridae

BLUE :HALE

Balaenoptera musculus (Linnaeus 1758)

Other Common Naves - Sulphur-bottom whale .

Other Scientific Names - Sibbaldus musculus , Sibbaldius tectirostris .

Description and Identification

Blue whales are the largest living mammals . In the North Atlantic, they
may reach lengths of 80 to 85 ft (24 .4 to 25 .9 m) ; females are slightly larger
than males of the save age (Leatherwood et al . 1976) . These whales are easily
distinguished by their large size ; bluish, often mottled coloration ; broad,
flat, U-shaped head with a single ridge extending from just in front of the
blowholes almost to the tip of the snout ; and a small dorsal fin (only 13
inches, 33 cm, tall) which is positioned well aft on the animal .

40
Distribution

Blue whales occur in all oceans of the world, but are partial to cold
water and seem to avoid warmer waters (Kellogg 129) . Three subspecies are
recognized : a small one, B, m . musculus , in the North Atlantic and North
Pacific ; a large one, B, m interriedia , that spends the summer in Antarctic
waters ; and a pygmy subspecies, B . m . brevicauda , in the southern Indian Ocean
(Rice 1977) . There are only two records of this species from the study area
(Figure 4), and both are from the Gulf of Mexico . One is of a single individ-
ual stranded 17 August 140 between Freeport end San Luis Pass, Brazoria
County, along the Texas coast (Schmidly and Melcher 1914), However, the iden-
tification of this specimen has been questioned (see Caldwell and Caldwell
1973) . The other record is of an individual beached near the mouth of Sabine
Pass, Louisiana, in early December 1924 . Lowery (174) identifies this animal
as B, physalus , but Dread (conversation in November 1979 with James G . Mead,
United States National Museum, Washington, D .C . 20560) says it is definitely
a flue whale . No records from the Atlantic portion of the study area exist .

Seasonal Movements

Blue whales concentrate in the northern portion of their range, from New-
foundland to the Arctic Circle, during the spring and summer where they feed
on the krill which is abundant in those waters (Kellogg 1929) . In fall and
winter they move south into temperate and perhaps to tropical waters . Records
in the study area are from August and December (Table 4) .

Status and Abundance

Blue whales were extensively hunted throughout the North Atlantic until
the early 1950's, and they only now are beginning to recover from this exploi-
tation . They have been protected by international agreement since 1966,
Gulland (1972) estimates there may be as many as 12,000 individuals remaining
and, according to Leatherwood et al . (1976), there are sufficient numbers for
them to continue to increase barring renewed exploitation . Blue whales are
listed as endangered by U .S . authorities (U .S . Fish and Wildlife Service 1973)
and the Red Data Book (IUCN 1972) .

Life History

No data are available on life history parameters from the study area .
Blue whales usually occur singly or in pairs . In the southern oceans peak
pairing occurs between April and June . After a gestation period of about 11
months, calving occurs between flarch and June with a lactation period of 7
months (Gaskin 1876) . Blue whales are relatively shallow feeders, feeding
almost exclusively on krill, most of which is distributed lOG m below the sur-
face (Leatherwood et al . 1976) . Specific dietary items in the North Atlantic
include Th sanoesa inermis , Temora longicornis , and Meganyctiphanes norvegica
(Gaskin 1976 ) .

Records of Occurrence

Quad 25 Texas : Brazoria Co ., between Freeport and San Luis Pass (1, 51, 52,
90, 13Q) .

Quad 26 Louisiana : near mouth Sabine Pass (90, 173),

41
 . r4ki. :v .

. ;nS

Figure 4 . CistIbutior. of the blue vihale, Palaeno tera r~usculus . See leeend
for Figure 3 and 'text for explanation of syrho s .

42
 SEI WHALE

Balaenoptera borealis Lesson 1828

Other Common Names - Pollack whale .

Other Scientific Names - None .

Description and Identification

Sei whales may reach a total length of 62 ft (19 m) . Their color is dark
steel gray oR, the back and sides, and they often have a shiny or galvanized
appearance due to the presence of ovoid, grayish scars (Leatherwood et al .
1976) . They differ from all other balaenopterids by the very fide bristles of
their baleen (about 0 .1 mm in diameter at the base of the bristle, as opposed
to about 0 .3 mm or greater for the other species) . Their relatively short;
ventral grooves distinguish them from all other species except the minke whales
(B, acutorostrata ) . In B, borealis and B, acutorostrata , the ventral grooves
reach a point about midway between the flipper and the umbilicus, whereas they
reach the umbilicus in the other species . B . borealis may be readily distin-
guished from B . acutorostrata on the basis of size, pigmentation, and the
color and texture of the baleen (Mead 1977) . Their right lower lid and mouth
cavity, unlike those of fin whales (B, physalus ), is uniformly gray . Their
head is intermediate in shape between that of blue (B . musrulus ) and fin
whales . Their tall, falcate dorsal fin, located more than one-third forward
from the tail, distinguishes them from blue whales . From Br de's whale (B .
edeni ), they differ in having a single head ridge instead of the

Distribution

Sei whales occur in all oceans, but they are rare in tropical and polar
seas . Two subspecies are distinguished : a smaller one, B, b :,bor,~
borealis, in
the Northern Hemisphere and a larger one, B, b. seklegelli, U' the Southern
Hemisphere . Sei whales are widely distributed in nearshore and offshore
waters of the western North Atlantic from the Gulf of Mexico an&the Caribbean
to Nova Scotia and Newfoundland (Leatherwood et al . 1576) . `Th~.ce stocks may
exist : a Newfoundland/Labrador stock probably limited to the"waters around
Newfoundland and Labrador to Davis Strait ; a Nova Scotia stock that probably
migrates southward along the U .S . coast ; and a Caribbean/Gulf of Mexico stock
that may migrate and overlap with the Nova Scotia stock .

Sei whales have been recorded from North Carolina and South Carolina i n
the Atlantic portion of the study area ; records of their occurrence in the
Gulf of Nexico are limited to strandin,s from Campeche, P`exico, and from the
coasts of F'ississippi and Louisiana (Figure 5) . P"oore (1953) recorded a spec-
imen from Cuval County, Florida, but Mead (1977) has subsequently referred
this specimen to Balaenoptera cf . edeni .

Seasonal Movements

The distributions and migrations of sei whales during most of the year
are poorly known . Records in the study area are from April and December

43
Figure 5 . Distribution. map of the sei whale, Ealaenoptera borealis . See
legend for Figure 3 and text for explanation of symto s .

44
(Table 4) . They are irregular and unpredictable in their movements in the
Northern Hemisphere (Kellogg 1929) . Apparently they winter south of Cape Cod,
but little information is available for movements south of New England . Mead
(1S77) reported a whale of this species that stranded alive at Eastham, Mass-
achusetts, on 21 July 174 ; the animal was towed back to sea, released, and
subsequently washed ashore dead near Currituck light, Corolla, North Carolina,
on 5 April 1 9 75 . The December record of this species from South Carolina may
have come from. a southward migration of this popultion during the winter
months .

Status and Abundance

Stocks in the northwest Atlantic are presently not being fished, and,
according to Mitchell (lp?3), they are above the level giving maximum sustain-
able yield . For the Newfoundland/Labrador stock, ritchell and Chapman (1975)
estimate a minimum population of 965 harvestable animals based on shipboard
censuses . The same authors estimate a minimum of 870 for the Nova Scotia
stock from shipboard censuses and offer an estimate of 1,393-2,248 on the
basis of tag-recapture data . No population estimates are available from the
study area . These whales are considered endangered by U .S . authorities (U .S .
Fish and Wildlife Service 1973) .

Life History

No data are available on life history parameters from the study area . In
the eastern North Atlantic, sexual maturity in females is reached at 13 .6 m as
compared to 13 m for males (Jonsgaard and Darling 1!75) . The mean age at sex-
ual maturity is 7 .5 years for males and 8 .4 years for females in southern
oceans . Lock ear (1974) suggests a 3-year breeding cycle . Jonsgaarc+ and
Darling (1975 suggest that calving could occur every other year . Gestation
lasts 1 year, and, according to h'atthews (193E), calves are born during Febru-
ary and Pfarch and measure 4 .& m at birth . Gaskin (176) reports that peak
pairing is from November to February with lactation lasting E months after
birth .

In the North Atlantic, sei whales feed primarily on copepods ( Calanus

finmarchius and Th sanoessa inerrnis ), although they also take euphausids as a
preferred food possibly due to an absence of copepods), as well as various
small schooling fish (Matthews 1538) .

Sei whales usually travel in groups of trio to five individuals, though

they may concentrate in larger numbers on their feeding grounds (Leatherwood
et al . 1'76) . They usually do not dive very deeply, and the head rarely
emerges at a steep angle except when the whales are chased .

Records of Occurrence

Q uad 1 North Carolina : Corolla, 36° 26'N, 75° 5G'W (G4, 95, 206) .

Q uad 5 South Carolina : Cape Island, 33° C4'N, 79` 20'W (95, 206) .

Quad 20 Mississippi : Gulfport Harbour, 30° 19'N ., 89° 18'W (70 incorrectly
as B, physalus , 71, 90, 95) .

45
Quad 28 Louisiana : near mouth Fort Bayou, 29° 22'N, 89°21'W! (9Q, 95, 113
incorrectly as B . acutorostrata , 164 incorrectly as R . acutorostrata ) .

Q uad 79 Mexico : Campeche, 19° 50'N, 90° 32'W (90, 95, 100) .

FIN WHALE

Balaenoptera physalus Linnaeus 1758

Other Common Names - Finhack whale, common rorqual, finbacks .

Other Scientific Napes - None .

Description and Identification

Fin whales may reach a length of 79 ft (24 m), and ferules are slightly
longer than males of the same age . From blue whales, with which they are most
likely to be confused, fins differ in : (1) having a narrower, more V-shaped
rostrum, but with the same sort of single distinctive head ridge ; (2) having a
dorsal fin that is longer (up to 24 inches, 61 cry, tall) and located slightly
more than one-third forward from the tail ; (3) having a coloration that is
dark gray tQ brownish-gray on the hack and sides with none of the mottling
present on the blue whales ; (4) having a grayish-white chevron evident alone
the back just behind the head, which may be visible as the aninals surface to
breathe ; and (5) having a yellowish-white coloration to the right lower lip,
including the mouth cavity, and the right front baleen (Leatherwood et al .
1976) .

Distribution

Fin whales are cosmopolitan and occur in all oceans . In the western
North Atlantic they occur from Greenland south to the Gulf of Mexico and the
Caribbean (Leatherwood et al . 1976) . Two subspecies are recognized : a small-
er Northern ~~Hgmisphere form, B, p. physalus , and a larger Southern Hemisphere
form, B . F, uq oyj (Rice 1;77) .

Fin whales have stranded along the coasts of North Carolina and Florida
in the Atlantic portion of the study area and along Florida, Texas, and Loui-
siana in the Gulf (Figure 6) . Sightings at sea have been recorded in the
northern Gulf between 2E° and 3C° latitude and 86° and 88° longitude . Of par-
ticular importance are records in the Gulf of P^exico during February, April,
June, July, September, and November (Table 4), which show their presence in
the Gulf throughout the year and suggest a somewhat isolated population like
that in the Gulf of California (Caldwell and Caldwell 1973) .

Seasonal Movements

In the western North Atlantic, fin whales summer from below the latitude
of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, north to the Arctic Circle, where they are usually
concentrated between shore and the 1,000-fathom (1,830-r.) curve (Leatherwood
et al . 1976) . Their movements are generally offshore and southward in the

46
 ~._

Fiaure 6 . Distribution of the fin whale, Balaeno tera hp ysalus . See legend
for Finure 3 and text for explanation of syr^ho s .

47
winter, and northward and inshore in the summer . Their winter range reaches
at least to the coast of Florida and to the Greater Antilles . Northward mi-
grations probably begin in midspring . Records in the Atlantic portion of the
study area are from November and January through Nay (Table 4) .

There may be two or possibly three separate stocks of fin whales in the
western North Atlantic (Leatherwood et al . 1976) . One is a more northern
cold-adapted stock ; the other, a more southern stock . Mitchell (1975) sug-
gests that these populations are stratified so that areas inhabited by a
southern population in the summer are occupied by a northern population in
the winter . A third stock may consist of an isolated population in the north-
ern Gulf of Mexico, but confirmation will require additional data .

Status and Abundance

These whales are not numerous in the western North Atlantic . They are
considered endangered by U .S . authorities (U .S . Fish and Wildlife Service
1973) and listed as vulnerable in the Red Data Book (IUCN 1972) . They are
still widely hunted and not protected by international agreement . Mitchell's
(1975) estimate for the finback population between Cape Cod and 57°N is a mean
of 7,200 animals, with a maximum of 11,984 (derived from tag-recapture data)
and a minimum of 3,162 (derived from shipboard strip census) . No population
estimates are available for the study area .

Life History

No data are available on life history parameters from the study area .
Fin whales mate and calve from November to F~!arch . Females probably bear a
calf every third year after a gestation period of 11 to 12 months (Gaskin
1976) . Lactation lasts 7 months (Gaskin 1976) . Canadian fin whales are sex-
ually mature at 17 .6 to 18 .3 m (females) and 16 .9 to 17 .5 r^ (vales) . Life
span could be over 50 years (Winn et al . 1975) .

Fin whales in the North Atlantic feed mostly on pelacic crustaceans,

capelin, and herring . Euphausids are the main food, and both Th sanoessa
inermis and Me an cti hanes norvegica are important food species Pilson and
Goldstein 1973 . Fish are eaten more exclusively in the winter months (Gaskin
1976) . Fin whales come close to shore in pursuit of fish which may account
for their frequent strandings . Their appearance in New England appears to
coincide with times when herring are plentiful . Large feeding frenzies, com-
prising 30 to 50 animals, are often seen during the spring, summer and fall
in areas of high productivity along the hew England coast (Prescott et al .
1979) .

Records of Occurrence

Quad 2 North Carolina : Carteret Co ., Cape Lookout Bight, Wreck Point

41, 206) ; Drum Inlet (41) ; Cape Lookout (14, 18, 41, 206) .

Quad 3 North Carolina : Nags Head (14) ; S Nags Head, 7 mi N Oregon Inlet
206) ; Rodanthe (173) ; 8 mi S Oregon Inlet (173) ; Cape Hatteras (41, 93,
2Q6) .

48
Quad 12 Florida : Volusia Co ., Ormond beach, 29°17'N, B1°C4'W (104) .

Quad 16 Florida : Sebastian Island, 27°50'N, 88°29'W (169) .

Quad 21 Florida : off Destin, 30°00'N, 86°15'4: (36, 174) .

Quad 22 Florida : Wakulla Co ., Shell Point (36, 1740 .

Quad 25 Texas : 22 mi E Galveston (12, 67, GO) .

Quad 27 Louisiana : Terrebonne Parish, Isles Dernieres (89, 90) .

Quad 28 Off coast of Mississippi and SE Louisiana (89, 90) ; Plaquemines

Parish, Venice (89, 90, 191) ; Plaquemines Parish, Pelican Island (8c,
gp),

Quad 29 29°18'N, 87°36'4: (9C, 175) ; 29°07', 87°54'W (175) .

Quad 48 Florida : Florida Bay, Man-o-War Key (116) ; Monroe Co ., near hoot
Key, 24°41'N, 81° 07'lJ (171) .

BRYGE'S WHALE

Balaenoptera edeni Anderson 1878

Other Common Names - None .

Other Scientific Names - None .

Description and Identification

Bryde's whales reach a maximum length of approximately 46 ft (14 m) .

They closely resemble sei whales in external appearance, but can be positively
identified by the presence of three ridges along the head anterior to the
blowhole . In addition to the medial ridge characteristic of all balaerop-
terids, Bryde's whales have two secondary ridges on the top of the head, one
along each side even with the blowhole ruining forward towards the tip of the
snout . These whales have a moderate dorsal fin (up to 18 inches, 45 .7 cm)
which is often ragged on the trailing edge and located more than one-third
forward from the tail . They are dark gray in color .

Distribution

Their distribution is poorly documented primarily because they are

difficult to identify at sea . They appear to be limited to the tropical
and warm temperature waters of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans
between 40°N and 40°S and within areas where water temperature exceeds
20°C . They are seldom found in higher latitudes except near warm-water
projections (Nishiwaki 1972) .

49
 These whales have stranded on the coasts of Georgia and Florida in the
Atlantic portion of the study area and along the Louisiana and Florida coasts
in the Gulf of Mexico (Figure 7) . The number of strandings has increased in
recent years, suggesting that a small, resident population may occur somewhere
in the Caribbean or Gulf of Mexico .

Seasonal Movements

To date, no migration and seasonal movements have been described (Leath-

erwood et al . 1S76) . Records in the study area are from winter, spring, and
early summer (Table 4) .

Status and Abundance

Population estimates are not available for the study area . However,
populations are considered stable and not endangered (Caldwell and Caldwell
1974) .

Life History

Mo data are available on life history parameters from the study area .
Males attain sexual maturity at 12 n and females at 12 .5 m (Nishiwaki 1972) .
These whales are one of the few baleen species which feeds in relatively warm
water (Gaskin 1976), usually on small schooling fish such as sardines,
mackerel, anchovies, and clupiid fishes, together with some pelagic crusta-
ceans . There are also reports of them eating sharks and herring (Winn et al .
1979) . Bryde's whales dive deeper for their food than most other baleen
whales (Caldwell and Cal.dwell 1974) . Like minke whales, they often approach
close to vessels (Leatherwood et al . 1Q76) .

Records of Occurrence

Quad S Georgia : Chatham Co ., Orange Canal, 31°55' M, 81°14' W (170) ; NE St .

imons Island, 31°17' N, 81°17'1 (170) ; Florida : Jacksonville, NE shore
of Ft . George Island, 30°20' N, 81°40' W (170) ; Duval Co ., Pablo Beach,
18 mi E Jacksonville, 3Q°17'N, 81°23'W (95, 99 as B . borealis , 104 as B .
borealis , 206) .

Quad 12 Florida : Summer Haven, 291°41' N, 81°13' 4! (170) .

Quad 16 Florida : Ft . Pierce, 27°28' N, 80°20' W (168) .

Quad 22 Florida : Walker Co ., near Panacea, approximately 30°02' N, 84°22'41

90, 95, 127) .

Quad 28 Louisiana : St . Bernard Parish, Chandeleur Island, 29°50' N, 88°50'W

90, 95, 135, 191) ; Louisiana : Plaquemines Parish, Mississippi River
Delta near Venice, 89°24', 29°07' (94, 95, 131, 135) .

Quad 31 Florida : Anclote Key, 28°10' N, 82°51' W (94, 95, 206) .

Quad 86 Cuba : Enseriada de Mora, E Cabo Cruz, 19°51' N, 77°44' W (95, 160
incorrectly as B . borealis ) .

50
Figure 7 . Distribution of the Bryde's whale, Balaenoptera edeni . See legend
for Figure 3 and text for explanation of symbols .

51
 1",INKE VHALE

Balaenoptera acutorostra :a !acepede 1804

Other Common Names - Little piked whale, sharp-headed firm er .

Other Scientific Names - Agaphelus gibbosus .

Description and Identification

These are the smallest baleen whales in the Northern Hemisphere, reaching
maximum lengths of just over 30 ft (9 .1 m) . Other than their small size,
identifying features include (1) an extremely narrow, pointed (V-shaped), dis-
tinctively triangular rostrum with a single head ridge, similar to, but much
sharper than that of the fin whale ; (2) a tall, falcate dorsal fin located
about one-third forward from the tail in about the same position as that of
the sei whale . F"inke whales are black to dark grey on the back, and white on
the belly and the underside of the flippers .

Distribution

Minke whales are distributed widely in all oceans . Three subspecies are
recognizable : B, a . acutorostrata in the North Atlantic ; B . a . davidsoni in
the North Pacific ; and B, a . bonaerensis in the Southern Hemisphere Rice
177) . They are distributed in the polar, temperate, and tropical waters of
the western North Atlantic (Leatherwood et al . 1976) where they occur from the
pack ice south to the West Indies (18°N) and the Gulf of Plexico . They appear
to be most abundant in temperate waters north of the latitude of New York and
infrequently are reported from tropical waters . Within the study area, docu-
mented records are from South Carolina, the Bahamas, southern Florida, the
eastern Gulf of h'exico, and Louisiana (Figure 8) . In particular, there have
been a large number of strandings in the vicinity of the Florida Keys . In the
North Atlantic, minke whales seem to be limited mainly to continental shelf
areas, with variation in density in different areas depending on the distribu-
tion of prey species (Mitchell 1975) .

Seasonal Movements

Seasonal movements are not well und--rst::od in these whales, but there
seems to ',,e a general north-south and o :shore-off shore trend between summer
and winter (Sergeant 1963) . Supposedly they winter offshore and south of
Florida and the Lesser Antilles, and they summer north of Cape Cod where they
are common in the nearshore waters of the Golf of P'aine and the Bay of Fundy .
Sightings in the north are not common from November through t"arch, but are
frequent during this time in, the West Indies (l~inn et al . 1Q79) . All of the
study area records are in the winter (November through P"arch) (Table 4) with
the exception of an individual stranded at Vyrt~le Beach., South Carolina, on 30
August 1576 (SEA( 1976) .

Status and Abundanc e

ho population estimates are availaL.le for the western North Atlantic

or the Gulf of h'exico . According to P?itchell (1973), minkes in the north-
east sector of the North Atlantic appear to be at a reduced level .

52
Figure 8 . Distribution of the minke whale, Balaenoptera acutorostrata . See
legend for Figure 3 and text for explanation of symbols .

53
Life History

No data are available on life history parameters from the study area, but
Mitchell (1975) has summarized the following for minkes in the North Atlantic :
(1) pairing occurs from October to March and the gestation period is 10 to
10 .5 months ; (2) most females have one calf, and twins are rare ; length at
birth is 2 .4 to 2 .8 m ; and (3) the lactation period is estimated to be less
than 6 months .

Minke whales appear to be more solitary than other species of baleen

whales though some large schools (in the low hundreds) have been observed .
There is some association of minke whales with other baleen whales such as fin
and blue . In eastern Newfoundland minkes feed primarily on capelin ( Mallotus
villosus ) from May to September. Also in their diets are cod, herring, salmon,
squid, shrimp, and possibly copepods (Sergeant 1963) .

Minke whales often approach boats, particularly stationary ones . Juve-

niles seem to be susceptible to entanglement and drowning in fixed fishing
gear in the Cape Cod region . It is unknown whether this is accidental or the
result of an attraction to the concentrations of fish present (lead 1979) .

Records of Occurrence

uad 5 South Carolina : Myrtle Beach, S Murrell's Inlet, 33°42'N, 78°53'W

168) .

Q uad 18 Bahamas : Little Bahama Bank, 26°06'N, 77°53'W (141) .

Quad 22 Florida : Wakulla Co ., 30 mi E Spring Creek (36, 104, 110) .

Quad 26 Louisiana : Cameron Parish, Holly Beach (90, 191) ; Vermilion Parish,
5 mi W SW Pass (201) ; Vermilion, 0 .5 mi W South West Pass (201) .

Quad 31 Florida : Hernando Co ., Near Bayport (85) .

Quad 48 Florida : N Long Key, 25°51'N, 8Q°50'W (104) ; Maya Key, 24°44'N,
81°31'08"W (171) ; 0 .5 mi E Little Duck Key, 24°41'N, 81°14'W (110) ;
Long Key (44) ; Bahia Honda Key, 24°30'N, 81°17'W (110) .

HUMPBACK WHALE

Megaptera novaeangliae (Borowski 1781)

Other Common Names - Humpbacked whale, hunchbacked whale, humpbacks .

Other Scientific Names - Megaptera longimana .

Description and Identification

Humpback whales reach a length of 53 ft (16 .2 m) . They are easily iden-

tified by their long (nearly a third as long as the body), nearly all-white

54
flippers that are knobby and irregular on the leading edge ; the fleshy "knobs"
or protuberances randomly distributed on the top of the head and on the lower
jaw ; and the small dorsal fin, located slightly more than two-thirds towards
the back, which frequently includes a step or hump . Humpback whales are black
with a white flreg n of varying size on the belly ; the flippers and the under-
sides of the uks are also white .

Distribution

These whales~i'occur in all oceans . In the western North Atlantic, they

are widely dis tributed from north of Iceland, Disko Bay and west of Green-
land, south to -Venezuela and around the .-tropical islands of the West Indies
(Leatherwood et "al . 1876) .

There are several records of humpbacks from the Atlantic portion of the
study area, and all correlate with the known time and route of migrations
for this species (Figure 9) . The only recent record for the Gulf of Mexico
is of an individual sighted 8 April 1962 at the mouth of Tampa Bay (Layne
1965) . Townsend (1935) noted humpback whaling just off the southwest tip
of Florida in January, and about half the records shown in Figure 9 are
based on coordinates estimated from a map showing the location of a whaling
boat sometime during the day of capture of one or more humpbacks . Humpbacks
are a coastal species, a fact accounting for their long history of exploita-
tion by hunters . In the West Indies, they are found almost exclusively on
banks between the 10- to 100- fathom line (18 .3 to 183 m) (Winn et al . 1975) .

Seasonal Movements

Humpbacks migrate in distinct seasonal patterns . They spend spring,

summer, and early fall feeding from Cape Cod to Iceland. In late fall and
early winter they begin to migrate southward to the Caribbean for calving
and breeding . Their return northward migration begins in early spring
(Winn et al . 1975) . Most records in the Atlantic portion of the study
area are from fall, winter, and early spring (Table 4) . Humpbacks passing
through this region probably represent the stock breeding on Navidad, Silver,
and Monchoir Banks, at the end of the Bahamian archipelago (Winn et al . 1979) .

Status and Abundance

Humpbacks are considered endangered by U .S . authorities (U .S . Fish and

Wildlife Service 1973) and the Red Data Book (IUCN 1972) . Sergeant (1966)
calculated the number in existence at the end of the 19th century, based on
cumulative catch data from 1903 to 1915, as at least 15,000 animals . By 1915
the population had been decimated, and it is reasonable to infer that only a
few hundred animals remained by 1915 . The total population around the world
is now estimated at 5,000 animals (Gaskin 1976) . Mitchell (1973) estimated
1,259 humpbacks in the western North Atlantic on their feeding grounds . Winn
et al . (1975) estimated the same population on its southern breeding grounds
at 785 to 1,157 animals . No population estimates are available for the study
area, and it is doubtful that a resident population exists there . Most indi-
viduals sighted are migratory animals either heading north during the early
spring or south during late fall or winter. The sighting of single individ-
uals by NMFS personnel on 11 July 1952 and 5 June 1957 in the north-central
Gulf of Mexico raises the possibility that a distinct breeding stock might

55
Figure 9 . Distribution of the humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae. See
legend for Figure 3 and text for explanation of symbols .

56
occur in the Gulf during the summer. Clark (1887) showed commercial humpback
whaling in the central Gulf in the 19th century .

Life History

No data are available on life history parameters from the study area .
Breeding and calving occur in Caribbean waters from January to March . Gesta-
tion lasts approximately 10 months, with lactation lasting from 10 .5 to 11
months . Since yearling-size animals are seen with adults in the Caribbean, it
is possible that the young stay with the cow after weaning (Winn et al . 1979) .

In the western North Atlantic humpbacks feed only in northern waters and
not while they are in the Caribbean (Winn et al . 1979) . Limited data from
Newfoundland indicate that they feed mainly on capelin, with krill as second
choice (Gaskin 1976) . Herring and cod are also eaten (Winn et al . 1970) .
Humpbacks approach or follow trawlers rather commonly, presumably for escaping
fish or because the trawlers scare and school fish tightly, making them easier
to capture in cooperative hunting and feeding . This may also explain why they
approach stationary ships (Mitchell 1975) . Humpbacks emit sounds in long,
predictable patterns ranging over frequencies audible to humans . The function
of the songs is unknown.

Records of Occurrence

Quad 1 North Carolina : Corolla (94, 206) ; Duck, 36°11'N, 75°45'w' (169) ;
Kill Devil Hills, 36°02'N, 75°40'W (170) .

Quad 2 North Carolina : Shackleford Banks, 34°38'N, 76°35'W (41, 104) ;

Boque Banks, 34°33'N, 76°45'W (41) ..

Q uad 3 North Carolina : Dare Co ., S Avon, N Buxton (196) .

Q uad 5 South Carolina : Charleston Co ., Cape Island, 16 km E McClelland-

ville (47) .

Quad 8 Georgia : Sapelo Island (37) ; Georgia-Florida state boundary, 30°32'IN,

81°18'W (166) .

Quad 12 Florida : Marineland (37, 174) ; Crescent Beach (174) .

Quad 16 Florida : Palm Beach Co ., Delray Beach (85) .

Quad 17 27°30'N, 79°30'W (147) ; 26°30'N, 79°30'W (147) ; 26°30'N, 78°30'W

47) ; 26°00'N, 79°50'W (147) ; 26°00'N, 79°30'W (147) ; 26°00'N, 78°30'W
(147) .

Quad 29 29°29'N, 87°33'W (175) ; 29°OQ'N, 87°41'W (175) .

Q uad 39 Florida : off Egmont Key, mouth Tampa Bay (85) ; within 40 mi of the
east coast between 25°00'N and 27°30'N (104, 147) .

Quad 48 24°20'N, 80°30'k' (147) ; 24°00'N, 81°10'W (147) ; 24°00'N, 80°30'W

47) .

57
Quad 49 25°30'N, 79°30'W (147) ; 25°20'N, 79°30'W (147) ; 23°00'N, 79°40'W
47) ; 25°00'N, 79°00'W (147) ; 24°50'N, 79°50'W (147) ; 24°30'N, 79°50'W
(147) .

Q uad 59 Cuba : 20 mi off Habana (1) .

Quad 85 18°28'N, 79°O1'W (175) .

Not plotted Louisiana : Balize (53, 173) ; Cuban Waters (50) ; Antilles (50) ;
Bahamas (19, 85) .

Family Physeteridae

SPERM WHALE

Physeter catodon Linnaeus 1758

Other Common Names - Cachalot .

Other Scientific Names - Physeter macrocephalus .

Description and Identification

Male sperm whales ma reach a length of 69 ft (20 .9 m) although individ-

uals larger than 50 ft (15 .2 m) are rare ; females are much smaller, rarely
exceeding 38 ft (11 .6 m) . These large whales are easy to identify . They are
bluish-black except for occasional small areas of white on the lower jaw and
venter . The head is rectangular in profile and comprises from a fourth to a
third of the total length . The dorsal fin is replaced by a hump and a series
of longitudinal ridges on the posterior part of the back . The lower jaw is
small, narrow, aid decidedly shorter than the. snout . Pectoral flippers are
exceedingly small . The single blowhole is located well to the left of the
midline and far forward on the head ; consequently, the small bushy blow
emerges forward at a sharp angle from the head and towards the left (Leather-
wood et al . 1976) .

Distribution

Sperm whales occur throughout the oceans of both Eastern and Western
Hemispheres, ranging from the Arctic to the Antarctic, but occurring mostly in
the temperate and tropical latitudes of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
(Lowery 1974) . They occur along the edge of the continental shelf itself in
the western North Atlantic, but rarely on the shelf itself since they are
basically limited to deeper waters . They were apparently once numerous in the
Gulf of Mexico, enough to justify full-scale whaling operations . Townsend
(1935), summarizing 160 years of whaling, included many records from April
through July in the north central Gulf of Mexico and southeast to the lower
Florida Keys ; he also included a few records from the central Gulf in March
(Figure 10) . Whaling records are available for every month in the Atlantic
portion of the study area . Stranding records are known from Cape Hatteras to
Cape Canaveral along the Atlantic coast, from the west coast of Florida, and

58
Figure 10 . Distribution of the sperr; whale, Physeter catodon . See legend for
Figure 3 and text for explanation of symbols .

59
also from the coasts of Louisiana, Texas, and Veracruz, Mexico (Figure 10) .
Strandings or sightings are known for every month in the Gulf (Table 4) . This
and other circumstances, particularly old whaling records, suggest there may
be a separate population i n the Gulf of Mexico, although this remains to be
substantiated . Sperm whales were observed during the NFWL-BLM aerial surveys
in August in the Brownsville and Corpus Christi study areas along the Texas
coast .

Seasonal Movements

Seasonal distributions and migrations vary between males and females .

Along the Atlantic coast, harem and nursery schools (females, calves, juve-
niles, and young and old "harem master" bulls) move north from tropical and
subtropical winter grounds to breed in temperate waters around 40°N latitude
(Townsend 1935) . Consequently, sperm whales are fairly abundant near the con-
tinental shelf edge off the mid-Atlantic . Young bulls, sexually mature but
unable to maintain harms, and older bulls move farther north into polar
waters (Winn et al . 1919) . Nothing is known of seasonal movements in the Gulf
of Mexico .

Status and Abundance

Sperm whales are considered endangered by U .S . authorities (U .S . Fish and

Wildlife Service 1973) . The number of observations and stranding records has
decreased in recent ears, suggesting that populations have declined . Conse-
quentl~y, Mead (1975a~ considers sperm whales uncommon in the study area . Due
to their size and unique character, they are more likely to be recognized and
reported than most other whales, so stranding records may be biased in their
favor . Stranding and sighting records are most common in the Gulf of Mexico,
but available data are not complete enough to indicate any pattern . Many
recent records are of young animals . Mitchell (1973) estimates the population
in the entire North Atlantic to be around 22,000, but no specific estimates
are available for the study area .

Life History

Nothing is known of life history parameters from the study area . Sperm
whales are polygamous (Allen 1942) . .During the spring mating season, harems
are formed when bull "harem masters" join the predominantly female nursery
schools . Mating occurs in spring during migration north . Gestation lasts 14
to 16 months, with a 1- to 2- year lactation period, followed by a resting
period of 8 to 10 months (Winn et al . 1979) .

The primary food of sperm whales is squid, supplemented by deepwater

species including octopus, sharks, cod, scorpaenids, snapper, barracuda, sar-
dines, ragfish, skates, albacore, angler fish, rattails, and bottom dwellers,
such as spring lobsters, crayfish, crabs, jellyfish, sponges, and tunicates
(Caldwell et al . 1966), Most food is taken in the open ocean and at great
depths (Pilson and Goldstein 1973), with some taken from the bottom sediments
by scraping the lower jaw along the bottom (Caldwell et al . 1966) . Sperm
whales feed throughout the year, with no noticeable fasting period (Winn
et al . 1979) .

60
 Sperm whales may be found singly or in groups of up to 35 to 40 individ-
uals . Older males are usually solitary except during the breeding season .
During the remainder of the year larg e groups may include bachelor bulls (sex-
ually inactive males) or nursery schools containing females and juveniles of
both sexes (Leatherwood et al . 1976) .

Sperm whales are among the longest and deepest divers of all cetaceans .
Dive-duration estimates of up to 90 minutes are recorded and depend on the
size of the individual . Depths have been reported as deep as 620 fathoms
(1,145 m) .

Records of Occurrence

Quad 1 North Carolina : Currituck Inlet (173) ; Kitty Hawk, Bodie Island,
6°04'N, 75°34'W (169) .

Quad 2 North Carolina : Carteret Co ., Core Banks Beach (196) ; Pender Co .,

Topsail Beach (196) ; Wrightsville (14, 41, 196) .

Quad 3 North Carolina : Bodie Island, 35°50` N, 75°34'W (169, 206) ; Cape
atteras National Seashore (171) ; NE Cape Hatteras (149) ; Cape Hatteras
35'10' (147) ; (147) ;
o0 . W f47)N~ 34 o40 . , N , 75'00' W (147) ; 34o30
7570 0'. N , 750261 k, (147) .

Quad 4_ South Carolina : Simmon's Island (Seabrook Island) (61) ; 32°33' N,

80°05' W (147) ; 32°27' N, 80°OQ' W (147) ; Hunting Island (37, 47) ;
32°18' N, 80°39' W (147) ; Daws Island, Broad River (61, 179) .

Quad 5 South Carolina : Horry Co ., N Myrtle Beach, 33°42' N, 78°53' W (168,

206) ; 33°00' N, 79°20' W (147) ; 32°52' N, 79°43' k1 (147) ; Off coast at
"Charleston ground" (156) ; 32°40' N, 79°47' W (147) ; 32°35' N, 79°22' W
(147) .

Quad 6 33°21'N, 76°12' W (147) ; 32°53' N, 77°OC' W (147) ; 32°49' N, 77°30' 41

147) ; 32029' N, 76027' 4J (147) ; 32026' N, 77028' W (147) ; 32022' N,
76000' W (147) ; 32008'N, 76010' W (147) ; 32000' N, 76056' W (147) .

Quad 7 33°30' N, 75°OQ' W (147) ; 33°00' N, 75°O1'W (147) ; 32°50' N, 75°38' W

147) ; 32°28' N, 75°00' W (147) ; 32°37' N, 75°28' W (147) ; 32°30' N,
75040' W (147) ; 32030' N, 75032' W (147) ; 32030' N, 75026' W (147) ;
32030' N, 75000' W (147) ; 32025' N, 75027' W (147) .

Quad 8 31°43' N, 81°00' W (147) ; 31°27' N, 80°28' W (147) .

Quad 9 31°31' N, 78°CO' W (147) ; 31°00' N, 7S°GC' W (147) ; 31°OG' N,

8041' W (147) ; 30053' N, 78030' W (147) ; 30038' N, 78030' W (147),

Quad ~10 31°40' N, 76°21' W (147) ; 31°35' N, 76°00' 4J (147) ; 31°17' N,

77045' W (147) ; 31009' N, 76030' W (147) ; 30051' N, 76000' W (147) ;
30°34' N, 77°08' W (147) .

Quad 11 31°48' N, 75°37' W (147) ; 31°46' N, 75°13' W (147) ; 31°42' N,

75018' W (147) ; 31040' N, 75000' W (147) ; 31040' N, 74058' W (147) ;

61
 31036' N, 75020' W (147) ; 31029' N, 75011' W (147) ; 31°28' N, 75022' W
(147) ; 31°2C' N, 75°00' W (147) ; 31°17' N, 75°27' W (147) ; 31°06' N,
75°10' W (147) ; 3Q°40' N, 74°58' W (147) ; 30°38'.. N, 75°00' W (147) ;
30°32' N, 75°31' W (147) ; 30°30' N, 75°22' W (147) ; 3Q°19' N, 75°20' W
(147) ; 30°17' N, 75°14' W (147) ; 30°12' N, 75°22' W (147) ; 30°08' N,
75°35' W (147) ; 3Q°00' N, 75°30' W (147) .

Quad ~12 Florida : Ponte Vedra Beach (37) ; Brevard Co ., Cape Canaveral (104,
149) ; Charlotte Co ., Englewood, 24°54' N, 81°a5' W (36, 164, 184) ; Bre-
vard Co ., Melbourne Beach (185) .

Q uad 13 29052' N, 7E000' W (147) ; 29046' N, 79027' W (147) ; 29043' N,

78°30' W (147) ; 29°35' N, 78°OG' W (147) ; 29°33' N, 79°29' W (147) ;
29°00' N, 79°48' W (147) ; 28°22' N, 78°28' W (147) ; 28°20' N, 78°19' W
(147) ; 28000' N, 78032' W (147) ; 28000' N, 78000' W (147) .

Quad 14 29047' N, 76033' k' (147) ; 29047' N, 76000' W (147) ; 29018' N,

77°59' W (147) ; 29°31' N, 76°27' W (147) ; 29°10' N, 77°34' W (147) ;
29°03' N, 77°13' W (147) ; 2S°34' N, 77°30' W (147) ; 28°00' N, 77°33' W
(147) .

Quad 15 29°47' N, 75°4C' W (147) ; 29°50' N, 75°00' W (147) ; 29°30' N,

75°28' W (147) ; 28°57' N, 75°39' k (147) ; 28°30' N, 75°15' W (147) ;
28°29' N, 75°36' W (147) ; 28°18' N, 75°37' W (147) ; 28°15' N, 75°23' W
(147) ; 28020' N, 75000' W (147) .

Quad 16 Florida : Indian River Co ., Vero Beach, 27°39' N, 80°22' W (170) ;

Jupiter Island, QO mi N Miami (36, 139) ; Palm Beach Co ., Juno Beach,
26°51' N, 80°03' W (170) ; Palm Beach Co ., Lake Worth (185) ; Palm Beach
Co., Delray Beach (85) ; Naples (26, 44) .

Quad 17 27°50' N, 78°00' w (147) ; 27°34' N, 78°OQ' W (147) ; 27°33' N,

79°50' W (147) ; 27°33' N, 79°30' W (147) ; 27°33' N, 78°29' W (147) ;
27033' N, 78007' 4J (147) ; 27012' N, 74°04' W (147) ; 27008' N, 77031' W
(147) ; 27°C7' N, 78°30' W (147) ; 27°06' N, 78°57' W (147) ; 27°05' N,
78°18' W (147) ; 26°30' N, 79°30' W (147) ; 26°00' Pi, 78°46' W (147) .

Quad 18 27049' N, 77032' W (147) ; 27037' N, 77°24' W (147) ; 27023' N,

77°35' W (147) ; 27°12' N, 77°OG' W (147) ; 27°OQ'N, 77°22' W (147) ;
26°35' N, 77°OG' W (147) ; 26°00' N, 76°29' W (147) .

Quad 25 Texas : 5 mi S Galveston (204) .

Quad 26 Texas : Port Arthur, Sabine Pass (90, 114, 130, 131) .

Quad 27 Louisiana : Bayou De Largo (169, 206) ; 29°02' N, 91°29' W (147) ;

28°58' N, 91°00' W (147) ; 28°00' N, 91°16' W (147) .

Q uad 28 Louisiana : mouth of Thomasin Bayou, 29°13' N, 89°03' W (90) ;

29°00' N, 88°19' W (175) ; 20 to 25 mi off South Pass, mouth of
Mississippi River (90) ; 28°24' N, 88°29' W (175) ; 2E°23' N, 88°25' 4!
(147) ; 28°14' N, 89°18' W (147) ; 28°00' N, 88°00' W (147) .

62
Quad 29 29°21'N, 87°00' W (147) ; 29°OC' N, 87°23' W (147) ; 28°59' N,
87°49' W (175) ; 28°55' N, 87°51' W (175) ; 2S°50' N, 87°32' 4! (147) ;
28°00' N, 87°03' W (147) ; 28°00' N, 86°21' W (147) .

Q uad 30 Florida : Franklin Co ., Alligator Peninsula, 29°54' N, 84°20' W (36,

1Q4) ; Gulf Co ., 5 mi NW Port St . Joe (44) .

Q uad 31 Florida : near Cedar Key, 29°08' N (168) .

Q uad 32 Texas : Padre Island National Seashore, 3 mi S wreck of the Nicara-

qua, N Mansfield Channel (130, 131) ; Caneron Co ., 17 mi N Port Isabell
Jetties (131) ; Texas : South Padre Island, near Brownsville (131) .

Q uad 33 Gulf of Mexico : Brownsville study area, 95°07' N, 26°57' W (208) ;

Gulf of Mexico : Brownsville study area, 94°46' N, 27°27' W (208) .

Quad 36 27034' N, 89027' W (147) ; 27033' N, 89°07' W (147) ; 27027' N,

88°23' W (147) ; 26°28' N, S8°32' W (147) .

Quad 37 27048' N, 86028' W (147) ; 27045' N, 87000' W (147) ; 27027' N,

87°29' W (147) ; 26°5a' N, 86°41' W (147) ; 26°38' N, 86°41' W (147) ;
26°35' N, 87°51' W (147) ; 26°34' N, 87°30' 4! (147) ; 26°28' N, 86°42' W
(147) ; 26°25' N, 87°40' W (147) ; 26°19' N, 87°22' W (147) ; 26°OC' N,
87000' W (147) .

Quad 38 27°02' N, 85°00' W (147) ; 26°54' N, 85°24' W (147) ; 26°37' N,

8~5°12' w' (147) ; 26°27' N, 86°OQ' W (147) ; 28°27' N, 85°51' W (147) ;
26000' N, 85032' W (147) .

Quad 39 Florida : Charlotte Co ., Englewood, ZE°56' N, 82°22' N (36, 104,

84) ; Tampa Bay, 27°32' N, 82°44' W (94, 206) .

Quad ~45 25°37' N, 87°26'W (147) ; 25°3G' N, a5°47' W (147) ; 25°09' N,

87°27' W (147) ; 25°03' N, 86°26' k' (147) ; 24°48' N, 86°38' W (147) .

Q uad 46 25052' N, 85003' W (147) ; 25036' N, 85033' k' (147) ; 25028' N,

84°25' W (147) ; 25°00' N, 84°4C' 4J (147) ; 24°45' N, 84°47' 4J (147) ;
24040' N, 84000' W (147) ; 24026' N, 84056' W (147) .

Q uad 47 24047' N, 82000' W (147) ; 24044' N, E2010' W (147) ; 24018' N,

82009' W (147, 175) ; 24011' N, 83013' W (147) ; 24010' N, 83050' W (175) ;
24010' N, 82036' W (147) ; 24000' N, 83029' W (147) ; 24000' N, 83000' W
(147) ; 24000' N, 82037' W (147) .

Quad 48 Florida : Collier Co ., 12 mi off Marco Island (85) ; Sands Key, Bis-
cayne Bay (°4, 206) ; Everglades National Park 4'aters, Highland Beach, N
entrance to Whitewater Bay (R4, 116) ; Matecumbe Key (139) ; Monroe Co .,
Marathon Key, 24°43'N, B1°05' W (36, 104, 206) ; 6lonroe Co., near Key
West, 24°3E' N, 81°50' Vd (169) ; 24°33' N, E1°47' W (147) ; 24°33' N,
81018' 4J (147) ; 24026' N, 80056' 4J (147) ; 24010' N, 81028' W (147) ;
24000' N, 81026' W (147) ; 24000' N, 81006' W (147) .

Quad 52 22019' N, 96005' k' (175) .

63
Quad 57 23°44' N, 86°05' W (147) ; 23°34' N, 86°Oa' W (147) .
Q uad 60 23°50' N, 81°47' W (147) ; 23°49' N, 81°10' W (147) ; 23°07' N,
81°25' W (147) ; Cuba : E1 Fraile, 23°09' N, 81°52' W (50) .

Quad 62 23°O1' N, 77°26' W (147) ; Cuba : Cayo Romano, 22°O1' N, 77°39' W

50) .

Quad 64 Mexico : Veracruz, Tecolutla, 20°15' N, 96°47' W (95, 162 as Balae-

noptera borealis ) .

Quad 74 21°41' N, 76028' V1 (175) .

Quad 85 Jamaica : 4 mi off Negril Point (88) .

Quad 86 Cuba : Jucaro, 19°56' N, 77°40' W (129, 161) .

Not lotted Eastern Gulf to the mouth of Mississippi River (E7) ; Florida
(149) ; Cuban waters (1, 50) .

PYGMY SPERM! WHALE

Kogia breviceps (Blainville 1838)

Other Common Names - None .

Other Scientific Names - None .

Description and Identification

Pygmy sperm whales reach a length from 10 to 12 ft (2 .7 to 3 .4 m) and a

weight from 700 to 400 lb (318 to 408 kg) . They may be identified by (1) a
blunt, squari sh head with a narrow, uradersl ung lower jaw that terminates well
behind the tip of the snout ; (2) an extremely robust body that rapidly tapers
near the tail ; (3) a low dorsal fin that is positioned posterior to the center
of the back ; (4) a crescent-shaped bracket mark, called a false gill, posi-
tioned between the eyes and flippers ; and (5) flippers located well forward on
the body, just below and behind the bracket mark . These small whales are dark
gray on the back, changing to lighter gray on the sides, and gradually fading
to dull white on the belly.

Handley (1966) has demonstrated that two well-defined species, K .

breviceps and K, simus , are recognizable instead of only one, as previously
believed . Of the two, K, breviceps is decidedly larger ; they also differ in
several other important features, outlined in the K, simus account .

Distribution

Pygmy sperm whales presumably have a worldwide distribution in warmer

seas, but are thought to be relatively rare (Handley 1966) . In the western

64
North Atlantic, they occur from as far north as Nova Scotia to as far south as
Cuba, and as far west as Texas in the Gulf of Mexico . They occur throughout
the study area, and these small whales frequently strand along the Atlantic
coast of Florida as well as throughout the eastern and northern Gulf of Mexico
(Figure 11) . Observations at sea are rare, and it is believed that this is an
offshore species living in deep waters except perhaps during calving season
(Winn et al . 1979) .

Seasonal Movements

There are 148 records of pygmy sperm whales in the study area, but there
is no apparent pattern to them except for the superabundance of Florida
records (Table 4) . Records are available for the entire study area from North
Carolina to Florida to Texas except for the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi
and Alabama . According to the Florida records alone, in which stranding
accounts are most common, there are peaks in Januar (12 strandings), Septem-
ber (11), October (9), March (7), and August (7~, with scattered records
through the other months, except for July and November with only one record
each . This distribution does not readily lend itself to interpretation . One
problem is the presence of records of K. simus in the old literature, as this
species was not widely recognized until 1966 . A pattern may become evident
when these are eliminated, and more new records become available :
Status and Abundance

There are no population estimates from the study area . The most striking
aspect of the stranding records is their number, especially for an animal
usually considered a rare offshore species . This either is not the case in
the study area, or some unusual selective factor causes pygmy sperm whales to
beach . It is also possible that these small whales are a common element in
the inshore fauna of this area, but their habits prevent them from being seen
alive . Many strandings appear to be directly related to the birth process as
females with newborn calves often strand, as well as females whose ovaries and
uteri show evidence of having been involved in births just prior to stranding .

Life History

Very little data are available on life history parameters from the study
area . Mating may take place in late summer and the young are born in the
following spring after a gestation period of some 9 months (Allen 1941) .
Strandings have been reported in the study area in which a pregnant female,
still lactating, has been accompanied by a yearling animal, indicating that
the single calf stays with the mother during its first year .

Pygmy sperm whales feed on squid, crab, and shrimp (Handley 1966), as
well as some fishes (Winn et al . 1979) . In Texas, Raun et al . (1970) reported
squid (Ommastrephes sp .), two types of shrimp (Gnatho hausia i'ngens and Aris-
taeomor ha foliacea), and a brown alga ( Sargassum in the stomach of a
stranded animal .

Pygmy sperm whales seem to occur in small schools of three to six

individuals and seem to be rather timid (Mitchell 1975), slow-moving, and
deliberate (Handley 1966) .

b-5
Figure 11 . Distribution of the pygmy sperm whale, K091d breviceps . See legend
for Figure 3 and text for explanation of symbols .

66
Records of Occurrence

Quad 1 North Carolina : Kitty Hawk (4, 14, 119, 150, 206) .

Quad 2 North Carolina : Cape Lookout National Seashore, Core Banks S,

34°39' N, 76°30' W (170) ; Morehead City (1 .16) ; Carteret Co ., Atlantic
Beach (196) .

Quad 3 North Carolina : opposite Oregon Inlet Life Saving Station, 200 yd
offshore (4, 14, 187) ; 1 km h Hatteras Inlet, Cape Hatteras National Sea-
shore, 35°12' N, 75°44' W (169) ; 275 to 365 m S of point, Cape Hatteras
National Seashore (171) ; Avon (173) ; Oracoke Island, 35°1Q' N, 75°78' W
(170, 206) .

Quad 4 South Carolina : Charleston Co ., Seabrook's Beach (41, 61, 72) ; Parris
Point, Parris Island (171) ; Sea Pines, Hilton Head Island, 32°10' N,
80°40' W (171) ; Beaufort Co ., Hilton Head Island (47, 94, 179) ; Long
Island Fill, near mouth Savannah River (4, 41, 61, 143, 157, 179) .

Quad 5 North Carolina : Brunswick, Ocean Isle Beach, 33°54' N, 78°24' W

170) ; South Carolina : Myrtle Beach, 33°42' N, 78°53' W (168) ; Litch-
field Beach (94, 179) ; Georgetown Co ., Pawley's Island (41, 61, 72, 179) ;
Georgetown Co., North Island, 33°15' N, 79°12' W (171, 179) ; Cape Romain
(94, 179) ; Capers Island, 32°53' N, 79°39' V: (169, 179) ; Big Capers (94) ;
Charleston Co ., Isle of Palms (47, 61, 72, 279) ; Charleston Co ., Sulli-
van's Island, 32°44' N, 79°49' W (170) ; Charleston Co ., Sullivan's Island
(47, 61, 72, 179) ; Charleston Co ., Beach Inlet, between Sullivan's Island
and Isle of Palms (47) ; Charleston (93) .

Quad 6 North Carolina : Southport, 33°55' N, 78°OC' W (168, 206) .

Quad 8 Georgia : Tybee Islands (37, 94) ; Wassaw Island (04) ; Chatham Co .,
Ossabow Island (37, 47, 186) ; Liberty Co ., St . Catherines Island (176) ;
McIntosh Co ., Blackbeard Island (47) ; McIntosh Co ., Sapelo Island (41,
93, 138, 206) ; McIntosh Co ., Sapelo Island, Nannygoat Beach (47) ; St .
Simons Island, 31°C8' N, S1°24' W (168, 206) ; St . Simons Island (37) ;
Glynn Co ., NE Little St . Simons Island, 31°17' N, 81°17' V! (170) ; Glynn
Co ., Little St . Simons Island (172) ; Sea Island, near Brunswick (41) ;
Glynn Co ., Jekyll Island (47, 206) ; Glynn Co ., Jekyll Island, 31°03' N,
S1°25' W (171) ; Camden Co ., Cumberland Island, 30°57' N, 81°24' 4J (170) ;
Camden Co ., Cumberland Island, 30°56' N, 81°24' W (170) ; Camden Co ., Cum-
berland Island, 30°44' N, 81°27' W (170) ; Camden Co ., Cumberland Island
(37, 186) ; N Little Cumberland Island (47, 186) ; Cumberland Island, Pig
Heaven, 30°46' N, 81°28' W (170) ; Florida : Nassau Co ., American Beach,
30°40' N, 81°26' W (170) ; Atlantic Beach, 30°19' N,, 81°24' W (169) ;
Atlantic Beach (37) ; Jacksonville, 30°18' Nr 81°24' W (169, 206) ; Guval
Co ., Jacksonville Beach, 30°11' N, 31°22' W (185) .

Quad 12 Florida : near Ponte Vedra Beach (37) ; St . Johns Co ., N St . Augus-

tine Inlet, Usina Beach, 29°54' N, 81°19' W (170) ; St . Johns Co ., St .
Augustine Beach, 29°52' N, 81°16' W (90, 104) ; St . Johns Co ., S . St .
Augustine Inlet (85) ; St . Johns Co ., Conch Island (172) ; St . Johns Co .,
between St . Augustine and Matanzas Inlet (1 ¬.5) ; St . Augustine (94) ; St .
Johns Co ., St . Augustine Beach, 29°51' N, 8l.°15' W (171) ; St . Johns Co .,

67
 2 mi S St . Augustine Beach (85) ; Crescent Beach, 29°48' N, 81°30' W (85,
206) ; Matanzas Inlet, 29°43' N, 81°25' W1 (104) ; Summer Haven, 29°41' N,
81°13' W (170) ; Flagler Co ., 45 mi S Marineland, 29°36' N, 81°05' W
(171) ; Flagler Co ., near Marineland (4, 85, 91) ; Flager Beach, 29°29' N,
81°08' W (16R) ; Flagler Beach (94) ; Volusia Co ., 3 mi N Ormand Beach (57,
85) ; Ormond Beach 29°17' N, 81°03' W (168) ; Volusia Co ., Daytona Beach,
29°10' N, 81°00' w' (170) ; Daytona Beach (94) ; Volusia Co ., New Smyrna
Beach, 29°O1' N, 80°56' W (171) ; Volusia Co ., New Smyrna Beach (185) ; 1 .5
km S Sebastian Inlet, 28°57' N, SO°26' W (170) ; Playa Linda Beach,
28°38' N, 80°36' W (170) ; F?erritt Island, 28°30' N, 80°3Q' W (169) ; Mer-
ritt Island, Patrick Air Force Base, 28°13' N, 8Q°37' W (170) ; Indian
Harbour Beach, 28°09' N, 80°35' W (169) ; Melbourne, 28°04' N, 80°38' W
(169) ; Melbourne Beach (85, 187) .

Quad 16 Florida : Brevard Co ., 13 km N Sebastian Inlet, 27°55' N, 80°32' W

170) ; Brevard Co ., 3 .5 km S Sebastian Inlet, 27°52' N, 80°26' W (172) ;
5 .6 km S Sebastian Inlet, 27°50' N, 80°29' W (170) ; Sebastian Inlet,
27°49' N, 80°28' W (168) ; Indian River Co ., Vero Beach, 27°39' N,
80°21' W (171) ; Indian River Co ., Vero Beach (94) ; Hutchinson's Island
(44) ; St . Lucie Co ., Hutchinson's Island, Jenson Beach, 27°14' N,
80°15' W (169, 171) ; Pals Beach Co ., Jupiter Island, 1 mi N Jupiter Inlet
(85) ; Jupiter Island, 27°06' N, 80°04' W (170) ; Martin Co ., Jupiter
Island, 27°03' N, 80°Q6' W (171) ; Jupiter Island, 26°75' N, 80°08' W
(168) ; Palm Beach Co ., Jupiter Inlet, 26°55' N, 80°06' W (4, 104, 206) ;
Palm Beach Co ., Jupiter Inlet, 26°55'N, 80°05'W (171) ; Palm Beach Co .,
Palm Beach Inlet, 26°46' N, 80°02' W (170) ; Palm Beach Co ., Palm Beach
(85) ; Palm Beach Co ., Delray Beach, 26°27' N, 80°03' w' (171) ; Broward
Co ., Hallandale Beach (85) .

Q uad 21 Florida : Okaloosa Co ., Ft . Walton Beach (36, 48) .

Q uad 24 Texas : Calhoun Co., Port 0'Connor, 1 mi S Boogey Bayou (131) .

Quad 25 Texas : Chambers Co ., High Island (131) ; Chambers Co ., 13 mi E Gal-

veston, Crystal Beach (131) ; Galveston Island, 29°17' N, 94°48' W (16g) ;
city limits Galveston (44) .

Q uad 30 Florida : Franklin Co ., St .-George Island, 29°36' N, 84°50' W (185) ;

Franklin Co ., St . George Island (185) .

,Quad 3~1 Florida : Dixie Co ., Horseshoe Beach, 29°27' N, 83°17' W (168) ;

Dixie Co ., Horseshoe Beach (185) .

Quad 32 Texas : Nueces Co ., 1 mi S Aransas Pass jetties, Mustang Island

2) ; Port Aransas (204) ; Padre Island, 27°37' N, 97°12' W (169) ; 15 .8 mi
S south jetty Port Aransas, Mustang Island (90, 124) ; 20 mi S Corpus
Christi, Gulf Beach of Padre Island (44, 72, 90) ; Padre Island National
Seashore, N Yarborough Pass (93, 94, originally speculated as K, simus by
130, 131) .

Quad 39 Florida : Pinellas Co ., St . Petersburg Beach, 27°45' N, 82°50' W

x(90, 104) ; Hillsboro Inlet (94) ; Manatee Co ., Holmes Beach (36) .

68
Quad 48 Florida : S Miami Beach (94) ; Dade Co ., Key Biscayne S of Miami
Beach (85) ; Marathon, Vaca Key, 24°43' N, 81°05' W (168) ; Marathon, Vaca
Key, 24°42' N, E1°50' W (170) ; Isla Morada, near Key West, 24°33' N,
81°48' W (168) ; Stock Island (94) .

Quad 74 Cuba : Bahia de Nuevas, 21°25' N, 77°00' W (1) .

Not plotted South Carolina : no specific locality (41, 176) ; Florida :

Vilano Beach (37) .

DWARF SPERM WHALE

Kogia simus (Oven 1866)

Other Common Names - None .

Other Scientific Names - None .
Description and Identification

Dwarf sperm whales are similar in appearance to pygmy sperm whales (K .

breviceps ) . Differ between the two are as follows (characters of k.
brevice s are liste first) : total length from snout to~notch in flukes, 9 to
11 ft 2 .7 to 3 .4 m) versus 7 to 9 ft (2 .1 to 2 .7 m) ; weight 700 to 900 lb
(318 to 40& kg) versus 300 to 600 lb (136 to 272 kg) ; dorsal fin, low and
posterior to center of back versus high and near center of back ; condylobasal
length, 391 to 469 mm versus 262 to 302 mm ; mandibular teeth, 12 to 16 (rarely
10 or 11) pairs versus 8 to 11 (rarely 13) pairs ; mandibular symphysis, long
(86 to 120 mm) and ventrally keeled versus short (37 to 46 mm) and without
ventral keel (Handley 1966) . The bracket-shaped mark on each side of the
head, between the eyes and the flippers, is apparently present in both spe-
cies . Similarly, the color pattern of the two species is indistinguishable .

Distribution
Dwarf sperm whales are known from the seas adjacent to South Africa,
India, Ceylon, Japan, Hawaii, South Australia, and eastern United States
(Handley 1966) . In the western North Atlantic, they have been positively re-
ported from Virginia south to St . Vincent in the Lesser Antilles, and in the
Gulf of Mexico (Leatherwood et al . 1976) . Their range completely overlaps
with that of K, breviceps . No specific data are available, but supposedly
they primarily inhabit deep water . Stranding records are known from several
widely scattered places throughout the study area (Figure 12), but dwarf sperm
whales have been recorded more frequently from the Atlantic coast than from
the Gulf coast . Their records are not as numerous as those of K . breviceps ,
but since this species only recently has been clearly delineated from K. bre-
viceps (see Handley 1966), some of the old records of K. breviceps areliTe y
to be K, sinus .

69
Figure 12 . Distribution of the dwarf spem whale, Ko4ia simus . See legend
for Figure 3 and text for explanation of symbols .

70
Seasonal Movements

No information is available on seasonal movements . Within the study

area, dwarf sperm whales have been recorded from every month except August and
September (Table 4), but records are too few for any pattern to be apparent .

Status and Abundance

No population estimates are available from the study area ; consequently,

it is impossible to determine their status . K, simus appears to be substan-
tially less common than K . breviceps and restricted to more southern waters .
According to Caldwell and Caldwell (1974), populations are stable and not
endangered .

Life History

No data are available on life history parameters from the study area, and
little is known from other geographic regions . Some strandings appear to be
related to females giving birth close to shore (Winn et al . 1979) . Dwarf
sperm whales feed primarily on squid, but eat some crustaceans and fish as
well (Caldwell and Caldwell 1974) .

Records of Occurrence

Q uad 1 North Carolina : Corolla, 36°25' N, 75°50' b1 (206) ; Kitty Hawk (4,
14, 119, 150, 206) .

Q uad 2 North Carolina : Ocean Ridge, 1 .5 mi W Atlantic Beach (41) ; Carolina

Beach, 34002' N, 77056' W (170) .

Quad 3 Nags Head, 35°58' N, 75°38' W (169, 206) ; Pea Island (94, 206) ; Dare
Co ., Oregon Inlet (14, 41 incorrectly as K . breviceps , 187) ; Avon,
35°22' N, 75°30' W (170, 206) ; Cape Hatteras (173) .

Q uad 4 South Carolina, Hilton Head Island (206) .

Quad 5 South Carolina : Debedieu Beach of Arcadia Plantation (41, 61, 157,
198) .

Q uad 6 North Carolina : Fort Fisher (94, 206) .

Q uad 8 Georgia : Wassaw Island, 31°51' N, 80°57' W (206) ; Chatham Co ., Ossa-

baw Island Beach (47) ; Camden Co ., Cumberland Island, 30°53' N, 81°24' W
(170) ; Camden Co ., Cumberland Island, 30°5C' N, 81°26' W (168) ; Camden
Co ., Cumberland Island, 30°50' N, 82°26' W (168, 206) ; Camden Co ., Cum-
berland Island (186) ; Camden Co ., Cumberland Island, 30°46' N, 81°2E' 4!
(170) ; Florida : Fernandina Beach (37) ; near Atlantic Beach (37) .

Quad 12 Florida : approximately 1 km S St. Augustine Beach, 29°50' N,

81°16' W (170) ; Vilano Beach (37) ; St . Augustine (37) ; 29°05' N, 80°55' V!
(166) ; 28°55' N, 80°43' W (166) ; Cocoa Beach, 28°20' N, 80°43' W (171) ;
Melbourne, 28°04' N, 80°38' W (168) .

71
Quad 16 Florida : near Jupiter Island, 26°57' N, 8Q°08' w' (168) ; Ft . Lauder-
dale (94) .

Q uad 20 Mississippi : beach at Biloxi (71, 94) .

Q uad 21 Florida : Okaloosa Co ., 3 mi E Destin (44 incorrectly as K. brevi-

ce s ; 90) .

Quad 25 Texas : Galveston Island (44 incorrectly as K, breviceps ; 124) ;

Galveston, 29°17' N, 94°48' W (170, 206) .

Quad 32 Texas : Padre Island (134) ; Padre Island National Seashore, 27°35' N,
97015' W (170) .

Quad 39 Florida : Pinellas Co ., St . Petersburg Beach, 27°45' N, 82°40' W

70) .

Family Ziphiidae

BLAINVILLE'S BEAKED SHALE

Plesoplodon densirostris (Blainville 187)

Other Common Names - Dense-beaked whale .

Other Scientific Names - None.

Description and Identification

Blainville's beaked whale may reach a length of at least 17 ft (5 .2 m) .

Their most distinctive characteristic is the head, marked by a prominent rise
located near the angle of the gape on each side . In adult males this rise
bears the teeth and gives a peculiar fiigh, arching contour to the mouth (Lea-
therwood et al . 1e76) . This rise is not prominent in females or immature
males, and detailed study of a skull is usually required to identify these
individuals . These whales are black or charcoal gray on the back and slightly
lighter on the abdomen. They are somewhat blotched with grayish-white and are
often extensively scratched or scarred (Leatherwood et al . 1976) .

Three species of beaked whales of this genus (M, mirus , M . europaeus , and
M . densirostris ) occur in the study area . All are known strictly from stranded
specimens and have not been encountered at sea ; thus, information on appear-
ance of the species in the wild is almost totally lacking . All of the species
have five features in common : (1) two small v-shaped creases on the throat ;
(2) the absence of a conspicuous notch on the rear margin of the tail flukes ;
(3) the absence of functional teeth in all except adult males ; (4) black to
dark gray coloration ; and (5) a dorsal fin situated well past mid-body . Adult
males have a functional pair of teeth in the lower jaw, the position of which
can be used for species identification . In M, mirus , the teeth are located
72
near the tip of the lower jaw ; in M . europaeus , about a third of the way from
the tip of the snout to the corner of the mouth ; and in M . densirostris, in
large prominences near the back of the mouth (Leatherwood et al . 1976 . Pos-
itive identification of females or immature males usually requires museum
preparation and examination.

Distribution

Mesoplodon densirostris occurs in all oceans having tropical and warm

temperate waters ice . This is the only species of Mesoplodon which
seems normally to occur both north and south of the equator . Nishiwaki (1972)
suggests that they are limited by 45° latitude in either hemisphere . They
have stranded along the American coast from Florida to Nova Scotia, and there
is a single record for the Gulf of Mexico . According to Moore (166), their
distribution is farther offshore than any other species of MesoRlodon found in
the North Atlantic . There have been seven strandings from the Atlantic por-
tion of the study area (Figure 13) ; these are from North Carolina (three
records), South Carolina (one), Georgia (one), and Florida (two) . The single
individual from the Gulf of Mexico stranded at Jack Stout Bayou, Terrebonne
Parish, Louisiana on 5 January 1974 . Gunter (1955) reported a specimen from
Padre Island, Texas, but Moore (1966) subsequently has shown this to be
Mesoplodon europaeus . A stranding also occurred in the Bahama Islands on 17
October 1944 .

Seasonal Movements
No information is available on movements . Within the study area, records
are from January, March, June, and October (Table 4), but these data are too
meager to indicate a pattern . The strandings also are divided evenly between
the sexes .

Status and Abundance

There are no population size estimates for the study area, but available
information suggests these whales are uncommon along the Atlantic coast and
extremely rare in the Gulf of Mexico .

Life History

No data are available on life history parameters from the study area, and
little is known from other geographic regions . Analysis of stomach contents
of a stranded animal revealed that these whales feed on squid (Leatherwood
et al . 1976) .

Records of Occurrence

Q uad 2 North Carolina : Rogue Banks, near Beaufort (41, 104, 158, 206) .

Q uad 3 North Carolina : Buxton (44, 206) ; Cape Hatteras (93, 94, 206) .

Quad 5 South Carolina : near Charleston (41, 61, 108, 179) .

Quad 8 Georgia : Cumberland Island, 30°50' N, 81°27' W (170) .

73
Figure 13 . Distribution of Blainville's beaked whale, Mesoplodon densirostris .
See legend for Figure 3 and text for explanation of symbols .

74
 uad 12 Florida : near Crescent Beach, 29°52' N, 81°10' W (34, 37),

Quad 18 Bahamas : Green Turtle Cay Bay, Abaco, 26°46' N, 77°18' W (79, 106,
108, 176) .

Quad 27 Louisiana : Terrebonne Parish, Jack Stout Bayou, SW Houma, 29°10' N,

91000' w' (173, 191) .

Not plotted Florida (206) .

ANTILLEAN BEAKED WHALE

Mesoplodon europaeus (Gervais 1855)

Other Common Names - Gulfstream beaked whale, Gervais' beaked whale .

Other Scientific Names - P!esoplodon eg rvasi , M, ervaii .

Description and Identification

Antillean beaked whales reach a length of at least 22 ft (6 .7 m) . Their

slender form (much taller than wide) gives them the appearance of being later-
ally compressed . Their head is extremely small and tapers rapidly to a narrow
beak. The small flippers are positioned well down on the sides of the body .
These whales are dark grayish-black on the back and sides and slightly lighter
on the abdomen . Adult males can be distinguished from other species of Meso-
1 odon as described i n the account of t1, dens i rostri s ; females and immature
males are easily confused with the otherbeaked whales though Antillean beaked
whales are larger than all except goosebeaked whales (Zi hius cavirostris ) .

Distribution

These beaked whales occur in the western North Atlantic from Trinidad,
Jamaica, and the Gulf of Mexico to Long Island, New York (Rice 1977) ; one
individual (the holotype) has been reported from the English Channel, but,
according to Moore (1966), it was probably a stray. In the study area, strand-
ings are known from several places along the Atlantic coast . These include
numerous strandings from North Carolina and Florida and a single one from
Georgia (Figure 14) . They are known from the Gulf of Mexico on the basis of
only five records, three of which are from the Texas coast and two from
Florida . Moore (1966) suggests that they inhabit deep waters close to shore-
lines .

Seasonal Movements

Nothing is known about seasonal movements in the study area or, so far as
known, any other region . Strandings in the Gulf are from winter and summer,
whereas they have been recorded during all seasons along the Atlantic coast
(Table 4) . There are many more strandings of females than males, and many

75
Figure 14 . Distribution of the Antillean beaked whale, tiesoplodon europaeus .
See legend for Figure 3 and text for explanation of syrihols .

76
appear to be directly related to the birth process as several pregnant females
and females with newborn calves have washed ashore .

Status and Abundance

No population estimates are available from the study area, but these
beaked whales are assumed to he rare throughout their range (Lowery 1974) . As
of 1966 only 14 records were known, and 11 of these were from the study area .
Recent years have witnessed a proliferation of strandings so that presently
there are 29 recorded, suggesting that the whales are not as rare as pre-
viously suspected,

Life History

Virtually nothing is known about life history parameters from the study
area . Females with calves have stranded in the study area in May and June . A
pregnant female with a near-term fetus stranded along the Texas coast in
August . These whales are known to feed on squid (Leatherwood et al . 1976) .

Records of Occurrence

Quad 1 North Carolina : Kitty Hawk, N Cape Natteras (10E, 206) .

Quad 2 North Carolina : Bogue Banks, 34°42' N, 77°02' W (168, 206) ; Snow's
Cut, 34003' N, 77054' W (169, 206) .

Quad 3 North Carolina : Dare Co ., Oregon Inlet, N Cape Hatteras (17 as M,

mirus, 108, 196) ; N Oregon Inlet (173, 2Q6) ; Cape Hatteras, 35°14' N,
75'32' W (170, 206) ; Buxton (45, 206) .

Quad 8 Georgia : Chatham Co ., Ossabaw Island, Middle Beach (168) ; Florida :

Fernandina Beach (37) .

Quad 12 Florida : St . Johns Co ., St . Augustine Beach, 29°55' M, 81°17' 4J

7, 104, 108, 121, 159) ; Volusia Co ., New Smyrna Beach, 28°59' N,
80°52' W (170) ; 3 mi S Melbourne Beach (1C4, 107, 111, 176) ; E Hutchin-
son's Island near Melbourne, 28°05' N, 80°37' W (168) ; S Cape Canaveral,
28°05' N, 80°27' W (166) .

Quad~16 Florida : 8 mi N Vero Beach (107, 108, 206) ; 3 km N Vero Beach,

27°40' N, 80°22' W (170) ; Ft . Pierce, 27°28' N, 80°20' W (168) .

Quad 22 Florida : Panama City, St . Andrews Bay (206) .

Quad 24 Texas : Matagorda Island, Gulf Beach (203) .

Quad 32 Texas : Nueces Co ., 27°35' N, 97°13' W (203) ; Padre Island, 40 mi S

Port Aransas (67 and 68 incorrectly as M, de nsirostris , 106, 176) .

Quad 39 Florida : Boca Grande (36, 107, 108, 176) .

Quad 48 Florida : Monroe Co ., Key Largo, 25°15' N, 80°20' W (104, 111, 121,
2, 125, 158, 176) ; Key Largo, 25°11' N, 80°21' W (168) .

77
Quad 59 Cuba : Cayo Alacranes, Pinar del Rio (1, 108, 122) .

Quad 85 Jamaica : Bull Bay, St . Thomas Parish (120, 121, 122, 177, 207) .

Quad 86 Jamaica : Montego Bay (28) .

Quad 88 Jamaica : Morant Cays (88) .

TRUE'S BEAKED WHALE

Mesoplodon mirus True 1913

Other Common Names - None .

Other Scientific Names - Mesoplodon mirum .

Description and Identification

True's beaked whales may reach a length of 16 ft (4 .9 m) . They resemble

goosebeaked whales ( Zi'phius cavirostris ) in having a chunky mid-body rapidly
narrowing toward the tail . Their head is small with a slight indentation near
the blowhole, a slight bulge to the forehead, and a pronounced beak . The
flippers are small, as is the slightly falcate dorsal fin, located in the lat-
ter third of the back . Coloration is dull black to dark gray on the back,
lighter slate gray on the sides, and white on the belly . The body often is
covered with light spots or splotches and numerous pairs of scratch marks .

Distribution

These beaked whales occur in the North Atlantic from Florida and Nova
Scotia east to the British Isles (Rice 1977) . They tend to maintain this loca-
tion despite the sweep of the Gulf Stream, possibly in part by keeping between
it and the American coast (Moore 19b6) . There are six recorded strandings in
the Atlantic portion of the study area, three from North Carolina, two from
South Carolina, and one from Florida (Figure 15) . There are no records from
the Gulf of Mexico .

Seasonal Movements
Strandings have occurred in March (three strandings), July (one), and
August (one) (Table 4) . These data are too meager for a pattern to emerge .

Status and Abundance

There are no population estimates available for the study area, and it is
impossible to accurately assess their status . Based on stranding records,
True's beaked whales appear to be rare in the Atlantic portion of the study
area and absent in the Gulf of Mexico . As with most species of Plesoplodon , it
is hypothesized that they have a pelagic range far offshore, possibly account-
ing for their infrequent stranding .

78
Figure 15 . Distribution of True's beaked whale, F'esoplodon virus . See legend
for Figure 3 and text for explanation of symbols .

79
Life History

Very little data are available on life history parameters . Supposedly

they feed on cephalopods as well as a variety of fishes (Mitchell 1975) .

Records of Occurrence

Quad 2 North Carolina : Beaufort Harbor, Bird Island Shoal (17, 41, 76, lOS,
125, 155, 158, 206) .

Quad 3 North Carolina : Oregon Inlet (18) ; Dare Co ., Buxton, New Inlet, Gulf
Shoal Beach (14, 17, 107, 108, 111, 196) .

Quad 5 South Carolina : Isle of Palms (94, 179) ; Charleston (14, 41) .

Q uad 12 Florida Flagler Beach, 2Q°2E' N, 81°07' W (107, 108, 111, 176) .

GOOSEBEAKED WHALE '

Ziphius cavirostris G . Cuvier 1823

Other Common Names - Cuvier's beaked whale .

Other Scientific Names - Hyperodon semijunctus .

Description and Identification

Goosebeaked whales usually measure from 18 to 26 ft (5 .5 to 8 .5 m) in

length . The head is small relative to the body, and the beak is indistinct in
larger individuals . The cleft of the mouth is smaller than in other beaked
whales . The dorsal fin is relatively tall and distinct, smoothly falcate, and
located approximately two-thirds the distance between the tip of the snout and
the midpoint between the tail flukes . Coloration is variable, but two fre-
quently observed color schemes are (1) face and upper back, cream-colored with
the remainder of the body black ; or (2) entire body, grayish fawn with small
blotches of slightly darker gray below (Walker 1975) . Old males have a dis-
tinct white head and frequently are extensively scarred (Leatherwood et al .
1976) . These cetaceans are distinguished from other beaked whales in the
family Ziphiidae mainly by features of the skull . Males have two functional
teeth, one at the tip of each mandible, that usually are not visible in
females .

Distribution

Z . cavirostris is a truly cosmopolitan species, with records extending

from tropics to subpolar waters in all oceans (Rice 1977) . In the western
North Atlantic they have been reported from Massachusetts and Rhode Island
south to Florida and thence to the islands of the West Indies . Within the
study area, they have been recorded from Cape Natteras south to the Florida

80
Keys on the Atlantic coast and from the western coast of the Florida penin-
sula, Louisiana, and Texas in the Gulf of Mexico (Figure 16) .

Seasonal Movements

Goosebeaked whales are pelagic, open-ocean forms that undertake long

migrations, especially in polar regions ~larcuzzi and Pilleri 1971) . Seasonal
patterns cannot be discerned in the study area because of insufficient data .
Strandings have occurred in every r!onth in the Atlantic states, but only in
the fall and spring in the Gulf of Mexico (Table 4) . The records present no
apparent pattern, and may represent strays from a wide-ranging population
(Mead 1975a) .

Status and Abundance

Goosebeaked whales are the most commonly stranded beaked whales in the
study area . There are numerous stranding reports from the Atlantic coast and
the western coast of the Florida peninsula . The only records from the western
Gulf are of strandings from the coasts of Louisiana and Texas, suggesting that
they may be rarer there than in other portions of the study area . There are
no population estimates available from the study area .

Life History

Essentailly nothing is known about life history parameters . A female

with a fetus stranded near Cape Canaveral, Forida, in August . These whales
feed primarily on squid (Caldwell and Caldwell 1974) .

Records of Occurrence

Quad 1 North Carolina : Currituck Co ., 5 mi S Corolla (206) .

Quad 2 North Carolina : Morehead City (176) ; S end Wrightsville Beach,

34°12' N, 77°48' W (170) .

Quad 4 South Carolina : Edisto Island (61, 37, 179) .

Quad 5 South Carolina : Myrtle Beach, 33°42' N, 78°54' W (168) ; Cape Island
37, 61, 179) ; Charleston Harbor, 32°50' N, 79°41' W (154, 49, 158, 61,
41, 37, 14, 206) ; Sullivan's Island, 32°4G' N, 79°52' H! (41, 37, 61,
179) .

Quad 6 North Carolina : New Hanover Co ., near Ft . Fisher (82) .

Quad 8 Georgia : Chatham Co ., 4lassaw Island (47, 184) ; St . Catherine Island,

N tip south Beach McQueen (176) ; St . Simon Island (154, 41, 37, 206) ;
Camden Co ., North Beach, Little Cumberland Island (47, 186) ; Cumberland
Island (185) ; Florida : Fernandina Beach (37) .

Quad 12 Florida : Vilano Beach, near St . Augustine (167) ; St . Johns Co ., St .

Augustine Beach (85) ; St . Johns Co ., N Anastasia Island (85) ; Volusia
Co ., N Daytona Beach (75, 202) ; Ormand Beach, 29°15' N, 80°57' W (170) ;
Cape Canaveral (158, 104) .

81
Figure 16 . Distribution of the goosebeaked whale, Ziph~iu. .s cavirostris . See
legend for Figure 3 and tent for explanation of symbols .

82
Quad 16 Florida : Martin Co ., Hobe Sound Beach (85) ; Palm Beach Co ., Palm
Beach, 26033' N, 80002' W (171) .

Quad 21 Florida : Pensacola, Santa Rosa Island (173, 185) ; Okaloosa Co .,

near Fort Walton (48, 90) .

Quad 25 Texas : Galveston Co ., Galveston's West Beach (90, 130) .

Quad 28 Louisiana : 5 mi S North end Chandeleur Island (70, 90, 191) .

Quad 31 Florida : Pasco Co ., near Hudson (104, 206) .

Quad 39 Florida : Venice, 27°09' N, 82°27' W (104) .

Quad 48 Florida : Hallandale (206) ; Dade Co ., Miami Beach, 25°52' N, 80°08' W

70) ; Monroe Co., Conch Key, 24°47' N, 8a°53' W (104, 206) .

Quad 50 Bahamas : 10 mi N Norman's Cay (32) ; Norman's Cay, 24°38' N, 76°48' W

(32) .

Quad 60 Cuba : Bahia de Matanzas (1, 160) .

Quad 63 Bahamas : Staniel Cay, 40 mi SE Norman's Cay (32) .

Quad 71 Cuba : Carapachibey, 21°27' N, 82°56' W (160) .

Quad 84 Grand Cayman Island (173) .

Not plotted Yucatan, Mexico (173) .

Family Delphinidae

MANY-TOOTHED DOLPHIN

Peponocephala elects (Gray 1846)

Other Common Names - Melon-headed whale, many-toothed blackfish .

Other Scientific Names - None .

Description and Identification

Many-toothed dolphin are at least 9 ft (2 .7 m) in length . They resemble

false killer whales and pygmy killer whales in shape and general appearance .
Their body is elongated and slim with a narrow tail stock . They have no beak
and a rounded forehead that curves smoothly from the anterior tip of the
rostrum to the blowhole and overhangs the lower jaw . The dorsal fin is up to
10 inches (25 .4 cm) tall and distinctive . Peponocephala are a uniform black

83
on the back and slightly lighter on the belly, and have a vertical pectoral
blaze mark (Walker 1975) .

Distribution

Pe onoce hala are distributed in the tropical Atlantic, Indian, and Paci-
fic Oceans ice 1977) . They have not been recorded from the western North
Atlantic or the study area, but are included herein because of their known
tropical distribution in the Lesser Antilles . The likelihood of their occur-
ring in the study area is high .

Seasonal Movements

Since they have not been recorded in the study area, no information is
available .

Status and Abundance

Many-toothed dolphins are presumably rare throughout their range .

Life History

Virtually nothing has been reported on their habits . A large number of

pregnant females were collected in Australia in August 1958 (Dawbin et al .
1970) . Stomach contents of a stranded animal in the Lesser Angilles included
partially digested fish and squid, cephalopod beaks, fish otoliths, and fish
bones (Caldwell et al . 1976) .

Records of Occurrence - Phone .

PYGMY KILLER WHALE

Feresa attenuata Gray 1875

Other Common Names - Slender blackfish .

Other Scientific Names - None .

Description and Identification

Pygmy killer whales are relatively slender-bodied animals that reach a

length of about 8 to 9 ft (2 .4 to 2 .7 m) . Their head is blunt and evenly
rounded, without a beak, and the snout overhangs the tip of the lower jaw .
The falcate dorsal fin, in the center of the back, is tall (between 8 to 12
inches, 20 .3 to 30 .1 cm) and usually distinctive . The flippers are slightly
rounded on the tips . Body coloration is dark gray, almost black, except for
margins of white about the lips and a white area in the anal region . A pale
gray or whitish area lies between the flippers .

84
Distribution

F . attenuata occurs in the tropical and warm temperate waters of the

Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans (Rice 1977) . In the western North Atlan-
tic they are known from tropical and subtropical waters in southeastern and
northwestern Florida, extreme south Texas, and the West Indies (Figure 17) .
They have not been recorded frog the Atlantic portion of the study area
between Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and Cape Canaveral, Florida . Their dis-
tribution suggests they are an offshore species restricted to warmer waters
(Winn et al . 179) .

Seasonal Movements

Records in the study area are from winter, spring, and sUmmer (Table 4),
but these data are too meager for a pattern to emerge .

Status and Abundance

No population estimates are available from the study area . The sparse
records are probably a reasonable indication that they are rare in the study
area . All six are from the southern area (Texas, Florida), which is consis-
tent with the apparent tropical distribution of these whales in other oceans .
Populations are believed to be stable and not endangered though data are very
limited (Caldwell and Caldwell 1974) .

Life History

No data are available on life history parameters from the study area . A
young juvenile, possible newborn, was 82 .2 cm in length when captured in May
1967, off Costa Rica (Mitchell 1Q75) . In captivity these whales are known to
eat sardines, squid, sauries, and mackeral (Nishiwaki 1966) . They have keen
reported to attack other species of dolphins (Mitchell 1x75) .

Records of Occurrence

Quad 16 Florida : Hutchinson's Island (94) ; Jupiter Island, 26°57' N,

80°08' b! (170) ; Palm Beach Co ., Singer Island, near Riviera Beach (38,
206) ; Lake Worth, 26°37' N, 80°02' W (94, 165, 2C6) .

Quad 30 Florida : St . George Island, 29°40' N, 84°5G' W (168, 173, 185) .

Quad 32 Texas : Cameron Co ., Isla Blanca Park, Brazos Santiago Pass,

26°04' N, 97°C9' W (80, 90, 131) .

FALSE KILLER WHALE

Pseudorca crassidens (Owen 1846)

Other Common Names - None .

85
Figure 17 . Distribution of the pygmy killer whale, Feresa attenuata . See
legend for Figure 3 and text for explanation of syribols .

86
Other Scientific Names - None .

Description and Identification

Male false killer whales reach a length of 19 .7 ft (6 m) ; females are

slightly smaller, reaching 15 .6 ft (4 .75 m) . These whales are easily recog-
nized by a combination of salient features : (1) the body is long, slender and
uniformly black except for varying amounts of white at the lips, chin, and
belly ; (2) the head is narrow and gently tapered from the area of the blowhole
forward with no evidence of a beak such as that possessed by many delphinids,
and lacks the bulbous swelling possessed by species of Globicephala ; (3) the
dorsal fin is from 7 to 16 inches (17 .8 to 40 .6 cm) tall, falcate, and located
about midway of the body length ; and (4) the flippers have a broad hump on the
front margin near the middle .

Distribution

False killer whales have been recorded from all the main bodies of water
with the exception of polar seas (Rice 1977) . Stranding records and inci-
dental sightings suggest that they are widely distributed in the tropical,
subtropical, and warm temperate waters of the western North Atlantic . Several
strandings have been recorded from the Atlantic portion of the study area, but
there are only seven records from the Gulf of Mexico, suggesting they are
uncommon there (Figure 18) . Apparently, Pseudorca is a pelagic form not
occurring frequently in coastal waters, sandy bays, or estuaries, though
entire herds have stranded in such areas (Leatherwood et al . 1976) . Records
from throughout their range suggests that they have an oceanic distribution .

Seasonal Movements

No population estimates are available from the study area, but the number
of strandings and sightings suggests that false killer whales are more common
in the study area than pygmy killer whales ( Feresa attenuata ) or killer whales
( Orcinus orca ) . Pseudorca may be more common as a stranded animal than sus-
pected since it commonly is mistaken for Glob ice hala, and some of the G .
macrorhynchus records may actually be Pseudorca Mead 1975a) . Populations are
believed to be stable and not endangered (Caldwell and Caldwell 1974) .

Life History

No data are available for life history parameters in the study area .
False killer whales are thought to travel in groups of several hundred indi-
viduals, containing both sexes of different ages, and to feed on cephalopods
and fish (Walker 1475) . They are notorious for stealing large fishes from the
lines of snapper and grouper fishermen (Brown et al . 1966) . Their breeding
apparently is not confined to a definite season . Young are between 1 .7 to
2 .0 m long at birth (Walker 1475) . This is one of the cetaceans that commonly
mass strands . The largest mass stranding in the study area occurred on 11 Jan-
uary 1970 when 150 to 175 false killer whales stranded at three places along
the southeast Florida coast (Caldwell et al . 1970) .

Records of Occurrence

Quad 1 North Carolina : NE Hatteras, 36°02' N, 74°06' W (21) .

87
Figure 18 . Distribution of the false killer whale, Fseudorca crassidens .
See legend for Figure 3 and text for explanation of symbols .

88
Quad 3 North Carolina : 0 .5 mi E Natteras Inlet (196) .

Quad 5 South Carolina : presumably near Charleston (41, 61, 179) .

Q uad 8 Georgia : Chatham Co ., Tybee Island (41) .

Q uad 12 Florida : 5 mi N Ponce de Leon Inlet near Daytona Beach (37, 42) .

Q uad 16 Florida : 15 mi Pd Vero Beach ; Ft . Pierce Inlet near Ft . Pierce (42,

206) ;. 3 mi off Jupiter lighthouse, 26°57' N (54, 104) ; Broward Co .,
Hillsboro lighthouse near Deerfield (16, 67, 104) ; Pompano Beach (42) .

Quad 21 Florida : 50 mi offshore between Pensacola and Panama City (20) .

Quad 34 Texas : Galveston, vicinity Flower Garden Bank, 120 mi SSE Galveston
x(130) .

Quad 36 150 nautical r?i S of Mississippi River (22, 90) .

Q uad 39 Florida : offshore, general region of St . Petersburg (20) ; Lee Co .,

Captiva Island, 26°31' N, 82°11' W (168) .

Q uad 47 Florida : Loggerhead Key (168) ; 16 km E Dry Tortugas (168) .

Quad 48 Florida : bade Co ., Bear Cut, 25°44' N, 80°G3' W (22, 104) ; f4liami
Beach, Amberjack Hole, offshore (22) ; Dade Co ., Biscayne Bay, 25°35' N,
80°20' W (42, 98, 104, 206) ; Cape Sable, 25°08' N, 80°07' w' (168) .

Quad 59 Cuba : Cojimai°, 23°la' N, 82°18' 41 (1, 22, 5G) .

Quad 62 Cuba : 25°05' n, 77°80' W (21) .

Not blotted Cuban waters (50) .

KILLER WHALE

Orcinus orca (Linnaeus 1758)

Other Common Names - None .

Other Scientific Names - Gram pus orca .

Description and Identification

Adult male killer whales have a robust shape and may reach a length of at
least 30 ft (9 .1 m) ; females are considerably smaller and less stocky . Their
most distinctive field character is the high (6 ft or 1 .8 m tall in vales ;
3 ft or 0 .9 m in females), erect, distinctly falcate, and pointed dorsal fin .
Externally, killer whales are distinguished by their bluntly rounded snout,

89
the oval white patch just above and behind the eye, and the contrast of the
black upper parts with the white under parts .

Distribution

Killer whales are pelagic animals that occur in all oceans from the Arc-
tic to the Antarctic and even ascend large rivers (Marcuzzi and Pilleri 1971) .
They are most common in the cooler coastal seas around the world (Rice 1977) .
In the western North Atlantic, they occur from the polar pack ice south to
Florida, the Lesser Antilles, and into the Gulf of Mexico (Leatherwood et al .
1976) . Strandings are relatively uncommon along the Atlantic coast portion of
the study area, and the bulk of the records are from the Florida area near the
Gulf Stream (Figure 19) . There are a few records from the southeastern part
of the Gulf of Mexico, in the vicinity of the Keys and off the southern tip of
the peninsula . Evidence of their occurrence in the northern and western parts
of the Gulf is limited to one specimen (Caldwell et al . 1956), an unverified
stranding (Schmidly and Shane 1978), and an unverified sighting (Gunter 1954) .
Killer whales seem to prefer coastal areas, and they may enter large shallow
bays, estuaries, and river mouths in search of food though such inshore behav-
ior has not been reported from the study area .

Seasonal Movements

No data are available from the study area . Winn et al . (1979) suggest
that migrations occur in association with the abundance and movement of prey
species . According to these authors, killer whales are found in more northern
waters in warmer months and in the Caribbean most often in summer. The only
apparent consistency in the study area records is that most are from the win-
ter months though there are isolated records from May, June, and September
(Table 4) .

Status and Abundance

No estimates of population abundance are available from any portion of

the study area . Killer whales appear to he modestly common north of Cape Cod
and in the Caribbean, and relatively rare in between (Mead 1975a) . According
to Winn et al . (1979), the West Indian population is stable and there is no
evidence that the species is endangered anywhere in the western North
Atlantic .

Life History

No data are available for life history parameters in the study area .
Males are polygamous and mating may occur throughout the year (Winn et al .
1979) . The gestation period is about 1 year, and the young at birth are about
2 m long (Walker 1975) . Killer whales feed on squid, fishes, sea turtles,
seabirds and other marine mammals (Caldwell and Caldwell 1974) . They travel
in groups of from a few to 25 or 30 individuals though herds of 150 have been
reported (Leatherwood et al . 1976) . Females and young may form separate
groups from young bachelors and bulls .

Records of Occurrence

Quad 1 North Carolina : Waterlily (173, 206) ; Killdevil (44) .

90
Figure 119 . Distribution of the killer whale, Orcinus orca . See legend for
Figure 3 and text for explanation of symbols .

91
Quad 2 North Carolina : Onslow Co ., New River Inlet (14 as Grampus orca , 41,
61) .

Q uad 5 South Carolina : Bulls Island (45, 61, 179) .

Quad 12 Florida : Marineland (85) ; 0 .5 mi off Marineland (85) ; 15 mi off St .

Augustine (104) .

Q uad 16 Florida : off Palm Beach, 26°43' N (1Q4) ; Eoynton, 26°32' N (104) ;
Holl ywood, 26°02' N (104) .

Q uad 17 Florida : 2 mi off Boca Raton, 26° 21' N (104) .

Q uad 18 Bahamas : Great Abaco Island, Man 0'War Cay (10) .

Q uad 21 Florida : Okaloosa Co ., 6 .5 mi E East Pass, Destin (10, 45, 185) .

Q uad 32 Texas : 35 mi SE Port Aransas (52, 67 as Gram pus orca , 130, 131) ;
Cameron County Park, South Padre Island (131) .

Quad 39 Florida : Anna Marie Island, near Tampa Bay (171) .

Quad 48 Florida : Collier Co ., Holloway Creek, near Everglades (10, 104) ;

Monroe Co ., Summerland Key, 24°41' N, 81°26' W (104, 193) .

Quad 49 Gulf Stream between Miami Beach and Bahamas (104, 112) .

Quad 59 Cuba : Cojimar, 23°10' N, a2°18' W (50) .

ATLANTIC PILOT WHALE

Globicephala melaena (Traill 1809)

Other Common Names - Northern pilot whale, long-finned pilot whale, pothead,
blackfish .

Other Scientific Names - None .

Description and Identification

Male Atlantic pilot whales are at least 20 ft (6 .2 m) long whereas

females are slightly smaller, not exceeding 18 ft (5,5 m) . Their head is
thick and bulbous, prompting the common name "Fothead," and the flippers are
long (about one-fifth of the body length) and sickle-shaped (Leatherwood et
al . 1976) . Their most distinctive characteristic is the dorsal fin, which is
low i n profile and set far forward on the back . The dorsal fin has a long
base and is falcate to "flaglike" in appearance (Leatherwood et al . 1976) .
These whales are black on the back and sides (hence, the common name "black-
fish") with a patch of grayish white on the chin and a gray area on tree belly .
92
Distribution

Atlantic pilot whales occur in the cool temperate North Atlantic Ocean as
well as throughout the cool temperate waters of the Southern Hemisphere . Two
subspecies are recognized, G . m . melaena from the North Atlantic and G . m.
edwardii from the Southern Hemisphere, but their validity has been questioned
Rice 1977) .

In the western North Atlantic these whales occur frog Iceland and Green-
land south to North Carolina (Leatherwood et al . 1976) . They apparently
straggle into the northern portions of the study area where several records
are known along Cape Hatteras (between latitudes 34° and 37° N ; Figure 20) .
The questionnaire sent to museums produced records of two skulls from local-
ities south of latitude 34° N . However, these have not been examined ;
consequently, their identification is not verified . One specimen, a male from
Beaufort, Carteret County, North Carolina, was obtained 18 February 1951 and
is deposited in the collections of the Department of Zoology, North Carolina
State University (catalog number NCS 1491) . The other, an unsexed individual
from St . Catherines Island, Liberty County, Georgia, for which the collection
data are unknown, is deposited in the American Museum of Natural History, New
York City, New York (catalog number AMPJH 238446) . Should these two records
prove to be G . melaena , they will constitute the southernmost records for this
species in the western North Atlantic .

Seasonal Movements

Atlantic pilot whales winter offshore from Newfoundland south to the lat-
itude of New Jersey, and generally summer north of Cape Cod to Greenland .
During the summer, they often are seen in the bays and inshore waters of the
Gulf of Maine and the Maritime Provinces (Sergeant 1962) . The records just
north of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, are from March, July, and November
(Table 4) .

Status and Abundance

The pre-exploitation population of the stock from Newfoundland has been

estimated at approximately 50,000 (Mitchell 1975) . No recent popultion esti-
mates are available for the western North Atlantic, but the whales probably
still are recovering from overexploitation in Newfoundland in the 1950's and
1960's (Mitchell 1975) . Populations presently are not considered endangered .

Life History

Life history data are not available from the vicinity of the study area .
The following information is taken from Walker (1975) and Mitchell (1975) .
Females become sexually mature at about 6 years when they are about 3 .6 m in
length, and males mature at about 13 years when 4 .75 m long . This disparity
between sexually mature bulls and cows in a single school is compensated for
by the polygamous practices of this genus . Pregnancy last 16 months, followed
by a 20- to 22-month lactation period . The calving season lasts 6 months with
a mid-August peak . Females complete a breeding cycle approximately every 40
months until barren at an average age of 18 years . Estimates of age, based on
growth in the roots of the teeth, indicate a maximum life span of about 50
years in males and females . Their preferred food is squid though cod, flat-
fish, and a limited variety of other fishes are taken when squid is scarce .

93
Figure 2C . Distribution of the Atlantic pilot whale, Clobicephala melaena .
See legend for Figure 3 and text for explanation of symbols .

94
These whales are prone to mass strandings, perhaps partly due to their strong,
cohesive social order . They are often seen in the company of other small
cetaceans, particularly Tursiops truncates and Lagenorhynchus acutus . Atlan-
tic pilot whales may occur in herds of 200 or more animals though herds of 50
or fewer (4 to 6) are more common .

Records of Occurrence

Quad 1 North Carolina : Corolla, 20 mi N Kitty Hawk (173) .

Quad 2 North Carolina : Carteret Co ., Beaufort (196) .

Quad 3 North Carolina : Nags Head (94 incorrectly as G . macrorhynchus , 206) ;

Oregon Inlet, 35°46' N, 74°32' W (169, 206) .

Quad 5 North Carolina : Ocean Island, 33°54' N, 78°24' W (170) .

Quad 8 Georgia : Liberty Co ., St . Catherines Island (176) .

SHORT-FINNED PILOT WHALE

Globicephala macroryhnchus Gray 1846

Other Common Names - Blackfish, pothead, pilot whale, shortfin pilot whale .

Other Scientific Names - G. brachyptera , G. melas , G. brachypterus , G.

ventricosa , G . macrorhyncha .

Description and Identification

Males generally reach a total length of no yore than 15 to 17 .5 ft (4 .6

to 5 .3 m) ; females average slightly smaller (15 .5 ft or 4 .7 m) . These whales
are identifiable by the following characters : (1) the bulbous, globular-shaped
head lacking a beak ; (2) the position of the blunt, posteriorly curved dorsal
fin, located well anterior to the middle of the body ; and (3) the slender,
short (reaching only one-sixth of the body length or less), and pointed flip-
pers (Lowery 1974) . Coloration is all black on the back, sides and most of
the belly, with an anchor-shaped patch of gray on the chin and a ray area of
varying extent and intensity on the belly (Leatherwood et al . 1976 .

Distribution

Short-finned pilot whales occupy the tropical and warm temperate waters
of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans (Rice 1977) . Their normal range
in the western North Atlantic apparently extends from Bermuda and Cape Hat-
teras (Virginia in summer) south to northern South America, and including the
Gulf of Mexico (Caldwell and Caldwell 1974) . They occur throughout the study

95
area though there are many more records for the Atlantic coast than for the
Gulf of Mexico (Figure 21) . During the NWFL-BUt aerial surveys, short-finned
pilot whales were sighted in both the Corpus,Christi (in August) and Browns-
ville (in November), Texas, study areas .

These whales normally live in deep waters from the continental slope sea-
wards . Most of the sightings at sea in the study area are beyond the 200-m
curve . Sightings from National Marine Fisheries vessels are summarized in
Table 8 ; all are from 30 to 200 rri (48 .2 to 321 .8 km) offshore and in water
ranging from 60 to 700 fathoms (10 .8 to 1,281 .0 m) . These whales often
strand in large numbers, and there are reports that in some cases herds move
close to the shore (Winn et al . 1970 . Of the 149 observations in the study
area, 64 (42 .9%) involved sightings or strandings of more than one individual .

Seasonal Movements

Based on the monthly distribution of stranding and sighting records

(Table 4), short-finned pilot whales are present within the study area at all
times of the year . There is not much evidence that seasonal movements occur
though systematically collected data are not available to support this .

Status and Abundance

Based on sighting and stranding records, these whales are apparently one
of the more common cetaceans in the study area . Moore (1953) and Layne
(1465), on the basis of known strandings, consider them the most common ceta-
cean in Gulf waters adjacent to Florida ; there are also numerous records from
the coast of Texas (Schmidly and F9elcher 1974) and Louisiana (Lowery 1974) .
No population estimates are available for the study area, but populations are
probably stable despite a fishery for this species in the Lesser Antilles
(Caldwell and Caldwell 1974) .

Life History

Very few details are known about life history parameters, but they are
probably very similar to those for G . melaena . Short-finned pilot whales are
thought to have an extended breeding and calving season in warm waters during
the winter, the gestation period is about 1 year and the calving interval is
probably about 3 years . Calves are about 1 .4 m long (Mitchell 1975) . Females
become sexually mature when they are about 3 .2 m long, and males when 4 .8 m
long . They feed on squid and fish (Mitchell 1975) . Sport fishermen claim to
have seen pilot whales chasing and feeding on tuna, and their appearance coin-
cides with the apparent increased abundance of tuna around Puerto Rico in
summer (Caldwell and Erdman 1963) . They are known to occur in groups of 60 or
more, but smaller groups are more common (Leatherwood et al . 1976) .

Records of Occurrence

Quad 2 North Carolina : Beaufort (14 as G . melas or G . brachypterus, 37, 41,

83, 84, 94, 104, 206) .

Quad 3 North Carolina : Nags Head (173) ; Cape Hatteras National Seashore,
odie Island, Coquina Beach (168) ; Hatteras Island (170) ; Oregon Inlet

96
Figure 21 . Distribution of the short-finned pilot whale, Globicephala
macrorhynchus . See legend for Figure 3 and text for explanation of symbols .

97
Table 8 . Observations of short-finned pilot whales recorded from NMFS vessels
in the study area .

Date Geographic position Depth in Approx . Number of

Mo/Day/Yr Lat . N Long . W fathoms (m) to land (km) individuals

09/27/61 300 36' 7E0 28' 450 (823) 200 (322) 20

05/09/67 290 34' 790 31' 432 (790) 120 (193) 6

11/19/65 290 20' 790 50' 300 (549) 75 (121) Single school,
small size
06/14/50 290 56' 870 03' 60 (110) 30 (48) Single school

05/17/54 190 05' 940 10' 700 (1,281) E0 (96) 30

06/05/70 180 54' 440 48' 200 (366) 30 (48) Few schools

12/17/64 280 05' 770 27' 600 (1,098) 200 (322) Single school,
small size

05/11/65 280 54' 790 22' 430 (787) 105 (169) Single school,
small size

98
 (170) ; Rodanthe, 35°35' N, 75°28' W (170) ; Hatteras Island, 35°14' N,
75°37' W (171) ; Buxton, 35°17' N, 75°31' W (170) ; near Cape Hatteras (14
as G . brachypterus , 41) .

Quad 4 South Carolina : Wadamalaw Island, near Rockville, 32°37' N, 80°12' W

169) ; Hunting Island (176, 206) ; Beaufort Co ., Broad River (179, 206) ;
Daws Island, 32°20' N, 80°45' W (37) ; Beaufort Co ., Fripp's Inlet (41,
186) ; Beaufort Co ., Bay Point Island (186) ; Beaufort Co ., Hilton Head
Island (85) ; Bull River near Wassau Sound (41) .

Quad 5 North Carolina : Baldhead Island, Cape Fear River (41) ; White Banks,
Bull's Bay (206) ; South Carolina : Cherry Grove Beach (41, 61) ; Bull's
Island (41, 61) ; Charleston Co ., Bird Island, Bull's Bay (85) ; Caper's
Island (41, 61) ; Folly Beach (41, 61) ; Kiawah Island (94, 206) .

Quad 8 Georgia : Chatham Co ., N end of Wassau Island, 80°20' W (41) ; Chatham

Co ., Ossabaw Island (41, 85) ; Sapelo Island (37) ; N end Little St . Simons
Island (41) ; mid-length Little St . Simons Island (47) ; seaward side S end
Little Simons Island (41) ; Glynn Co ., Little St . Simons Island (41,
185) ; Send Little St . Simons Island, 31°13' N, 81°19' W (170) ; S end
Jekyll Island (41) ; Camden Co ., W side Little Cumberland Island (85) ;
Cumberland Island National Seashore, 30°50' N, 81°26' W (169) ; Florida :
St . Johns Inlet off Amelia Island (186) ; Nassau Co ., Amelia Island (85) ;
Atlantic coast, east of Jacksonville (184) ; Ft . George Island, 30°13' N,
81°23' W (169) ; St . Johns Co ., S Ponte Vedra Beach (85) ; St . Johns Co .,
Ponte Vedra Beach (185) .

Quad 9 30°36' N, 78°28' W (175) .

Quad 12 Florida : 50 mi off Marineland (85) ; St . Augustine Beach, 8 mi N of

Marineland, 29°43' N, 81°25' W (83, 84, 104) ; St . Johns Co ., 6 mi off St .
Augustine (85) ; St . Augustine (187) ; Volusia Co ., 5 mi S Flagler Beach
(85) ; Volusia Co., Daytona Beach (85) ; Daytona or New Smyrna (104) ;
Volusia Co ., between S Daytona Beach and New Smyrna Beach (85) ; Brevard
Co ., Melbourne at 28° 05' N east coast (104) .

Quad 13 29°34'N, 79°31'W (175) ; 29°20'N, 79°50'W (175) ; 28°54'N, 79°22'W

75) .

Quad 14 28°05' N, 77°27' W (175),

Quad 16 Florida : Brevard Co ., 11 mi S Melbourne (85) ; Florida : Indian River

Co ., South Ocean Beach Park, near Vero Beach (85) ; St . Lucie Co ., near
St . Pierce (85) ; Martin Co ., 0 .5 mi N Jensen Beach, Hutchinson's Island
(85) ; Jensen Beach, 27°14' N, 80°15' W (168) ; Palm Beach Co ., Jupiter
Inlet (85) ; 7 mi S Jupiter, 26°50 W (1Q4) ; Palm Beach Co ., either k'est
Palm Beach or Delray Beach (85) .

Quad 17 W end Grand Bahama Island, in the western Bahamas (adjacent to Gulf
Stream) (39) .

Quad 21 Florida : Pensacola (101) .

99
Quad 22 Gulf coast of Florida, 85°50' N, 30°10' W (36) ; Florida : Wakulla
Co ., Shell Point, 84°27' N, 30°05' W (104) .

Q uad 25 Texas : Brazoria Co ., Velasco (64) ; Brazoria Co ., Freeport (64) .

Q uad 26 Louisiana : Cameron Parish, 5 mi E mouth Mermentan River (90) .

Q uad 27 Louisiana : Iberia Parish : Marsh Island, near Oyster Bayou (90) ;
Terrebonne Parish : marsh below Houma (90) ; LaFourche Parish : mouth of
Bayou LaFourche (67, 89, 90, 191) .

Q uad 28 Louisiana : W shore Lake Borgne, near New Orleans, 29°30' N,

89°50' W (170) .

Quad 29 29°56' N, 87°03' W (175) ; NE Gulf, 87°15' N, 29°10' W (36) .

Quad 31 Florida : Cedar Key (206) .

Quad 32 Texas : Aransas Co ., Gulf Beach, St . Joseph Island (64, 203, 206) ;
ransas Co ., Aransas Pass (64) ; off Mustang Island (64, 67) ; Padre Island
(67) ; Gulf of Mexico : Corpus Christi study area, 26°28' N, 96°12' W
(208) ; Gulf of Mexico : Brownsville study area, 26°14' N, 96°10' W (208) ;
southern tip Brazos Santiago (67) .

Q uad 39 Gulf coast of Florida, 27°45'N, 82°50'W (36) ; Florida : Pinellas Co .,

Pass-a-grille, 27°40' N (104) ; Tampa Bay off Sunshine Parkway (a5) ; Mana-
tee Co ., Holmes Beach on the Gulf (85) ; Gulf coast of Florida, 27°15' N,
82°35' W (36) ; Sarasota Co ., Osprey, 27°12'N, 82°30' W (104, 2C6) ; Gulf
coast of Florida, 27°00'N, 82°30'W (36) ; Gulf coast of Florida, 26°40' N,
82°25'W (36) ; Florida : Lee Co ., near Boca Grande (185) ; Lee Co ., Caloo-
sahatchee River, several mi above Ft . Myers (74) ; pass between Sanibel
and Captiva Islands, 26°29' N, 82°11' W (104) ; Sanibel Island, 26°25' N
(104) ; Lee Co ., bay at Ft . Me ers beach, 26°20' N (74) ; Gulf coast of
Florida, 26°10' N, 81°55' W (36~ .

Q uad 47 Florida : Bush Key Beach, Dry Tortugas, 24°37' N, 82°50' W (101,
173, 206) ; Monroe Co ., Marquesas Key, 24°25' N, 82°11' W (185) ; 30 mi W
Key West (85) ; Loggerhead, Dry Tortugas, 24°30' N, 82°55' W (104, 206) .

Quad 48 Florida : P4onroe Co ., coast of Everglades National Park between High-

land Beach and Seminole Point (a5) ; NW Everglades National Park, Pavilion
Key, 25°42' N, 81°21' W (101, 104, 206) ; Dade Co ., oceanside beach of Key
Biscayne (101, 104) ; 2 mi off Gould's Canal, Biscayne Bay, 25°36'N (104) ;
Gulf off Everglades National Park, near Lostman's River (85) ; Everglades
National Park, Tarpon Bay, 8 mi up Shark River (104) ; Everglades National
Park, NW Cape Sable (104) ; Cape Sable (116, 171) ; Gulf coast of Florida,
25°00' N, 81°25' W (36) ; Everglades National Park, 3 mi W Flamingo, 7 mi
stretch from East Cape Sable E to Cormorant Point (104) ; Harbor Key Bank,
N end Big Spanish Channel, 24°50' N, 81°05' W (101, 104, 206) ; SW end
Plantation Key, 24°57' N, 80°35' W (101, 104) ; Monroe Co ., Paradise Key,
24°43' N, 81°21' 41 (104) ; Monroe Co ., Marathon Key (85) ; Bayside Vaca
Key, 24°43' N, 81°05 W (101, 104) ; Monroe Co ., Grassy Key near Marathon
(85, 94) .

100
Quad 60 Cuba : Bahia de Vatanzas, 23° 02' N, 81°34' W (1, 50) .

Quad 77 19°05' N, a4°10' x; (175, 25) ; lE° 54' PJ, 94°48' 4J (175) .

Not lotted North Carolina : Poyners Hill (174) ; Georgia : Hunting Island
(41) . Florida : no specific location (202) ; Cuban waters : no specific
locality (1, 5n) .

ROUGH-TOOTHED DOLPHIN

Steno bredanensis (Lesson 1828)

Other Common Names - Rough-toothed porpoise .

Other Scientific Names - Steno rostratus .

Description and Identification

Rough-toothed dolphins reach a length of 8 ft (2 .4 m) . They are purplish-

black above with yellowish-white sots on the sides ; beak and ventral surfaces
are white, tinged with purple and rose . Their most distinctive characteristic
i s a beak or snout, not set off from the head by a groove or angle of demar-
cation surrounding the base, as in Tursiops , but instead long, narrow, and
laterally compressed (Lowery 1474) . Because the forehead and sides of the
head slope smoothly into the rostrum, the entire head appears long and nearly
conical (Leatherwood et al . 1Q76) . The sandpaper-like lateral surfaces of the
teeth are also highly diagnostic .

Distribution

Rough-toothed dolphins have been recorded in warmer waters of the

Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, the Bay of Bengal, and the Red, Mediter-
ranean, and Caribbean Seas (Walker 175) . In the western North Atlantic they
have been reported from Virginia south to the West Indies and northeastern
South American as well as the Gulf of h'exico (Leatherwood et al . 1Q76) .
Within the study area, stranding records are from North Carolina (2), Georgia
(1), Florida (4), and Texas (1) ; only one sighting has been recorded at sea
(Figure 22) . No specific data are available concerning the dolphins' distri-
bution with regard to oceanographic features . In the West Indies, they are
found in deep water, often near islands (winn et al . 197S) . Apparently they
prefer deep, offshore, tropical to temperate maters (Leatherwood et al . 1576) .

Seasonal Movements

Records are from March (1), May (1), June (1), October (L), and November
(1), but data are too meager for any apparent pattern .

Status and Abundance

The scarcity of stranding records suggests that these dolphins are uncom-
mon though they may be easily confused with TursioRs truncatus , and, for that

101
Figure 22 . Distribution of the rough-toothed dolphin, Seno bredanensis . See
legend for Figure 3 and text for explanation of syr!bols .

102
reason, are probably more abundant than stranding records indicate . Many
records represent mass strandings though only one (Rock Island, Florida, 29
May 1961) has been verified (Mead 1975a) . Layne (1965) recorded a mass
stranding of 30 Tursiops from Key West, Florida, but Mead (1975a) considers
this more likely to be Steno because, as common as Tursiops is in inshore
waters, there are no documented mass strandings of it . Rough-toothed dolphins
rarely are found in large numbers . They are believed to be stable everywhere
in their range and not considered endangered (Winn et al . 1979) . No data on
abundance are available from the study area .

Life History

Virtually nothing is known about the life history of these dolphins in

the study area or any other region . They are thought to feed primarily on
squid (Caldwell and Caldwell 1974), but Layne (1965) found pelagic octopi in
the stomachs of stranded animals in Florida . Supposedly, they travel in
schools of 50 or less and occasionally ride bow waves (Leatherwood et al .
1976) . They also occur occasionally in schools of bottlenose dolphins (Mit-
chell 1975) . Nothing is known of their breeding biology .

Records of Occurrence

Q uad 1 North Carolina : Corolla, 36°26' N, 76°O1' W (168, 206) .

Quad 3 North Carolina : Cape Hatteras (37, 94) .

Quad 8 Georgia : Camden Co ., Little Cumberland Island (128, 186) .

Q uad 12 Florida : New Smyrna Beach (37) .

Quad 25 Texas : Galveston (40, 130) .

Quad 28 Northeastern Gulf : 28°30' N, 88°05' W (36) .

Quad 31 Florida : Taylor Co ., 1 mi NNW Rock Island (85, 206) ; Cedar Key
4) .

Quad 39 Florida : Tampa (67, 99, 101, 104) .

Quad 48 Florida : Key West (95 incorrectly as Tursiops truncatus , 172) .

Quad 59 Cuba : near Nabana (1) .

FRASER'S DOLPHIN

Lagenodelphis hosei Fraser 1956

Other Common Names - Shortsnouted whitebelly dolphin .

Other Scientific Names - None .

103
Description and Identification

These srall dolphins have a robust build, rather small flippers and
dorsal fin, and reach a length of only 8 ft (2 .4 m) . They are extremely short-
beaked and have a pronounced dark stride extending from the rostrum to the
area of the anus . Coloration is gray on the back, white on the belly, with a
striping pattern on the sides . A crear-white band beginning high on the ros-
trum extends above and past the eye, continues toward the tail, and disappears
in the body color above the anus . A black stripe extends just below and par-
allel to this cream-white band and passes from the eye to the anus . A similar
hand is located below and parallel to this black stripe extending and separat-
ing the darker gray of the side from the white of the belly (Leatherwood
et al . 176) .

Distribution

Fraser's dolphin was known only frog the tropical and warm temperate
waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans (Rice 177) until Caldwell et al .
(1976) reported a specimen from the western North Atlantic from the Lesser
Antillean Island of St . Vincent . Their occurrence in the warm, tropical waters
of the Lesser Antilles sakes then likely to occur in or stray into the study
area .

Status and Abundance

They are apparently rare and limited to offshore tropical waters .

Life History

The stomach of a female taken at St . Vincent on 15 May 1976 contained a

large, very red shrimp, fish otoliths, cephalopod beaks, and two isopods
(Caldwell et al . 176) . Nothing else is known of their life history in the
western North Atlantic .

Records of Occurrence - None .

SAGDLEEACK DOLPHIN

Delphinus delphis Linnaeus 175

Other Common Names - Saddleback porpoise, common dolphin, saddlebacks .

Other Scientific Names - hone .

Description and Identification

Saddleback dolphins measure up to 8 .5 ft (2 .6 m) though most are less

than 7 .5 ft (2 .3 m) . Males average slightly larger than females of the same

104
age . Field identification is best facilitated by four characteristics of body
coloration : (1) the tack is brownish-gray to black with a white belly and a
crisscross pattern of bands and stripes of Bray, yellow, and tan on the sides ;
(2) a distinct black stripe extends from the center of the lower jaw to the
flipper ; (3) the eyes are surrounded by black circles (on a grayish back-
ground) from which black lines run forward to the base of the snout ; and (44
the rostrum is usually black with a white tip .

Distribution

Saddlebacks are distributed widely in warm temperate and tropical waters

of all oceans, including the Black Sea (Rice 1977) . In the western North
Atlantic, they occur in temperate, tropical, and subtropical waters from New-
foundland, Iceland, and Nova Scotia south to northern South America, and
including the Gulf of Mexico (Leatherwood et al . 1476) . They occur throughout
the study area (Figure 23) . As with many specifies, an inordinate number of
records are from Florida, a situation resulting from the greater degree of
cetological activity there . Stranding records are uncommon, but numerous
sightings at sea have been reported by competent observers (Caldwell 1955,
Plercer 1973, and Lowery 1Q74) . These dolphins appear to prefer offshore habi-
tats where they often appear on the continental slope and in association with
other topographic features such as ridges (Winn et al . 1979) . They seldom
stray into coastal waters and wind up on the beach .

Seasonal Movements

Saddlebacks appear responsive to movements by their prey and to tempera-

ture gradients ; this suggests that they might migrate (Winn et al . 1'79) .
Records from the study area are scattered throughout the year and do not per-
mit conclusions as to seasonal distribution . Strandings or sighting from the
Atlantic coast are from January through June ; Gulf records are from :arch,
June, August, and November (Table 4) .

Status and Abundance

No population estimates are available from the study area . Populations

are apparently stable in the western North Atlantic though sore local stocks
may be depleted for unknown reasons (Mitchell 175) . For example, in previous
years saddlebacks were frequently encountered off the northeastern coast of
Florida and were even seen from several second-story balconies as they roved
along close to shore . Since about 1960, however, they have been conspicuously
absent from the area although still seen to the north and south . Reasons for
their disappearance are unknown (Winn et al . 1979) . They are hunted in the
Azores and may be taken incidentally in net fisheries it the tropical Atlan-
tic . No data are available on incidental take from the U .S . Atlantic coast
(Prescott et al . 1Q79) .

Life History

No data are available from the study area, but the following information
from other geographic regions has been summarized from Mitchell (1S75) . Length
at birth is 75 to 85 cm . Age at first reproduction has been estimated at

105
Figure 23 . distribution of the saddleback dolphin, Celphinus delphis . See
legend for Fioure 3 and text for explanation of syribols .

106
about 3 years . Calving interval is thought to be 1 .3 years . Breeding is sea-
sonal, with calving peaks in spring and fall . Gestation is estimated at 10 to
11 months . Diet varies seasonally and includes epipelagic and mesopelagic
fishes, squids, and demersal fishes . Aggregation with tuna in the eastern
tropical Pacific and eastern tropical Atlantic involves the saddlebacks in
seine fisheries for tuna in those areas . Segregation in schools by age and
sex has been reported . These dolphins are known to approach vessels and to
bowride .

Records of Occurrence

Quad 1 North Carolina : Corolla, 36°20' N, 75°49' W (171, 206) ; Corolla (94,
_2Q6) ; Kitty Hawk (173) .

Quad 2 North Carolina : Forehead (176) ; Beaufort (14, 41, 206) .

Quad 3 North Carolina : 35°59' N, 75°48' W (96) ; 5 km N Buxton, 35°16' N,

75°32' w' (168, 206) ; Buxton, 35°16' N, 75°3Q' W (171, 206) ; Buxton,
35°16' N, 75°32' W (171) ; Cape Hatteras (173, 206) .

Q uad 4 South Carolina : Edisto Island (41, 61, 17S) .

Quad 8 Florida : off St . Auqustine, 3C°05' N, 80°25' W (116) .

Q uad 12 Florida : 5 to 7 mi off beach, St . Auqustine (104) ; 10 mi off beach,

St . Augustine (56, 104) ; N P~~arineland (85) ; 5t . Johns Co ., Crescent Beach
(85) .

Q uad 21 Florida : Qkaloosa Co ., 30°20' N, 86°30" k' (36) .

Q uad 25 Texas : Galveston (203) ; 31 nautical mi off Matagorda Peninsula,

28014' N, 95034' W (90, 206) .

Q uad 29 Florida : 41 nautical mi S entrance to Pensacola Bay, 29°35' N,

B7°18' W (90, 2Q6) ; Mississippi : 63 mi E youth of Pass au Lontre of the
Mississippi Delta, 69 mi S entrance to Mobile Bay, Alabama, 20°05' N,
87°55' W (90, 206) ; 98 nautical mi S Santa Rosa Island, 28°43' N,
87000' 4' (90, 206) .

Quad 32 Texas : 36 nautical mi off Mustang Island, 27°27' N, 96°04' 4! (9C,

206) .

Quad 35 Central Gulf : 27°00' N, c2°QO' W (25) ; Central Gulf : 27°10' N,

91°22' w' (25) .

Quad 39 Florida : near Tampa Bay, 27°5G' N, 82°50' W (36) .

Quad 48 Florida : Dade Co ., Miami Beach (1Q4, 206) .

Not plotted Cuban waters : (1, 50) ; Florida (206) .

107
 ATLANTIC BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN

Tursiops truncatus (F9ontagu 1821)

Other Common Names - Common bottlenose dolphin, bottlenosed dolphin, bottle-

nosed porpoise, common porpoise, bottlenose .

Other Scientific Names - None .

Description and Identification

Atlantic bottlenose dolphins reach a length of about 12 ft (3 .7 m) though

most individuals in the study area are less than a ft (2 .7 m) . They may weigh
in excess of 1,430 lb (650 kg) . They are purplish gray to clear gray dorsally,
and whitish ventrally except for the underside posterior to the vent, which is
dark like the back ; the sides are light gray (Lowery 1974) . No true color
phases are known, but an albino has been recorded in waters off South Carolina
(Essapian 1962) . Their head tapers abruptly into a relatively short, robust
snout with a groove, or crease, surrounding its base . The dorsal fin, located
in the middle of the back, is moderately high and back-curved .

Distribution

Bottlenose dolphins are widely distributed throughout tropical and tem-

perate waters of the world (Rice 1977) . They occur in coastal waters of the
western Atlantic from Massachusetts to Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, the Lesser
Antilles, and Venezuela (Lowery 1974) and throughout the study area (Figure
24) . Dead animals have stranded along the coastline of every state in the
region, and records of numerous sightings of live animals at sea exist. Live
bottlenose dolphins rarely strand . Most animals found on the beach are dead .
A major percentage apparently were drowned in fishermen's nets, were shot,
were calves that have been stillborn, or were juveniles that may have lost
their mothers before they were weaned . During the NFWL-BU! aerial surveys,
Tursiops were sighted in August and November at both study sites in Florida .
In Texas, sightings were rude in the Corpus Christi study area during both
months, but in the Brownsville area only in November .

These dolphins primarily inhabit inshore waters . They are found in

greatest numbers near passes connecting larger bays with the ocean, but are
likewise present in back bays ; there are reports of animals even ascending far
up rivers . Bottlenose dolphins occur frequently just beyond the surf in the
open ocean and occasionally wander much farther offshore though they are sel-
dom found beyond the 200-m curve (Figure 24) . Some evidence indicates that
dolphins living offshore may be a separate stock, much larger in body size and
with a different parasite load than those inshore, but this is uncertain .
Evidence (Winn et al . 179) in some areas suggests that inshore populations
are divisible into two subgroups, one confined to open ocean waters ("ocean
porpoises") and one restricted to inlet, lagoon and confined saltwater river
waters ("river porpoises") . The extent these subgroups intermingle is unclear,
but Caldwell et al . (1975) presented evidence that the greater susceptibility
of "Lobos" disease (lobomycosis) in riverine-estuarine stocks, as compared to
ocean stocks, may be indicative of isolation between the subgroups . Shane

108
Figure 24 . . Distribution of the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, ~Tursio s
truncatus . See legend for Figure 3 and text for explanation of syFboTs .

109
 (1977) reported that the Texas offshore population of bottlenose dolphins
rarely interacted with the day population . However, the winter population in
the Port Aransas, Texas, area was twice as large as that in summer because the
bay population was augmented by numerous dolphins entering that area for the
winter, either from the adjacent Gulf or adjacent day systems .

Seasonal Movements

The general consensus of cetologists is that bottlenose dolphins around

the coastline of the Southeastern United States are organized into local popu-
lations, each occupying a small region of the coast, and that some migration
occurs to and frog inshore and offshore areas, and probably linearly along the
coastline as well (Odell et al . 1975) . However, information is almost totally
lacking on the extent and magnitude of such movements . Strandinos or sight-
ings are available for every month in all major regions of the study area (see
Table 4), suggesting that seasonal migrations of entire populations between
major geographic areas probably do not occur . On the other hand, there is
sore evidence that in certain places localized seasonal movements do occur .
Seasonal migrations have been documented for Tursio s on the Atlantic coast-
line (True 1890, Caldwell and Caldwell 1972, Hogan a75) . According to Hogan
(1975), these migrations involve regional seasonal movements (not long range),
perhaps 160 to 320 km or so at most, alon4 shore by local populations to the
north in summer and south in winter . Irvine and !ells (1972) found no evi-
dence for seasonal migrations in west-central Florida, but Irvine et al .
(1977) noted fewer dolphins in their study area during winter than summer
though they did not consider this strong evidence for seasonal migrations .
Irvine et al . (1677) did note, however, a distinct difference in habitat uti-
lization according to season . Curing the winter the dolphins congregated in
passes and along the Gulf shore, but were seen mostly in hays and inshore
channels during summer . Gunter (1Q42) stated that no seasonal Migration of
Tursiops occurred in Texas waters, but subsequently Shane and Schnidly (197)
have shown that seasonal migrations are evident in sore bay systems . The pat-
tern of movement for Tursiops in the western Gulf is not known, but Shane
(1977) suggests that water temperature gay be a major factor in determining
seasonal movements along the Texas coast .

Most of the available information concerning the movements of individual

bottlenose dolphins has come from studies of naturally or mechanically tagged
individuals in local herds . Caldwell (155) cited the first evidence for a
home range for Tursiops . Calda!ell and Caldvaell (1972) elaborated on this and
proposed that Tursiops may have two or yore home ranges connected by traveling
ranges . Studies by Irvine and Wells (1572), Saayman and Tayler (1973), Hogan
(1975), and Shane (1977) support this theory to sore extent, although none
have been able to define specifically the home ranges of the dolphins they
were studying .

Several observers have reported on the influence of environmental fac-

tors, such as tides and tem erature, on the daily movements of Tur-sio~s .
Hogan (1575), Irvine et al . r1977), and Shane (177) observed that Tursiops
seem to follow a set moverent pattern for a fey days or even weeks and then
adopt a new pattern . Irvine and Wells (1972) and Irvine et al . (177) found
that T . truncatus along the Gulf coast of Florida moved with the tides . Shane
(1977j noted that both tidal flow and time of day played significant roles in
affecting the daily movements of Tursiops in the Aransas Pass area of the

110
Texas coast . In general, she found that tides were the most significant fac-
tor in the lower parts of the study area where they were strongest, and that
time of day was more significant in the upper parts of the study area where
tidal flow was weaker . In the Mississippi Sound, Leatherwood et al . (1978)
sighted herds of similar size and composition at the same location on succes-
sive days, suggesting that short-term movements do not occur in this region .

Status and Abundance

There are no estimates of population size for the entire study aria, but
sore estimates are available for specific regions . Mitchell (1975) estimated
the pre-exploitation stock for the mid-Atlantic ~Tursio ps (offshore and coastal
combined) population to be 17,COQ, based on cumulative catch records from the
Hatteras fishery . A summation of recent coastal surveys and estimates for all
of Florida and the Gulf of Mexico resulted in a cumulative estimate of approx-
imately 10,000 ± 3,700 (Prescott et al . 179) . Orr (1977) included some
offshore populations, estimating about 20,000 animals for the same area .

Several aerial surveys were conducted by Leatherwood and associates

(1978, 179) with the following relative index of numbers provided for spe-
cific locations :

Location Dolphins per km2 Dolphins per nautical mi

Mississippi Gulf coast 0 .23 0 .57
Louisiana Gulf coast 0 .44 1 .08
Florida Gulf coast 0 .23 0 .57
Texas Gulf coast 0 .65 1 .61
Florida, Indian River 0 .68 1 .77

These results suggest that population sizes are uneven and vary consider-
ably from one place to another . Reasons for these differences are unknown .
Food abundance is a likely candidate, but other factors, such as geographic
structure of habitats as well as relative amount of human activity and pollu-
tion ray also be involved . Actual population estirates for some of these same
geographic areas are as follows (data from Leatherwood et al . 1578, and Leath-
erwood 179) : western Louisiana (1975), 897 ± 461 ; P'ississippi, Chandeleur
and Breton Sounds, marshland habitats (1974), 438 ± 294 ; Florida, Indian and
Banana Rivers (1977), 438 ± 127 .

Boat and land observations also were used in a few places to determine
dolphin densities . Shane and Schmidly (1979), using these techniques, esti-
mated the number of Tursiops in Aransas Bay (near Corpus Christi, Texas) to
vary from 48 to 104 individuals in October, to 164 to 281 individuals in Jan-
uary . Similarly, Hogan (175) made a crude estimate of 150 to 300 animals at
and to the north of the mouth of the Savannah River along the Atlantic coast .

Concern about the status of Tursiops populations in the study area seers
to vary among regions and investigators . According to Caldwell and Cal dwell
(1974) and k!inn et al . (1970 , stocks along the Atlan tic coas t from Cape Hat-
teras to Cape Canaveral do not seers depleted, even though there have been
organized fisheries in years past, such as the one at Cape Hatteras, North
Carolina (Mead 1a75b) . Extensive commercial fishing in the region of Cafe

111
Hatteras around the turn of the century and before apparently had no effects
on the species there (Caldwell and Caldwell 1974) .

According to Caldwell and Caldwell (1972), the population of bottlenose

dolphins in Florida waters is healthy and not impacted by the live capture
fishery . However, apparently in sore places in Florida Tursiops populations
are being depleted locally . An apparent decrease in Tursiops abundance in the
St . Johns River correlates with increased commercial shipping . An apparent
decrease in the number of animals in Biscayne day recently may be related
directly to intense boating activities or indirectly through decreased food
abundance due to pollution or other factors (Odell et al . 175) . However,
much of this is subjective and speculative, and hard data do not exist to sup-
port these contentions .

Information from the western Gulf is less favorable and suggests that
stocks have been depleted . According to Lowery (174), the number of Tursiops
in Louisiana waters now appears to be reduced in comparison with their forrer
abundance . The decline is attributable to various factors, two of which are
slaughter with rifles by deep-sea commercial and sportfishermen and by deaths
resulting fron the explosion of seismographic charges in offshore waters
(Lowery 174) . Gunter (1942) contends that the number of Tursiops in Texas
has declined drastically during the twentieth century, and a newspaper article
by an old sea captain (Shane 1977) also implied a large decline it bottlenose
dolphins in inshore Texas waters .

Life History

P?ore is known about the life history of Tursio s than any other species
in the study area, undoubtedly because of the spec- i- s7-inshorE habits and pro-
pensity for stranding, as well as its popularity in marine shows and aquaria .
A tremendous amount of information is known about bottlenose dolphins in cap-
tivity, but much less is known about habits and behavior in natural habitats .
Much of the following information is taken from Odell (1'75), who summarized
the important life history aspects of this species in the study area .

Reproduction . Males mature at lengths from 2 .45 to 2 .6 r or at 10 to 13

years ; females mature at lengths ranging from 2 .2 to 2 .35 in.. or at 5 to 12
years . Gestation lasts about 12 months, and the calving interval is either 2
or 3 years, with a lactation period of up to 18 months . Ovulation may be
induced rather than spontaneous . Post of the calving and mating occurs from
February to May in Florida waters, but there is some evidence for a calving
and rating period from September to November in south Florida waters . Reported
birth lengths are from SB to 126 cm and weights from, 9 .1 to 11 .4 kg . Fisher-
men from the Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, fishery noted that fetuses were
generally small in September and increased in size as the season progressed
(True 1889) . A female has been estimated to give birth to about eight calves
in her lifetime (McBride and Kritzler 1451) .

Little is known about rating and birth processes in the wild, but t'cBride
and Hebb (1948) provided a summary of these behaviors in captive bottlenose
dolphins . These authors also noted homosexual behavior among dolphins and the
process of raising newborns to the surface for their first breath of air,
which was observed in both captive and wild dolphins .

112
 The percentage of calves in a population is indicative of a population's
reproductive viability, and knowledge of this parameter is important for ran-
agement purposes . Irvine et al . (1977) reported that in spring, calves com-
posed as much as 14% of the population near Tampa Bay, Florida . Shane (1977)
reported that calves constituted from 3 .65 (February) to 12 .92% (May) of the
dolphins near Port Aransas, Texas (x = 7 .61%) . Leatherwood et al . (1578)
reported summer figures from 7 .7% to 7 .9% calves for coastal Alabama, Missis-
sippi, and Louisiana . Leatherwood (1979) observed 8 .1% to 10 .1 calves during
his August 1577 surveys in the Indian and Banana Rivers of Florida . These
percentages indicate a healthy population, if the calving interval is 3 years,
but below maximum productivity if the calving interval is 2 years (Leatherwood
and Platter 1975, Shane 1977) .

Food Habits . Tursiops

, feed on a variety of fishes, mollusks, and arthro-
pods . Specific it ens in their diet in the study area were listed by True
(1885), Townsend (1914, 1915), Gunter (1938, 1942, 1951, 1954), Harris (1938),
Golley (1966), Hoese (1971), Caldwell and Caldwell (1972),and Leatherwood and
Platter (1975) . Apparently, bottlenose dolphins are very flexible in their
feeding tastes and take whichever prey species is most abundant . During an
aerial survey of the northern Gulf, ~Tursio ps were observed to feed at least
once every daylight hour on a variety of organisms under various circumstances
(Leatherwood and Platter 1975) . Leatherwood (1975) concludes that, if bottle-
nose dolphins are relatively limited in their ranges and have rather short
term movements, plasticity in food habits is necessary for survival .

Leatherwood (1975) recorded seven recurrent feeding patterns in the

northern Gulf : (1) foraoing behind working shrimp boats and eating organisms
disturbed by the nets ; (2) feeding on trashfish dumped from the decks of
shrimp boats ; (3) feeding on fish attracted to nanworking shrimpers ; (4) herd-
ing schools of fish by encircling and charging the school or feeding on the
stragglers ; (5) sweeping schools of small bait fish into shallow water ahead
of a line of dolphins charging into the school or feeding on stragglers ; (6)
crowding small fish onto shoals or mud banks at the base of grass flats, driv-
ing fish completely out of the water and then sliding onto banks to retrieve
them ; and (7) individual feeding . Shane (1977) recorded six distinctive feed-
ing behaviors in Aransas Bay along the Texas coast, most of which were similar
to the behaviors recorded by Leatherwood (1875) . These are as follows (the
number in parenthesis refers to the equivalent behavior described by Leather-
wood) : random feeding (3) ; circle feeding (7) ; shallow water feeding ;
cooperative feeding (5) ; shrimp bait feeding (1) ; and feeding on "trashfish"
discarded by shrimpers (2) . Hogan (1575) described four types of feeding
behavior in the Savannah River area : deepwater herding, individual shallow
water feeding, shore or bank feeding, and shrimp boat feeding .

Behavior . These dolphins often occur in groups of up to several hundred

individuals with subgroups of no more than a dozen animals (Leatherwood et al .
1976) . Mean herd sizes off eastern Florida and in the Gulf of Mexico vary
considerably from one area to another . Groups apparently decrease in size
with distance from shore ; they tend to be larger in deeper and in open water
areas than in shallow embankments, lagoons and marshlands (Leatherwood and
Platter 1 9 75, Leatherwood et al . 1978, Shane and Schmidly 1979) ; and they tend
to fluctuate seasonally with little pattern discernable (Shane and Schmidly
1979) . Bottlenose dolphins frequently associate with Atlantic pilot whales as
well as right and humpback whales along the Atlantic coast of Florida . Bow

113
wave and surf-riding have been observed in South Carolina and Florida (Leath-
erwood et al . 1976, Caldwell and Fields 1959) . Gunter (1954) reports swimmin
speeds of 22 mi/h r . In herds of wild bottlenose dolphins, Leatherwood (1977
observed that calves may be left with "babysitters" when the adult leaves the
surface to feed . Adult animals have been observed supporting an injured
companion at the surface so that it may continue to breathe until it has
recovered . Scouting behavior, in which a dolphin leaves the herd to make
echolocation runs on barriers and then returns, thereby guiding the school,
was observed by Caldwell et al . (1965) . Also noted was ingestion of foreign
objects for unknown purposes . McBride and Hebb (1948) report that vocaliza-
tions take the form of whistles, harks, moans, and squeaking doors ; these are
as yet incompletely understood . Echolocation ability in Tursiops is well
known and is used in locating food, identifying objects, and, in some cases,
maintaining orientation in shallow water .

Records of Occurrence

Q uad 1 North Carolina : Currituck Banks, 36°31' N, 75°52' W (170, 206) ;

Currituck Banks, 36°30' N, 75°52' W (170) ; Currituck Co ., offshore (206) ;
Currituck Co ., Bailey Island (206) ; Corolla, 36°25' N, 75°50' W (206) ;
Corolla, 36°23' N, 75°50' 41 (170) ; Corolla, 1 .7 mi N Currituck Light
(206) ; Corolla, approx . 6 mi S Currituck Light, 36°17' PJ, 75°47' k' (206) ;
Duck Island, 7 mi PJ Route 158, 3E°12' N, 75°45' W (206) ; Kill Devil
Hills, 36°CO' N, 75°39' W (170) .

Quad 2 North Carolina : Portsmouth Island, 35°03' N, 76°07' W (169) ; 0 .8 km

E Core Banks, Cape Lookout National Seashore (171, 206) ; Core Banks,
34°45' N, 76°25' k (171) ; Core Banks, 34°43' N, 7E°28' W (170) ; Core
Banks, 19 km N lighthouse, Natteras National Seashore (171) ; Core Banks,
16 km N lighthouse, 34°44' N, 72°26' W (171) ; Core Banks, N lighthouse,
Cape Lookout National Park Seashore, 34°41' PJ, 76°31' W (171) ; 16 .5 km N
Cape Lookout lighthouse, 34°41' N, 76°27' W (169) ; Shackleford Banks,
Cape Lookout, 34°40' N, 76°38' W (169, 206) ; Core Banks, 5 km N light-
house, Cape Lookout National Park, 34°40' N, 7E°2~' W (171) ; 8 km N
lighthouse, Cafe Lookout National Park Seashore, 34°41' N, 7E°31' G
(171) ; Core Banks, 3 .5 km N lighthouse, Cape Lookout National Seashore,
34°39' N, 76°30' W (171) ; Cafe Lookout Bight, 34°37' N, 76°32' W (170) ;
Cape Lookout, 34°34' N, 76°34' W (165, 206) ; S section Core Banks, 9 km N
Cape Lookout lighthouse, 34°34' N, 76°27' W (170) ; Core Banks, 6 .5 km N
lighthouse, 34°31' N, 76°29' W (171) ; Lookout National Seashore (168,
206) ; Cape Lookout (14) ; Atlantic Beach, Morehead City, 34°43' h,
76°44' W (168, 206) ; Morehead City (176) ; Beaufort (156, 206) ; Ft . P-?acon
State Park (40) ; Ft . Macon State Park, 34°42' N, 76°41' W (170) ; Ft .
Macon (206) ; Boque Sound, 180 ri E Atlantic Beach, 34°42' N, 76°44' W
(170) ; Emerald Island, 34°41' N, 76°57' 4J (168, 206) ; Salter Path,
34°40' N, 76°52' W (171) ;~Cape Hatteras, 1 .2 mi S Ramp 6 (168, 206) ; Surf
City (2Q6) ; 2 .5 km N Topsail Inlet, 34°22' N, 77°36' W (171) .

Q uad 3 North Carolina : near milepost 16, Nags Head, 36°58' N, 75°40' W
(171) ; Nags Head, Nags Head pier, 35°57' N, 75°38' V (168, 206) ; Nags
Head, 35°57' N, 75°37' W (170) ; 100 mi N Ramp 1, S Nags Head, 35°51' Pd,
75°35' ti' (171) ; 50 mi off beach, 20 mi S North Carolina/Virginia State
Line, Corolla (168, 2C6) ; S Nags Head (171) ; Pea Island, Pea Island
Refuge, 35°46' N, 75°31' V! (200) ; N end Pea Island National Wildlife

114
 Refuge, E Oregon Inlet Bridge, 35°46 .8' N, 75°30 .5' W (171) ; Pea Island,
35°45' N, 75°30' W (169, 206) ; 2 .6 km N Pea Island National Wildlife
Refuge Headquarters, 35°42' N, 75°29' W (171) ; Oregon Inlet, 35°55' N,
75°54' W (168) ; 2 mi N Oregon Inlet, 35°49' N, 75°33' W (206) ; Dare Co .,
Oregon Inlet, 35°46' N, 75°32' W (206) ; Pamlico Sound side of Rodanthe,
35°37' PJ, 75°28' W (170) ; Rodanthe, 35°34' N, 75°28' 4J (170, 206) ; Rodan-
the, KOA campground (206) ; between Rodanthe, 34°34' N, 75°28' W and
slaves, 35°35' N, 75°35' W (168, 2C6) ; Salvo, 35°33' N, 75°29' 41 (169) ;
Salvo, 35°32' N, 75°28' W (170) ; 1 km S Salvo campground, Hatteras
Island, 35°30' N, 75°29'W (171) ; Pamlico Sound side of Cape Natteras
National Seashore (170) ; Hatteras Island, 35°31' N, 75°28' W (170) ; Hat-
teras Island, 35°26' N, 75°30' 4J (169, 206) ; Hatteras Island, 35°26' N,
75°29' W (169, 206) ; Hatteras Island, 35°25' N, 75°29' W (169) ; Hatteras
Island, 35°20' N, 75°30' 4! (169) ; Hatteras Island, 35°18' N, 75°31' W
(169) ; Hatteras Island, 35°14' N, 75°34' W (170) ; W end Hatteras Island,
33°12' N, 75°44' W (169, 206) ; Hatteras Island, 1 .2 mi S Ramp 6 (168,
206) ; 1 .5 km S Cape near Ramp 30, Cape Hatteras National Seashore (171) ;
Dare Co ., Nags Head (206) ; 9 .6 mi N Avon Pier, Hatteras Island, 35°27' N,
75°29' W (170) ; Hatteras Island, 3 km N Avon Pier, 35°23' N, 75°30' W
(169, 206) ; Avon, 35°23' N, 75°29' W (170, 206) ; 8 km N Avon, 35°22' N,
75°31' L! (168) ; N Avon Pier, Avon, 35°22' h, 75°30' W (164) ; Avon,
35°21' N, 75°30' W (169, 170) ; Avon, 35°21'34" N, 75°29'30" W (169, 206) ;
Avon, 35°20' N, 75°30' W (170) ; Avon, 35°19' N, 75°31' V1 (170) ; Avon,
35°19' N, 75°30' W (170) ; 1 km SW US Coastguard Station in Hatteras,
35°12'04" N, 75°42'37" W (171) ; S most canal, Hatteras Colony, Sound
side, Avon, 35°02' N, 75°31' W (171) ; Buxton, 5 mi N Ramp 22, 34°17' h,
75°31' W (171) ; Buxton, 35°17' N, 75°31' 41 (170) ; Buxton, 35°14' N,
75°34' 41 (165) ; Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Buxton, 35°16' N,
75°32' 4J (169, 170, 206) ; Buxton, 35°14' N, 75°37'38" W (169, 206) ;
8 km V! Cape Point, Buxton, 35°14' N, 75°33' W (16a) ; near hatteras
Inlet, US Coastguard Station, Hatteras, 35°12' N, 75°42' k' (170) ;
Frisco, 35°15' N, 75°36' k' (164) ; Frisco, 35°14' N, 75°37' W (170, 206) ;
Frisco, 35°14' N, 75°35' W (169, 206) ; Frisco, 35°13' N, 75°39' W (170) ;
Cape Hatteras Island, 35°27' N, 75°29' W (170) ; Cape Hatteras light-
house, 35°16' N, 75°31' 4! (169) ; Cape Hatteras lighthouse (93, 94, 206) ;
Cape Hatteras lighthouse, 35°13' N, 75°31' 41 (169, 206) ; Cape Hatteras,
35°31' N, 75°31' W (169) ; Cape Hatteras, 35°15' N, 75°31' W (169) ; Cape
Hatteras, 35°14' N, 75°34' W (169, 170) ; Cape Natteras, 35°14' N,
75°33' W (16Q, 17C) ; Cape Hatteras, 35°14' N, 75°32' 4! (169, 171) ; Cape
Hatteras Island, 35°12' N, 75°44' W (169) ; Cape Hatteras (145, 152, 171,
176, 187, 206) ; Cape Hatteras, between Ramps 30 and 32, S Cape Hatteras
lighthouse (206) ; Ocracoke Island, 35°11'3" N, 75°46'32" w' (171) ; Ocra-
coke Island, 35°10' N, 75°50' W (169, 170) ; Ocracoke Island, 35°10' N,
75°49' W (170) ; Ocracoke Island, 35°00" N, 75°52' W (17Q) ; Ocracoke
35°09' N, 75°51' w' (170) ; Ocracoke, 35°OE' N, 75°54' W (169) ; Ocracoke
Island, 35°Q8' N, 75°53' W (169, 206) ; Ocracoke Island, 35°07' N,
75055' W (170) ; Ocracoke Island, 35006' N, 75059' W (168, 169, 170, 171,
206) ; Ocracoke Island, 35°06' N, 75°38' W (169) ; Ocracoke, 35°06' N,
75°58' k (169) ; Ocracoke Island, 35°06' N, 75°57' 4! (170) ; 34°55' N,
75°58' W (206) ; Raleigh Bay, 34°40'30" N, 75°31'15" W (96) ; Raleigh Bay,
34°27'15" N, 75°41'30" W (96) .

Q uad 4 South Carolina : Seabrook's Island (61) ; Edisto Island, 32°33' N,

8G°19' W (17C) ; St . Helena Sound (47, 58) ; Hilton Head Island (37) ;

115
 Georgia : Chatham Co ., McQueen's Island (41) ; N end Tybee Island,
32°QO'14" N, 8C°5C'00" 41 (170) .

Quad 5 South Carolina : 47th Ave ., N . Myrtle beach, 33°41'5" N, 78°53'00" W

171) ; Horry Co ., Myrtle Beach, 33°42' N, 18°54' W (169) ; Myrtle Beach
(171) ; S . Myrtle Beach, 33°42' N, 78°54' W (169, 206) ; Debidue Beach,
33°23' N, 79°09' W (171) ; Diddle of North Island, 33°15' N, 79°10' 4J
(171) ; Clam Bank Creek, North Inlet, Georgetown, 33°23' N, 79°18' W
(170) ; 4 .8 km from jetty S end North Island, 33°15' N, 79°11' W (171) ;
Cape Island (31, 61, 179) ; Sullivan's Island, Charleston, 34°44' N,
79°49' W (170) ; Sullivan's Island (41, 61, 179) ; Sullivan's Harbor, north
end (61) ; Charleston Harbor (37) ; Charleston Co ., Morris Island (41, 61,
179) ; rear Charleston, Stone River, 32°48' N, 79°58' 4: (169) ; Folly
Island Beach (41, 61, 179, 206) .

Q uad 6 South Carolina : off Charleston, 33°08' N, 78°00' W (96) .

Quad 8 Georgia : Half Moon River adjacent Cabbage Island, 31°57 .5' N,
0°58 .5' W (171) ; klassaw (37) ; Chatham Co ., Ossabaw Island (37, 186) ;
Liberty Co ., St . Catherine's Island (176) ; McIntosh Co ., Sapelo Island
(41, 206) ; McIntosh Co ., Sapelo Island, Nannygoat Beach (37, 186) ;
McIntosh Co ., near Dane Creek, Sapelo Island (47) ; McIntosh Co ., Black-
beard Island (41, 47, 186, 206) ; Doboy Sound, NE branch Duplin River
(77) ; McIntosh Co ., Wolf Island (41, 206) ; St . Simons (37) ; Glynn Co .,
Jekyll Island (41, 185) ; Camden Co ., Cumberland Island, 30°57' N,
81°25' V1 (172) ; Cumberland Islands, 30°56'OG" N, 81°24'15" W (171) ;
Cumberland Islands, 30°54' N, 81°25' W (170) ; Cumberland Island,
30°53'15" N, 81°24'45" W (171) ; Cumberland Islands, 30°50' N, al°26' W
(170) ; Cumberland Islands, 30°43' N, 81°30' W (171) ; Camden Co ., Cumber-
land Island, 3C°43' N, 81°27' W (170) ; Little Cumberland Islands (186) ;
Florida : Fernandina Beach, 30°40' N, 81°26' W (171) ; Fernandina Beach
(37) ; Mayport, 30°13' N, 81°23' 4.1 (170) ; Mayport (37) ; Jacksonville
(206) ; Volusia Co ., Live Oak Point, intercoastal waterway, 30°19' N,
82°59' VI (17C) ; 6 .5 km S htickler's Beach, approximately 30°15' N,
81°25' W (170) .

Quad 12 Florida : St . Johns Co ., 1 .5 km N Crescent Beach boat ramp (171) ;

St . Johns Co ., between Crescent Beach and St . Augustine Beach (85) ;
St . Johns Co ., St . Au ustine Beach (37, E5) ; St . Augustine Beach,
29°5C' N, 81°16' W (170 ; Volusia Co ., Ponce de Leon Inlet, near St .
Augustine (170) ; N St . Augustine Inlet, St . Augustine, 29°54' N, 81°19' W
(168) ; St . Johns Co ., Summer Haven Beach (85) ; 40 mi offshore St . Augus-
tine (29) ; Flagler Co ., Marineland (85, 92, 104, 185, 187) ; St . Johns
Island, Anastasia State Park (85) ; Anastasia Park, 29°50' N, 81°17' W
(171) ; area between St . Augustine and New Smyrna beach (43) ; Putnam Co .,
St . Johns River, Shands Bridge at Green Cove Springs (103) ; St . Johns
Co ., Ft . Matanzas Inlet (185) ; St . Johns Co ., Matanzas River (185) ; Put-
nam Co ., bridge across St . Johns River at Palatka, 29°20' N, 81°20' W
(103, 104) ; Flagler Beach (37) ; 2 mi S Flagler Beach (37) ; Ormond Beach
(37) ; Daytona Beach, 29°11' N, 81°O1' W (170) ; Daytona Beach (85) ;
Brevard Co ., New Smyrna Beach, 29°02' N, 80°55' k+ (37, 171) ; small island
in Indian River near New Smyrna (85) ; Indian River (187, 206) ; Oak Hill,
28°52' N, 80°52' W (168) ; Haulover Canal, 28°44' N, 80°46' W (170) ; Bre-
vard Co ., Canaveral National Seashore, 28°45' N, 80°36' W (169) ; Brevard

116
 Co ., Titusville Marina Park, 28°39' N, 8Q°49' W (170) ; Brevard Co .,
Titusville, Indian River, 28°38' N, 80°47' W (171) ; Flerritt Island Wild-
life Refuge, 28°38' N, SO°45' W (17C) ; 1 .5 km W FMP station, Titusville,
28°37 .8' N, SO°48 .5' w' (171) ; Brevard Co., Indian River near Titusville
(172) ; Canaveral, 28°44' N, 80°50' W (S7) ; Canaveral, 28°42' N, 80°49' W
(87) ; Canaveral, 28°39' N, 80°48' W (87) ; Canaveral, 28°38' N, EO°48' W
(87) ; Canaveral, 28°36' N, 80°47' W (87) ; Canaveral, 28°36' PJ, 80°45' W
(87) ; Canaveral, 28°36' N, a0°44' W (87) ; Canaveral, 28°34' N, 80°44' W
(87) ; Canaveral, 28°33' N, 80°48' W (87) ; Canaveral, 28°33' N, 80°47' W
(87) ; Canaveral, 28°33' N, 8Q°46' W (87) ; Canaveral, 2E°33' N, 8Q°45' W
(87) ; Canaveral, 28°33' N, 80°44' W (87) ; Canaveral, 28°31' N, 80°45' W
(87) ; Canaveral, 28°29' N, IIO°45' W (87) ; Canaveral, 28°28' N, 80°45' W
(87) ; Canaveral, 28°31' N, SO°44' W (87) ; Canaveral, 28°26' N, 80°46' W
(87) ; Canaveral, 28°26' N, 80°45' W (87) ; Canaveral, 2S°26' N, 80°44' W
(87) ; Canaveral, 28°34' N, 80°36' W (87) ; Canaveral, 2fi°31' N, 8Q°36' W
(87) ; Merritt Island, 28°30' N, 80°30' W (170) ; Canaveral, 28°29' N,
80°36' W (87) ; 1710 Banana River Drive, 28°2Q' N, 80°45' W (171) ; Canav-
eral, 28°28' N, 80°38' W (87) ; Brevard Co ., Ft. Sharpes, 28°26' N,
a0°46' W (170) ; Canaveral, 28°21' N, 8C°43' W (S7) ; Merritt Island,
28°8 .5' h, 80°36 .5' W (87) ; Canaveral, 28°26' N, 80°37' W (87) ; Canav-
eral, 28°24' N, 80°38' W (87) ; Canaveral, 28°21' N, 80°38' W (87) ;
Canaveral, 28°21' N, 80°37' W (87) ; Canaveral, 28°19' N, 80°39' W (87) ;
Cape Canaveral (37) ; Cocoa Beach, 28°25' N, 8Q°44' W (170) ; Cape Canav-
eral, Jetty Park, 28°24' N, 80°36' W (17G) ; Cape Kennedy, 28°24' N,
80°36' W (16B) ; Kaiwanis Island, 28°23' N, 80°41' W (170) ; N end first
island NW Rt . 528, bridge over Banana River, 28°22'~ N, 8C°47' W (170) ;
Cocoa Beach, 28°22' N, 80°43' W (17G) ; Cocoa Beach, Banana River,
28°22' N, 80°40' W (170) ; Cocoa Beach, 28°19' N, 80°36' W (169) ; Brevard
Co ., Indian River, intercoastal waterway, 28°39' N, 80°49' W (171) ;
Merritt Island, S . Cocoa Beach, 28°30' N, 80°30' W (169) ; Brevard Co .,
Pals Bay, 28°25' N, 80°35' W (170) ; Brevard Co ., 28°20' PJ, 80°43'
(170) ; Brevard Co ., Indian River, S Pineda Causeway, 28°12' N, 80°39 .5' W
(171) ; Brevard Co ., Indiatlantic, 28°06' N, 8a°34' w' (170) ; Indiatlantic,
28°05' N, 80°36' W (170) ; Melbourne, 28°04' N, SO°38' W (169) ; Melbourne
beach, 28°04' N, 80°33' W (169) Brevard Co ., Melbourne Beach 85) ;
Canaveral, 28°17' N, 8C°40' W (87j ; Canaveral, 28°16' N, 80°4G' W ~87) ;
Canaveral, 28°16' N, 80°3a' W (87) ; Canaveral, 28°16' N, 80°37' W (87) ;
Canaveral, 28°14' N, 8C°38' W (87) ; Canaveral, 2S°13' N, 80°38' W (87) ;
Canaveral, 28°11' N, 80°38' W (87) ; Canaveral, 2S°11' N, 80°37' 41 (87) ;
Canaveral, 28°10' N, 80°37' W (87) ; Cape Kennedy, 29°09' N, SO°36' W
(87) ; Cape Kennedy, 28°04' N, 80°34' W (87) ; Cape Kennedy, 28°02' N,
80°33' W (87) .

Quad 16 Florida : Cape Kennedy, 27°57' N, 80°29' W (87) ; Cape Kennedy,

7°51' N, 80°29' W (87) ; Cape Kennedy, 25°51' N, 80°27' W (87) ; Brevard
Co ., 12 mi S Melbourne beach (85, 135) ; Grant, 27°56' N, 80°43' W (170) ;
Indian River Co ., Inlet Marina, Sebastian, 27°51' N, 80°30' W (112) ;
Sebastian Inlet, 25°50' N, a0°29' W (169) ; Cape Kennedy, 27°44' N,
80°25' W (87) ; Sebastian (187) ; Vero Beach, 27°38' N, 80°22' W (170) ;
Cape Kennedy, 27°32' N, 80°15' W (87) ; Cape Kennedy, 27°28' N, 80°16' W
(87) ; Cape Kennedy, 27°24' N, 80°11' W (87) ; Cape Kennedy, 27°21' N,
80°10' W (87) ;'Port Salerno, 27°08' N, 80°13' W (170) ; Jupiter, 26°57' N,
80°08' W (170) ; Lee Co ., Ft. Myers Beach, 26°27' N, 81°55' W (171) ; Lee
Co ., Ft. Myers Beach (74, 85, 104) ; Gulf of Mexico : Naples Study Area,

117
 25°59'00" N, E2°02'4" W (208) ; Gulf of Mexico : Maples Study Area,
25°59'00" N, 81°49'25" (208) ; Gulf of Mexico : Naples Study Area,
25°53'1" N, 81°43'2" w (208) .

Quad 20 Alabama : Mobile Bay (93) ; Mississippi : 5 km E Edgewater, 30°25' N,

89°55' W (171) ; Biloxi, 30°24' N, 88°55' W (170) ; Biloxi (93, 191) ; Har-
rison Co ., Biloxi Beach, 30°22' N, 89°05' 4J (170) ; Ocean Springs, Front
Beach, 30°25' N, 8E°50' W (169) ; Harrison Co ., Gulfport, 30°23' N,
89°03' W (171) ; Harrison Co ., Gulfport, Naval Retirement Nome, 30°23' N,
89°03' W (171) ; Harrison Co ., Gulfport, 3G°22' N, 89°05' H! (170) ; Gulf-
port, 30°21' N, 89°05' W (48) ; Gulfport (48, 93, 206) ; Harrison Co .,
Gulfport, 30°21' N, 84°3 .5' W (170) ; Harrison Co ., Gulfport, 30°21' N,
89°08' w' (171) ; Gulfport, Shrimpboat Harbor, 30°21' N, 89°06' W (171) ;
Henderson Point, Pass Christian, 3G°2C'N, 89°15'w (169) ; Pass Christian,
30°20' Pd, 89°15' W (169) ; Pass Christian Yacht Harbor, Pass Christian,
30°19'00" N, 89°15'05" W (171) ; Harrison Co ., Pass Christian, 30°19' N,
89°15' W (170) ; Bay St . Louis, approximately 135 m off American Legion
Pier, 30°18'05" N, 85°19'05" W (171) ; Pass Christian (86) ; N . Beach, Horn
Island, 3C°15' N, 88°40' W (170) ; South Beach, Bay St . Louis, 30°20' N,
89°20' W (171) ; S Beach, West Point Island, approximately 30°14' N,
88°39' V1 (170) ; 3C°16' N, 88°19' W (175) ; Jackson Co ., Pascagoula,
30°20' N, 88°10' W (170) ; Harrison Co ., Ship Island (93, 168, 171, 200) ;
Ship Island, 30°17' N, 88°56' W (168) ; Ship Island, 3C°14' N, 88°56' W
(169, 170, 171) ; Ship Island, 30°13' N, 88°55' 4J (170) ; N shore Horn
Island, 30°15' N, 88°40' k' (170) ; Horn Island, Gulf Island National Sea-
shore, 3C°13' N, 88°4C' W (168, 163, 171) ; Horn Island (91, 93) ; Petit
Bois Island, Gulf Island National Seashore, 3a°12' N, 88°26' 4! (171) ;
Alabama : Dauphin Island, 30°15' N, 88°1C' W (169) ; Dauphin Island,
31°15' N, 88°10' W (168) ; Dau hin Island (93) ; Sand Island, N Dauphin
Island, 3G°15' N, 88°10' W 169) ; Cat Island, Mississippi Sound,
30°10' PJ, 89°06' Ins (86) ; 30°02' N, 88°28' W (175) . Louisiana : Isle au
Pitre, Mississippi Sound, 30°C8' N, 89°13' W (86) .

Quad 21 Florida : Garnier's Bay (93) ; Choctawatchee River, Ft . Walton Beach,

30°25' N, 86°38' W (170) ; Gulfarium, Ft . Walton beach (40, 48) ; 0 .25 mi
off beach, Mary Ester (137) ; Qestin (137) ; East Pass, Destin (48, 206) ;
30°20' N, 81°15' W (175) ; Alabama : Ft . 'organ Beach, Gulf Shores,
30°15' N, 87°55' 4J (171) ; Romer Beach, Gulf Shores, 30°15' N, 87°45' 4J
(171) ; 30°13' N, 88°OQ' w' (175) ; 30°02' N, 88°OC' W (175) .

Quad 22 Florida : Wakulla Co ., St . Mark's National Wildlife Refuge (85) .

Quad 24 Texas : Victoria Co ., Victoria (130) ; Calhoun Co ., Indianole Beach,

Port Lavaca (1014) ; Matagorda Co ., 3 mi W Palacias (131) ; San Antonio Bay
(63) ; Calhoun Co ., 3 mi S Coast Guard Station, Port 0'Connor (131) ; Goose
Island, 28°08' N, 96°59,' W (165) ; Aransas Co ., Aransas Bay (63) ; Aransas
Co ., Aransas Refuge (13C) ; Aransas Co ., St . Charles Bay (63) ; h"atagorda
Island, 28°O1' N, 07°54' W (171) ; Calh4un Co ., N`atagorda Island, hfata-
gorda Air Force Base (131) ; Aransas Co ., Copano Bay near Highway 35
Causeway (19Q) ; Aransas Co ., c mi NNE Fulton (13C) ; Gulf of Vexico :
Corpus Christi Study Area, 28°1G'5" Pl, 96°3E'6" W (208) ; Gulf of Mexico :
Corpus Christi Study Area, 28°06'8" N, 96°34'5" W (2Q8) ; Rockport (29) .

118
Quad 25 Texas : Jefferson Co ., 13 mi PJ High Island (131) ; Chambers Co .,
between Gilchrist and High Island (131) ; Galveston Co ., 2 mi S High
Island (130) ; Crystal Beach, 29°25' N, 94°35' w' (169) ; Galveston Co .,
Stewart Beach, Galveston (131) ; Galveston Co ., Galveston Island, 7 rnni W
Galveston (13C) ; Brazoria Co ., Quintana, mouth of Brazos River (130) ;
28°15' N, 95°3G' W (175) ; Gulf of Mexico : Corpus Christi Study Area,
27°59'9" N, 95°58'0" W (208) .

Q uad 26 Texas : Port Arthur, 29°54' N, 93°56' V1 (168, 206) ; Louisiana :

Cameron Parish, 3 mi W Holly Beach (g0) ; Cameron Parish, 2 .5 mi W Holly
Beach (201) ; Cameron Parish, 1 .5 mi 4! Holly Beach (2G1) ; Cameron Parish,
1 mi W Holly Beach (90) ; Cameron Parish, Holly Beach (90) ; Cameron
Parish, 4 mi W Holly beach (01G) ; Cameron Parish, 2 mi S Cameron (40) ;
Cameron Parish, E Jetty Beach (90, 91, 181, 191, 201) ; Cameron Parish,
0 .25 mi E E . Jetty (90) ; Cameron Parish, 4 mi SW Creole (QO) ; Cameron
Parish, 10 mi W Sabine Pass (192) ; Texas : Jefferson Co ., 9 mi W Sabine
Pass, Sea Rim State Park (131) ; Jefferson Co ., 0 .75 mi W Sea Rim State
Park, Sabine Pass (131) ; Jefferson Co ., 24 mi N Nigh Island (131) ;
Louisiana : St . Mary Parish, Cypremont Point (90) ; Southwest Pass between
Marsh Island and the h'ainland connecting Vermilion Bay and the Gulf (66,
90) ; Cameron Parish, Rockefeller Refuge Beach (191) ; Cameron Parish, St .
Joe Harbor, Rockefeller Refuge (201) ; Cameron Parish, 1 mi E Joseph's
Harbor Bayou, Rockefeller Refuge (201) ; Vermilion Parish, 1 mi E Cheniere
au Tigre (g0, 201) ; Vermilion Parish, 3 mi E Cheniere au Tigre (90, 201) ;
Cameron Parish, 17 mi S, 12 mi W Holly Beach (90, 192) .

Q uad 27 Louisiana : Canal Street Ferry, New Orleans (90) ; Thivodeaux near
N Atlantic (198) ; Caminada Bay, 29°40' N, 10Q°OC' W (86) ; Jefferson
Parish, Grande Isle (9C, lgl) ; Jefferson Parish, Caminada Bay, Bayou St .
Honore (90, 191) ; Terrebonne Parish, Timbalier Isle (90, 191) ; 28°45' N,
9G°45' W (175) ; 28°37' N, gC°58' W (175) ; 28°33' N, 91°30' W (175) ;
2B°08' N, 91°Q6' w' (175) .

Q uad 28 Louisiana : Meraux, below Chalmette, 29°55' N, 8G°55' W (90) ; P?issi-

sippi : Chandeleur Island (93) ; 29°50' N, 88°14' W (175) ; 29°45' N,
88°00' W (175) ; Point a la Hache (90, 1Q1) ; Louisiana : Plaquemines
Parish, Telegraph Point, Breton Sound (50) ; 29°28' N, 89°15' W (175) ;
29°35' N, 88°06' W (175) ; 29°19' N, 88°36' W (175) ; Grand Isle, 29°14' N,
90°00' 11 (168) ; 29°C8' N, 89°Q2' 4' (175) ; 29°15' N, 88°45' W (175) ;
29°12' fv, B8°35' k' (175) ; 29°05' N, 8S°55' W (175) ; Plaquemines Parish,
Port Eads (010) ; 28°25' fd, 89°48' d1 (175) .

Q uad 29 29°43' N, 87°35' I~' (175) ; 29°44' Iv, 86°57' V' (175) ; 29°09' N,
87°55' 41 (175) .

Q uad 30 Florida : Franklin Co ., St . George Island (85, 185) ; 29°10' N,

85°55' 41 (175) ; 28°57' Pd, 85°18' W (175) .J

Quad 31 Florida : Levy Co ., Deer Island near Cedar Key (85) ; Levy Co .,
Atsena Qtie Key at Cedar Key (85) ; Levy Co ., Cedar Key (24, E5, 206) ;
region between Steinhatchee and Cedar Key (43) ; Homosassa River (2C6) ;
Gulf of Mexico : Clearwater Study Area, 27°55' PJ, 83°32' W (208) .

119
Quad 32 Texas : St . Charles Bay Area near Rockport (131) ; Aransas Co ., Fulton
Beach Road, 2 mi S Rockport (131) ; Gulf of Mexico : Corpus Christi Study
Area, 27°51'7" N, 9E°55'5" k' (208) ; Aransas Co ., San Jose Island,
28°Q5' N, 98°5Q' W (171) ; St . Joseph Island (13C, 134, 135) ; Aransas
Pass, St . Joseph Island, 27°55' M, Q7°10' W (169) ; Nueces Co ., ferry
crossing at Port Aransas (131) ; intercoastal waterway, Aransas Pass
(135) ; Corpus Christi Bay (34) ; Corpus Christi Bay, 1 .1 km, S Caye del Oso
Bridge (134) ; Nueces Co ., Corpus Christi (184) ; Nueces Co ., Port Aransas,
National Marine Science Institute (131) ; Nueces Co ., Port Aransas,
27°50' N, °7°05' W (16Q) ; Port Aransas (204) ; Lydia Ann Channel (134,
135) ; Mustang Island (134, 135, 204) ; gulf of Mexico : Corpus Christi
Study Area, 27°42'E" h, 96°57'27" W (2QS) ; Nueces County Park, Padre
Island, 27°34' N, 97°15' 4! (lE93) ; PJueces County Park, Padre Island (134) ;
Kleberg Co ., 5 mi S National Park Service Malaquite Beach Ranger Station,
Padre Island National Seashore (131) ; Padre Island National Seashore
(168) ; Gulf of Mexico : Corpus Christi Study Area, 28°G5'5" P!, 96°24'1" k'
(208) ; Gulf of P9exico : Corpus Christi Study Area, 27°3C'5" N, S6°16'4" 4J
(208) ; Padre Island, 65 .5 km S Corpus Christi, 27°47' Pl, 97°26' W (171) ;
Gulf of Mexico : Corpus Christi Study Area, 27°03'8" N, 96°54'6" bf (208) ;
Gulf of Mexico : Brownsville Study Area, 26°50'0" N, 97°22'3" W (2G8) ;
Gulf of Mexico : Corpus Christi Study Area, 26°42'0" PJ, c7°22'3" W (208) ;
Gulf of Mexico : Corpus Christi Study Area, 26°42'0" N, 97°06'B" 4! (20a) ;
Gulf of Mexico : Brownsville Study Area, 26°40'0" N, 96°40'3" k! (208) :
5 mi N Mansfield Channel, Padre Island, Big Shell (134) ; Brazos Santiago
Island (63) ; Gulf of Mexico : Corpus Christi Study Area, 26°22'1" N,
96°58'2" W (208) ; Gulf of Mexico : Corpus Christi Study Area, 26°12'0" N,
96°41'1" W (208) ; Gulf of Mexico : Brownsville Study Area, 26°1C'0" N,
97°06'9" W (208) ; Gulf of Mexico : Brownsville Study Area, 26°04'0" N,
97°06'5" W (20S) ; Cameron Co ., Port Isabel (139, 188) .

Quad 33 27058' N, 94009' W (175) ; 27°55' P!, 04010' W! (175) ; 27056' PJ,
97°57' W (175) ; Gulf of Mexico : Corpus Christi Study Area, 28°14'4" N,
96°09'1" 41 (208) ; Gulf of Mexico : Corpus Christi Study Area, 28°08'0" N,
95°4Q'9" 41 (208) ; Gulf of P?exico : Corpus Christi Study Area, 2S°05'5" N,
95°42'7" w' (208) ; 27°56' N, 95°33' w (175) ; Gulf of P1exico : Corpus
Christi Study Area, 27°47'2" N, 96°12'c" W (208) ; Gulf of Mexico : Corpus
Christi Study Area, 27°39'7" N, S4°27'4" W (208) ; Gulf of Mexico : Corpus
Christi Study Area, 2B°04'6" M, 95°48'7" W (2Q8) .

Q uad 34 27058' N, 93022' W (175) ; 27055' N, 92025' W (175) .

Quad 36 27000' N, 88055' W (175) .

Quad 39 Florida : Pinellas Co ., Dunedin, Honeymoon Island (185, 206) ; Gulf

of Mexico : Clearwater Study Area, 27°49'C" N, 83°53'9" W (208) ; Gulf of
Mexico : Clearwater Study Area, 27°46'9"PJ, 83°44'9"W (208) ; Pinellas Co .,
Safety Harbor, 1 mi NE Old Tampa Bay (185) ; Gulf of Mexico : Clearwater
Study Area, 27°37'0"N, 83°22'3"k' (208) ; Gulf of Mexico : Clearwater Study
Area, 27°46'0" N, 83°00'G" W (208) ; Tampa Bay (104, 206) ; Old Tampa Bay,
W end Howard Frankland Causeway (85) ; Gulf of P"exico : Clearwater Study
Area, 27°36'0" N, 82°46'5" k' (208) ; Gulf of Mexico : Clearwater Study
Area, 27°9'0" N, 82°35'5" W (208) ; Pinellas Co ., Johns Pass, about 2 mi
SE t"adeira Beach (85) ; Gulf of Mexico : Clearwater Study Area, 27°39'0" N,

120
 82°46'2" b] (208 ) ; Gulf of Mexico : Clearwater Stuffy Area, 27°37'Q" N,
82°45'4" W (2C8~ ; Pinellas Co ., near Johns Pass, St . Petersburg (35) ;
Gulf of Vexico : Clearwater Study Area, 27°41'8" N, 82°44"4" k' (208) ;
Gulf of Vexico : Clearwater Study Area, 27°3~.'C" N, CL'YL~5" b' (2CE) ; Ft .
DeSoto Beach near St . Petersburg, 27°42' N, B2°45' l' (169) ; N end Ecmont
Key at mouth Tampa Bay (85) ; Gird Island, Tampa Ray (2C6) ; f'anatee Co .,
t'anatee River, Bradenton (85) ; t",anatee Co ., E'radenton Beach (85) ; Gulf of
Vexico : Clearwater Study Area, 27°23' Fd, 82°44' l'' (208) ; Gulf of F"exico :
Clearwater Study Area, 27°19'0" N, E2°35'5" 1+! (208) ; Culf of P1exico :
Clearwater Study Area, 27°13'0" N, F4-°C2'4" 4: (20E) ; Gulf of t"exico :
Clearwater Study Area, 27°22'3" P!, 82°38'G" W (208) ; Gulf of P'exico :
Clearwater Study Area, 27°2C'0" N, E2°36'3° l-! (2CP) ; Gulf of Vexico :
Cl earwater Study Area, 27°20'3" N, U°36'6" k! (208) ; Gulf of Mexico :
Clearwater Study Area, 27°12'0" N, 82°32'5" V (208) ; Gulf of Mexico :
Clearwater Study Area, 27°13'0" N, E3°W4" 4' (2C8) ; Gulf of Mexico :
Clearwater Study Area, 27°C7'2" N, 83°11'i" W (M) ; Gulf of P"exico :
Clearwater Study Area, 27°25'7" N, 82°41'6" W (2C?8) ; Ft . t^yers, S Ft .
P"yers Beach, 2C°39" N, 81°52' 14 (168) ; Lee Co ., Calooschatchee River at
Ft . F'yers (85) ; Lee Co ., Punta Rassa, mouth of Caloosahatchee River (74,
104) ; Lee Co ., Ft . P'yers (185) ; Lee Co ., Captiva Island (85) ; Lee Co .,
Sanibel Island (85, 1Q4) .

Q uad 40 Gulf of Vexico : Corpus Christi Study Area, 2E°3G'C" N, 96°26'6" 41

; Gulf of Mexico :
2C8) Erownsville Study Area, 26°04'0" M, 96°35'6" kr
(20g) ; Gulf of h'exicc, Brownsville Study Area, 26°04'0" N, 9E°35'6" 4'
(2C8) .

Quad 45 25°00' N, 28000' N! (175) .

Q uad 46 25°12' N, II4°05' 4; (175) .

Quad 47 Gulf of Mexico : Naples Study Area, 2F°C7'0" Pd, F2°27'C" W (208) ;
Gulf of Vexico : Naples Study Area, 25°37' N, 82°57' V' (208) ; Gulf of
Pl ex ico : Naples Study Area, 25°53' N, 82°4Q' W (208) ; Gulf of Mexico :
Naples Study Area, 25°37'0" N, 82°01'3" k' (2C8) ; Culf of P"exico : Naples
Study Area, 25°13'0" N, 82W'1° HI (2G8) ; 24°59' PJ, 83°35' 4J (175) ; Dry
Tortugas, 7 mi N4' Rebecca Shoal light (13Q) ; Dry Tortugas, 3 mi N Rebecca
Shoal light (13C) ; between Dry Tortugas and Key best, halfway between
Rebecca Shoal light and Varquessas (104) ; Dry Tortuaas between Loggerhead
Key and Garden Key, 24°20' N, 8"c°5C' V! (104) ; Dry Tortugas, harbor at
Garden Key (104) .

Quad 48 Florida : Collier, Marco Beach (185) ; Gade Co ., Viami Reach (18G) ;
Mante Lake, N Miami (104) ; Gulf of Mexico : Naples Study Area, 25°47'0" N,
S1°4E'5" 4! (2G8) ; Dade Co ., S P'iami Beach, 25°47' N, SO°08' W (17Q) ; Dade
Co ., Miami Beach, 25°46 .7' Pd, 80°7 .9' b' (170, 172) ; Eiscayne Bay,
25°46' td, 80°10' W (169) ; Biscayne Bay, India . . .;reek (206) ; Miami (184) ;
11 mi E Miami Harbor entrance (104) ; Gulf of Mexico : fVapl,es Study Area,
25°32'3" N, 81°42'7" 4! (2C8) ; Gulf of P'exico : Naples Study Area,
25°29'4" N, 81°44'5" W (208) ; Biscayne Ray, near Key Biscayne and
Virginia Key, 25°44' fJ, 80°CC' W (169) ; Gulf of Vexico : Naples Study
Area, 25°39'0" N, 81°45'6" W (20F) ; Gulf of Mexico : Maples Study Area,
25°39'0" N, 81°43'4" 4J (208) ; Cade Co . ,Miami Beach, 25°38 .5' N, BO°9 .7' W
(170, 172) ; Gulf of h"exico : Maples Study Area, 25°33'0" N, 81°46'8" W

121
 (208) ; Eiscayne Bay (104) ; Everglades National Park (104, 116) ; Ever-
glades National Park, Whitewater Bay, between East Cape Sable and
Lostman's River (1C4) ; 25°17' N, 80°59' W (105) ; North River (187) ; Gulf
of Mexico : Naples Study Area, 25°17'0" N, 82°02'6" bJ (208) ; Madeira Bay,
N portion Florida Bay, approximately 25°17' N, 80°30' 4J (17G) ; Cape Sable
(85) ; Florida Bay coast (183) ; Florida Bay, Whipray Channel, Whipray
Basin (104) ; Florida Bay (85, 104) ; hionroe Co ., offshore from Grassy Key,
24°40' N, 80°55' W (171) ; Monroe Co ., Big Pine Key, 24°41' h, 81°21' W
(170, 206) ; Monroe Co ., Coco Plum Area, Marathon, 24°44' N, 81°00' L
(170) ; Monroe Co ., Key Colony Beach, 24°43' N, 81°C1' k (170) ; Monroe
Co ., Key West (85) ; between Dry Tortugas and Key West, 5 wi SW Key V'est
(104) .

Q uad 56 22°25' N, 88°45' W (175) .

Not plotted North Carolina : no specific locality (41, 61) ; South Carolina :
no specific locality (61, 179) ; Georgia : Chatham. Co ., Turner's Creek
(41) ; Florida : Broward Beach, State Recreation Area (168) ; near Marine
Studios (185) ; Dade Co ., Maull Lake, E coast (185) ; no specific locality
(187, 206) ; Mississippi : Belle Fountaine Beach (191) ; Louisiana : Cam-
eron Parish, Rutherford Beach (90, 91) ; no specific locality (176) ;
Vermilion Parish, E mouth Freshwater Bayou (201) ; Cuban waters : no spe-
cific locality (1, 50) .

GRAMPUS

Grampus riseus (G . Cuvier 1812)

Other Common Names - Risso's dolphin .

Other Scientific Names - None .

Description and Identification

Adult grampus have a robust body and are about 13 ft (4 m) long . A beak
is lacking, and the front of the head rises vertically from the tip of the
upper jaw . The head is blunt and marked an the front by a V-shaped crease
that divides the melon into two parts . Coloration varies with age, but adults
are usually slate or black above, tinged wit i : blue or purple, and lighter
beneath ; fins and tail are black (Walker 1975) . The body of older adults is
covered by numerous whitish scars thought to be healed scars from attacks by
other Gram p us and by squid . Characters useful for field identification
include the blunt snout and the pale gleam of the hack i n front of the tall,
pointed, distinctly falcate dorsal fin .

Distribution

These dolphins are distributed worldwide it tropical to ternperate seas

and generally in water deeper than 100 fathoms (183 m) (Mitchell 1Q75) . In
the western North Atlantic, they have been reported frog eastern Newfoundland
122
south to the Lesser Antilles and in the Gulf of Mexico (Leatherwood et al .
1976) . They have been recorded from North Carolina and Florida in the Atlan-
tic portion of the study area and from three separate localities on the west
coast of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico (Figure 25) . They are not known from
the central and western Gulf of Mexico .

Seasonal Movements

A north-south, summer-winter migration has been suggested for the North-

ern Atlantic with the range limits north to Newfoundland and south to the
Lesser Antilles, but this point is still in question (Mitchell 1975) . No data
are available for the study area . The few stranr!ings that have occurred are
spread over all seasons (Table 4) .

Status and Abundance

There are no population estimates for the study area . Based on strand-
ings, these dolphins would appear to be rare . There are only 13 records from
the study area, and 11 of these are fron Florida (8 from the east coast) .
However, they right not he as rare as the paucity of records suggests . Gram p us
generally have an oceanic range and, along the Atlantic coast of North Amer-
ica, they may he distributed from the Gulf Stream seaward, which is outside
the theater of normal boating traffic (Leatherwood et al . 1976) . Populations
appear to be stable everywhere and not endangered at present (Caldwell and
Caldwell 174) .

Life History

No data on life history parameters are available from the study area .
The following information from other areas is taken from Mitchell (1975) .
Vales sexually mature at lengths of 3 m or more . A pregnant female, with a
nearly full-term fetus, was noted in December (Walker 1S75) . These animals
may live for at least 24 years . They feed primarily on cephalopods and fish .
Gram pus are found in herds of up to several hundred individuals and nay ~e
seen "porpoising," as they surface to breathe, and breaching . They sometimes
ride bow waves (Leatherwood et al . 1976) .

Records of Occurrence

Quad 3 North Carolina : Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge (168, 2C6) .

Quad 5 South Carolina : Folly Island, near Charleston (61, 73, 17S) .

Q uad 12 Florida : St . Johns Co ., Vilano Beach (37, 168, 174, 185) ; vicinity
of St . Augustine (43) ; near Crescent Beach (117) ; New Smyrna Beach,
29°C1' N, 80°56' W (168) .

Q uad 16 Florida : Jupiter Island, 27°04' N, 80°09' W (16S) .

Quad 22 Florida : mouth of Ldakulla, Saint Varks Light (206) .

Q uad 31 Florida : Finellas Co ., mouth Anclote River, Tarpon Springs (117) .

Quad 48 Florida : Key Eiscayne, Cape Florida State Park, 25°42' N, 80°12' 4,
-X169) ; t'arathon, Vaca Key, 24°43' N, 81°07' L-` (169) .

123
Figure 25 . Distribution of the crampus, Gram us griseus . See leoend for
Fiaure 3 and text for explanation of symbols .

124
 BRIDLED DOLPHIN

Stenella frontalis (G . Cuvier 1829)

ether Common Names - Bridled porpoise, Cuvier's dolphin .

Other Scientific Names - Prodelphinus froenatus , Stenella froenatus ,

tone a attenuata . e

Description and Identification

Bridled dolphins reach an adult length of about 7 ft (2,1 m) . Their body

is dark gray on the back, grading to lighter gray on the sides and belly .
Light grayish-white sots characteristically appear on the dorsal portions of
the body, and dark spots are on the light ventral surface (Leatherwood et al .
197E) . Other distinctive features include a cape, or dark region on the top
of the head, and dark lines which pass from the eye to the rostrum and frog
the flippers to the gape of the mouth . A black circle is evident around the
eye with an extension to the junction of the rostrum and the melon (Leather-
wood et al . 176) . This black circle, together with the dark stripe mentioned
above, are responsible for the species' common name, "bridled dolphin ." The
rostrum is black with white lips .

Distribution

Bridled dolphins occur in the tropical waters of the Atlantic, Indian,

and Pacific Oceans . In the western North Atlantic, they have been reported
from the Antilles, and from Florida north to North Carolina (Leatherwood
et al . 1976) . Apparently, this is an offshore species which prefers tropical
and subtropical waters . It is known throughout the study area, but nowhere is
it conmon (Figure 26) . Schmidly et al . (1972a) reported several stranded indi-
viduals along the Texas coast, but these specimens subsequently (Perrin et al .
1977) have been referred to a different species ( Stenella clymene ) . The only
record from the western Gulf is of a stranded animal frog Padre Island
National Seashore which was reported in SEAN Bulletin 2 (6 ; 1977) . Identifi-
cation of this specimen was not verified ; hence, its occurrence in the western
Gulf is considered tentative . Similarly the record from Cape Hatteras, North
Carolina, appeared in SEAN Bulletin 3 (1 ; 178), and the identification of
this specimen has not been verified .

Seasonal Movements

Data available from the study area are too meager to ascertain a defini-
tive pattern . Strandings in the study area have occurred in January, flay,
September, and November (Table 4) .

Status and Abundance

Bridled dolphins usually occur in small herds of from 5 to 30 individuals

(Leatherwood et al . 176) . No data are available concerning abundance of this
species in the study area . However, there is no evidence that the populations
in the study area are not stable or that they are endangered (Caldwell and
Caldwell 1974) .

125
Figure 26 . Distribution of the bridled dolphin, Stenella frontalis . See
legend for Figure 3 and text for explanation of symbo s~

126
Life History

Virtually nothing is known of the life history of this species either in

the study area or other geographic regions . In the West Indies, and presum-
ably elsewhere, bridled dolphins feed on squid, fish and shrimp (winn et al .
1979) .

Records of Occurrence

Q uad 3 North Carolina : Cape Hatteras, 35°14' N, 75°34' W (170 as S . atten-

uata ) .

Quad 8 Florida : Fernandina Beach, 30°37' N, 81°20' W (166) .

Quad 12 Florida : Crescent Beach, 29°50' N, 81°12' W (166) .

Quad 16 Florida : Indian River Co ., Sebastian (3, 104) .

Quad 32 Texas : Little Shell, Padre Island National Seashore, 27°2Q' N,

9 7 -30- W (169) .

Quad 39 Florida : near Sarasota Bay (36) .

Q uad 48 Florida : Dade Co ., Coconut Grove (3, 104, 206) .

ATLANTIC SPOTTED DOLPHIN

Stenella plagiodon (Cope 1866)

Other Common Naves - Spotted dolphin, spotted porpoise, spotter .

Other Scientific Names - Prodelphinus Boris , Prodelphinus plagiodon , Stenella

pernettyi .

Description and Identification

Spotted dolphins reach a maximum length of 7 .5 to 8 ft (2 .3 to 2 .4 m) .

Compared to other species of Stenella , they are generally more robust in
shape, and their dorsal fin is distinctly hack-curved and pointed on the tip
(Leatherwood et al . 1976) . As the common name implies, spotted dolphins are
dark purplish gray above, paler below, and specked with small spots of white
on the dorsum ; the venter is densely spotted or blotched with gray (Lowery
1974) . The extent of spotting and other details of coloration change with
age, and immature animals lack spots completely (Caldwell and Caldwell 1966) .
These dolphins have a spinal blaze and a light line extending from the flipper
to the eye. The lower jaw, as well as the tip and edge of the upper jaw, is
white, which may aid in identification at sea (Leatherwood et al . 1976) .

127
Distribution

Spotted dolphins are found in the Atlantic Ocean from New Jersey south-
ward to the Gulf of Mexico and the mainland shores of the Caribbean Sea to
Panama (Caldwell and Caldwell 1966) . They occur throughout the study area
(Figure 27) . Numerous sightings at sea have been made in the Gulf of Mexico
by personnel on U .S . National Marine Fisheries Service research vessels .
Caldwell (1955, 156C), Caldwell and Caldwell (1973), and Lowery (1974) have
published these records, which are included on the distribution reap . Suther-
land and May (1977) and Mercer (1973) also have observed this dolphin off the
Atlantic Coast along the western edge of the Gulf Stream from North Carolina
to Florida . During the NFWL-BLP1 aerial surveys, spotted dolphins were observed
in the Brownsville and Corpus Christi study areas in August and in the Clear-
water, Florida, study area in November.

Available evidence suggests that spotted dolphins are primarily an off-

shore species (5 mi, 8 .04 km or more, and about 5 fathoms, 9 .15 m or more) in
the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere in their range (Caldwell 1460, Caldwell and
Caldwell 1966) . Inshore they are typically replaced by Tursiops . Observations
in the study area (Figure 27) are most common from the shoreline to the 200-m
curve ; a few records are known between the 200-m and the 1000-fathom (1,E30-m)
curves, but few sightings exist outside the 1000-fathom (1,830-m) curve (Fig-
ure 27) . Although they inhabit offshore waters at distances greater than about
5 mi from land, their general maximum limit apparently is about 150 to 200 r,!i
(241 .3 to 321 .8 km), with a usual maximum of some 75 to 100 mi (120 .6 to 160 .9
km) (Caldwell and Caldwell 1966) . Further evidence for a primarily offshore
occurrence is the paucity of stranding records for this species . Of the 206
records from the study area, only 23 (11%) were verified stranding reports .

Seasonal Movements

Spotted dolphins are thought to move inshore in the late spring and to
approach close to shore during spring and summer (Caldwell and Caldwell 1966) .
This conclusion is based primarily on observations of these authors and infor-
mation they obtained from sportfishing captains in the vicinity of Destin and
Fort Walton Beach, Florida . According to Caldwell and Caldwell (1966 :5), "The
Destin sport fishery captains were of the opinion that spotted dolphins are
found all year round in that region offshore, but that the numbers markedly
increase during the spring and summer months . This information, along with
the especially noteworthy occurrence of the species close inshore in late
spring, suggests corroboration for the suggestion by Moore (1953 :132) that
there is an annual migration by this species into the waters of northern Flor-
ida during the warmer months, or even in the winter months when the water is
unusually warm ." Data given to the Caldwells by Mr . Cliff Townsend, who col-
lected spotted dolphins off St . Auqustine for Plarineland of Florida, indicate
that the migration more likely is a matter of inshore-offshore movements in
the same latitudes rather than an along shore migration between different lat-
itudes . A commercial seine fisherman also indicated to the Caldwells that the
arrival of spotted dolphins along the beach near Destin in May coincided with
the late spring arrival of large numbers of "hardtail" fishes ( Caranx crysos ) .
However, while feeding could be considered a motive for the movement inshore,
this possible food source may be coincidental rather than the reason for the
movement by the dolphins into shallow waters (Caldwell and Caldwell 166) .
Whether similar movements occur and similar factors govern movements in other

128
Figure 27 . Distribution of the Atlantic spotted dolphin, Stenella plaaiodon .
See legend for Figure 3 and text for explanation of symbols .

129
portions of the study area cannot be ascertained from the data . Table 4 sum-
marizes seasonal records of strandings and sightings . Observations have been
recorded in every month, but they are notably scarce in October and February .

Status and Abundance

No estimates of abundance are available, but the number of observations

recorded suggests that spotted dolphins are probably the most common offshore
species in the study area though records of cetaceans from offshore are so
poor that one cannot make this statement with certainty . All indications are
that populations are stable and not endangered .

Life History

Little is known of life history parameters, particularly reproduction,

for spotted dolphins in the study area . Most of the following information
comes from Caldwell and Caldwell (1866) . Young are horn offshore and not
brought close inshore by their parents until weaned . Young are included in
schools that move close inshore in late spring in Florida . An adult female
captured 10 May 1965 gave birth to an unspotted calf, which died the. same day .
Caldwell (1960) observed sexual behavior in several adult spotted dolphins in
the western Gulf of Mexico, and one pair was seen copulating in July .

Spotted dolphins are believed to feed primarily on squid, but they also
have been observed in Florida feeding on small fishes of the families Clupe-
idae (herrings), Engraulidae (anchovies), and somewhat farther offshore, on
carrangid fish of the genera Caranx , Decapterus , or Selar . In the western
Gulf of Mexico, Caldwell (1955) reported a school of spotted dolphins feeding
on the remains of a large squid probably killed by the school . Groups also
have been seen following shrimp trawlers and feeding on trash fish thrown
overboard, including squid ( Dorytheuthis lei), flounder (Syacium. micrurum ),
and a mojara-like fish ( Eucinostomus og ula (Moore 1953) . Small fishes seem
to be taken from the surface or epipelagic zones (Winn et al . 1979) .

These dolphins occur in herds of up to 50 individuals though smaller

groups (6 to 10) are more common (Leatherwood et al . 1476) . Spotted dolphins
commonly ride the bow waves of moving vessels .

Records o f Occurrence

Quad 2 North Carolina : Beaufort, Shackleford Banks (196) ; Morehead City

176) ; Cape Lookout (176) ; SE coast of U .S ., 33°02' N, 77°00' W, 33 m
depth, 63 km offshore (142) .

Quad 3 North Carolina : Avon, 35°21' N, 75°30' W (170, 206) ; 2 km W Frisco

Pier, Hatteras Island,~35°13' N, 75°40' W (17Q, 206) ; S . Diamond Shoals
Lightship, Cape Hatteras (13, 41, 115) ; Cape Hatteras (14, 29, 41, 102,
151 as Prodel hinus la iodon, 206) ; Ocracoke, Hatteras Inlet, 35°11' N,
75°46' W 7170, 171, 206 ) ; Ocracoke,. 35°11' N, 75°47' W (170, 206) ; Ocra-
coke, 35°06' N, 75°59' W (168, 206) ; .Portsmouth Island, (206) .

Quad 4 South Carolina : Hilton Head (94, 206) .

130
Quad 5 South Carolina : Bull's Bay (41, 61, 179) ; Charleston (41, 61, 101,
179, 187, 2Q6) ; 32°34' N, 79°03' W (175) ; Folly Island (61) ; SE coast of
U .S ., 32°19' N, 79°08' W, 45 m depth, 76 km offshore (142) .

Quad 8 50 mi off Georgia coast, 80°15' N, 31°20' W (37, 41, 101, 206) ;
31°09' N, 80°10' W (175) ; SE coast of U .S ., 30°59' N, 81°O1' W, depth
18m, 37 km offshore (142) ; SE coast of U .S ., 30°58' N, 81°00' W, depth
20m, 37 km offshore (142) ; Georgia : N outlet on Cumberland Island,
30°54' N, 81°25' W (170) .

Q uad 12 Florida : 10 mi off coast, vicinity of St . Augustine (104) ; 12 mi

off beach at St . Augustine (104) ; 20 km off St . Augustine (35) ; SE coast
of U .S ., 29°37' N, 80°30' k', depth 31 m, 61 km offshore (142) ; E St .
Augustine, 29°41' N, 8Q°15' W, depth 91 m (96) ; Daytona Beach (37) ;
Volusia Co ., New Smyrna Beach, 29°O1' N, 80°56' W (170) ; 2 mi outside
Whistling Buoy off Cedar Key (104) ; SE coast of U .S ., 29°12' N, 80°20' W,
depth 38 m, 57 km offshore (142) ; SE coast of U .S ., 28°48' N, 80°13' W
(142) ; SE coast of U .S ., 28°47' N, 8Q°12' W, depth 43 m, 44 km offshore
(142) ; 28°43' N, 80°07' W (175) ; Florida : Brevard Co ., Port Canaveral,
28°24' N, 80°36' W (172) ; Port Canaveral, 28°22' N, 80°37' W (170) ; SE
coast U .S ., 28°15' N, 80°03' W, depth 57 m, 51 km offshore (142) ;
28°15' N, 80°12' W (175) ; SE coast of U .S ., 28°07' N, 80°12' W, depth
32 m, 33 km offshore (142) ; 28°05' N, 80°O1' 4J (175) .

Quad 16 SE coast of U .S ., 27°51' N, 80°10' W, depth 29 m, 24 km offshore

x(142) ; SE coast of U .S ., 27°51' N, 80°07' W, depth 33 m, 28 km offshore
(142) ; SE coast of U .S ., 27°50' N, 80°07' W, depth 40 m, 28 km offshore
(142) ; Florida : Pierce Inlet, approximately 27°28' N, 80°19' W (170) ;
Martin Co ., Port Salerno, Manatee Marina (175) ; Riveria Beach (168) ; Bro-
ward Co ., New River at Summerset Boat Works (175) .

Quad 17 Florida : E Ft . Pierce, 27°27' N, 79°53' W, depth 183 m (96) .

Quad 20 Gulf of Mexico, 3C°05' N, 8E°28' W, depth 10 fathoms, 7 mi to near-

est land (26) ; 30°00' N, 88°00' W (175) .

Quad 21 Florida : near Destin (29) ; Crystal Beach pier, 5 mi E Destin (29) ;
10 km E Destin (35) ; Okaloosa Co ., Eglin Air Force Base, 30°24' N,
86°43' W (16g) ; Ft . Walton Beach (29) ; Escambia Co ., Pensacola, 30°19' N,
87°12' W (29, 148 as P, doris, 151 as P . plagiodon ) ; Pensacola (101,
206) ; 3C°15' N, 87°20' W _7C1_ 75) ; 30015' -N, 87°20' W (175) ; 30°10' N,
86°30' W (175) ; 30°04' N, 86°56' W (175) .

Q uad 22 Gulf of Mexico, 30°05' N, 85°46' W, depth 11 fathoms, 3 mi to near-

est land (26) .

Q uad 25 Texas : Galveston Co ., 2 mi W High Island (130, 131, 2Q3) ; 28°24' N,

94°30' 4J (175) ; 28°23' N, 94°30' W (175) .

Quad 26 Louisiana : Cameron Parish, Holly Beach, Johnson Bayou (90) ;

29°1C' N, 93°18' W (175) ; 29°10' N, 93°26' W (175) ; 28°28' N, 93°28' W
(175) ; 28°28' N, 94°30' W (175) ; 28°16' N, 92°15' W (175) .

131
Quad 27 28°45' N, 90°02' W (175) ; 28°40' N, 40°18' W (175) ; 28°35' N,
91°28' W (175) ; 28°33' N, 91°30' W (17t) ; Gulf of Mexico, 28°19' N,
90°19' W, 40 fathoms, 67 mi to nearest land (25) ; 28°07' N, 90°21' W
(175) ; 28°02' N, 91°30' k' (175) ; 28°03' N, 91°06' W (175) ; 28°02' N,
90042' w' (175) ; 28005' N, 90030' W (175) .

Q uad 28 29°53' N, 88°22' W (175) ; 29°50' N, 88°33' W (175) ; 29°45' N,

88°12' W (175) ; 24°4Q' N, 88°10' W (175) ; 29°35' N, 88°33' k' (175) ;
Louisiana : Plaquemines Parish, Breton Island (201) ; 29°06' N, 88°24' 4J
(175) ; 29°17' N, 88°59' W (175) ; Gulf of Mexico, 2a°22' N, 88°05' W,
depth 50 fathoms, 51 mi to nearest land (26) ; 29°19' N, 88°53' 4J (175) ;
29°16' N, 88°20' W (175) ; 29°15' N, 88°45' W (175) ; 29°09' N, 8E°33' W
(175) ; 29°10' N, 88°35' W (175) ; 29°12' N, 88°14' w' (175) ; Louisiana :
off Grande Isle (9Q) ; mouth of Mississippi River (90) ; 28°43' N, 89°39' W
(175) ; 28°40'N, a9°33' W (175) ; Gulf of Mexico, 28°45' N, 87°58' W, depth
800 fathoms, 70 mi to nearest land (26) ; 28°46' N, 89°41' W (175) ;
28°46' N, 89°41' W (175) ; Gulf of Mexico, 28°35' N, 88°10' W, depth 1160
fathoms, 59 mi to nearest land (26) ; 28°34' N, 89°46' W (175) ; Gulf of
Mexico, 2S°2Q' N, 88°37' W, depth 900 fathoms, 53 mi to nearest land
(26) ; 28020' N, 89048' W (175) .

Quad 29 29059' N, 87005' W (175) ; 29°55' N, 86058' W (175) ; 29044' N,

87°07' W (175) ; 29°47' N, 86°58' W (175) ; 29°47' N, 86°58' W (175) ;
29°44' N, 86°59' W (175) ; 29°45' N, 86°45' W (175) ; 29°47' N, 88°00' k'
(175) ; 29047' N, 88000' W (175) ; 29034' N, 86008' W (175) ; 29038' N,
87°27' W (175) ; 25°25' N, 87°26' V1 (175) ; 29°Op' N, 87°55' W (175) ; Gulf
of Mexico, 28°59' N, 87°49' W, depth 800 fathoms, 70 mi to nearest land
(26) ; Gulf of Mexico, 28°53' N, 87°57' W, depth 850 fathoms, 65 mi to
nearest land (26) ; Gulf of Mexico, 28°50' N, 87°58' W, depth 900 fathoms,
64 mi to nearest land (26) .

Quad 30 29010' N, 85055' W (175) ; 29012' N, 85054' W (175) ; 29°12' N,

85054' W (175) ; 29005' N, 85000' W (175) ; 29004' N, 84048' W (175) ;
28°44' N, 84°35' W (175) ; 28°05' N, 84°30' W (175) ; 2E°QQ' N, 84°30' W
(175) .

Quad 31 Florida : Taylor Co ., near~Deadman's Bay, 29°3Q' N, 83°30' k' (36) .

Q uad 32 Texas : Port Aransas, 27°50' N, 97°05' W (169) ; Port Aransas (62,
206) ; Kleberg Co ., Padre Island, 19 mi SE Corpus Christi (130) ; Gulf of
Mexico, 27°20' N, 96°20' W, depth 85 fathoms, 53 mi to nearest land (25) ;
Padre Island National Seashore, Yarborough Pass (131, 132) ; Gulf of
Mexico : Brownsville study area, 96°17' N, 26°17' W (208) ; Gulf of
Mexico : Corpus Christi study area, 95°53' N, 27°27' W (208) ; Gulf of
Mexico : 26°10' N, 97°00' W, depth 11 fathoms, 10 mi to nearest land
(25) ; Gulf of Mexico : 26°10' N, 96°54' W, depth 18 fathoms, 16 mi to
nearest land (25) ; Gulf of Mexico : 26°10' N, 96°40' W, depth 29 fathoms,
31 mi to nearest land (25) .

Quad 33 27055' N, 95°55' W (175) ; 27056' N, 95037' W (175) ; 27058' N,

94°45' HI (175) ; Gulf of Mexico : Corpus Christi study area, 95°53' N,
27°27' W (208) ; Gulf of Mexico : Corpus Christi study area, 94°46' N,
27°27' W (208) ; Gulf of Mexico : 26°15' N, 95°30' W, depth 1000 fathoms,
100 mi to nearest land (25) ; 26°10' N, 95°25' W (175) .

132
Quad ~34 27°57' N, 92°02' W (175) ; 27°54' N, 92°48' W (175) ; Gulf of Mexico,
27°50' N, 92°00' W, depth 170 - 235 fathoms, 166 mi to nearest land (25) .

Quad 38 27010' N, 84030' W (175) .

Quad 39 Gulf of Mexico : Clearwater study area, 83°44' N, 27°46' W (208) ;

7°45' N, 83°30' W (175) ; Florida : Pinellas Co ., Tampa Bay, 27°50' N,
82°50' W (36) ; Manatee Co ., Sarasota Bay, Jewish Key (185) ; 27°02' N,
83°32' W (175) ; Florida : 12 mi offshore Cedar Key, 29°05' N (104) ;
26030' N, 83053' W (175) ; 26010' N, 83055' W (175) .

Quad 46 25°20' N, 84°16' W (175) ; E Gulf of Mexico, 24°40' N, 84°30' W (36) ;

E Gulf of Mexico, 24°40' N, 84°30' W (36) .

Quad 47 25°28' N, 83°42' W (175) ; E Gulf of Mexico, 25°30' N, 81°40' W (36) ;

25000' N, 83°05' W (175) ; 24050' N, 84000' W (175) ; 24046' N, 83005' 4J
(175) ; 24°46' N, 83°05' W (175) ; Florida : 1 - 5 mi NE Dry Tortugas,
16 -25 mi N Marquesas Keys (104) ; Dry Tortugas and vicinity (104) ; E Gulf
of Mexico, 24°30' N, 84°00' W (36) ; E Gulf of Mexico : 24°30' N, 83°00' W
(36) ; E Gulf of Mexico, 24°30' N, 82°10' W (36) .

Quad 48 Florida : Dade Co ., Miami (104) ; 25°30' N, 81°45' 4! (175) ; Content

Key (206) ; Islamorada, Upper Matacumbe Key, 24°56' N, 80°37' W (168,
206! ; E Gulf of Mexico, 24°30' N, 81°50' W (36) .

Quad 49 Bahamas, Lerner Marine Laboratory, N Bimini Island, 25°45' N,

79017' W (171) .

Quad 57 22013' N, 87023' W (175),

Quad 58 E Gulf of Mexico, 25°10' N, 83°55' W (36) .

Quad 67 Gulf of Mexico, 21°44' N, 91°05' W, depth 36 fathoms, 62 mi to near-

est land (25) ; Gulf of Mexico, 21°39' N, 90°59' W, depth 19 .5 fathoms,
52 mi to nearest land (25) ; Gulf of Mexico, 21°07' N, 91°33' W, depth 17
fathoms, 64 mi to nearest land (25) .

Q uad 78 Gulf of Mexico, 18°43' N, 93°30' W, depth 35 fathoms, 20 mi to near-

est land (25) .

Not lotted South Carolina : no specific locality, Old Museum Collection (41,
South Carolina (187) ; Texas : waters off Rockport (29, 51, 52) ; Flor-
ida : no specific locality (185) ; Gulf of Mexico : no specific locality
(185) ; Cuban waters : no specific locality (1, 50) ; 29°28' N, 90°08' W
(coordinates fall on land) (175) .

STRIPED DOLPHIN

Stenella coeruleoalba (Meyer 1833)

Other Common Names - Euphrosyne dolphin, Gray's dolphin, streaker porpoise .

133
Other Scientific Napes - Stenella Styx , Stenella coeruleoalbus .

Description and Identification

Striped dolphins closely resemble saddleback dolphins (D . del h~is) in

having a dark gray back, gray sides, and a white belly . They rea dmaximum
length of about 9 ft (2 .7 m) and are characterized by a series of distinctive
black stripes along the side of the head and body . A narrow dark band runs
from the eye along the side to the anus area, with a short stripe branching
off above the base of the pectoral appendage . A second band of black extends
from the eye to the flipper . Sore workers have contended that striped dolphins
are separable into distinct species depending on whether the eye-to-flipper
stripe has one (S . coeruleoalba ) or two (S, styX ) components (Leatherwood
et al . 1876) . Most individuals also are characterized by an additional blaze
of black extending from behind the dorsal fin above the flipper towards the
eye . This feature is distinctive on animals riding the bow or leaning out of
the water (Leatherwood et al . 1976) .

Distribution

Striped dolphins are distributed widely throughout temperate and tropical

waters of the world (Rice 1977) . In the western North Atlantic they have been
reported from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to as far south as Jamaica and including
the Gulf of Mexico (Leatherwood et al . 1976) . Within the study area, strand-
ings are known from North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida (Gulf and Atlantic
coasts), and Louisiana '(Figure 28) . Despite this wide distribution, striped
dolphins appear to prefer warmer, offshore (deeper) waters and normally are
confined to the Gulf Stream or the waters off the continental slope (Leather-
wood et al . 1976) . During the NFVr'L-BLM aerial surveys, striped dolphins were
observed in the Corpus Christi, Texas, and Naples and Clearwater, Florida,
study areas .

Seasonal Movements

Little information is available from, the study area, but those data that
are available pose an interesting trend (Table 4) . With one exception, all
records from, the Atlantic coast are from the fall and early spring, whereas,
with one exception, all records from the Gulf of Mexico are frorr summer and
fall . Whether this results from seasonal movements of striped dolphins, or
whether it indicates two separate stocks in the study area cannot be deter-
wined . Winn et al . (1979) suggested that individuals appearing in the
northernmost localities ventured there from the south with intrusions of warm
water rather than through an organized migration .

Status and Abundance

No estimates of abundance are available for the study area, but apparent
ly striped dolphins are relatively abundant along the edge of the Continental
Shelf in the North Atlantic, north to Georges Bank and south through the Car-
ibbean (Prescott et al . .179) . Populations are thought to be stable and not
endangered (Caldwell and Caldwell 1974) .

134
Figure 28 . Distribution of the striped dolphin, Stenella coeruleoalba . See
legend for Figure 3 and text for explanation of syribo~s

135
Life Histor

No data on life history parameters are available from the study area .
Most of the following information from other geographic regions is taken from
Mitchell (1975) . Mean length at birth is 1 m, and length at sexual maturity
is 2 .2 and 2 .1 m for males and females, respectively . Average age at sexual
maturity of males and females is estimated at about 9 years for males and 5 to
7 years for females . Calving interval is estimated at about 3 years ; gestation
period is 12 Months . These dolphins are known to feed on squid in Florida,
fish and shrimp in the Lesser Antilles (Winn et al . 1979), and various fin
fish and squid in Rhode Island (Pilson and Goldstein 1973) . They often occur
in large herds of up to several hundred individuals which may be segregated by
sex or age .

Records of Occurrence

Q uad 1 North Carolina : Corolla, 36°21' N, 75°48' H! (a4, 206) .

Q uad 2 North Carolina : Core Banks, Cape Lookout National Seashore, 34°44' N,
76026' W (170) .

Quad 3 North Carolina : 0 .4 km S Coquina Beach, Bodie Island, 35°44' N,

75°33' W (170, 206) ; Nags Head, 35°57' N, 75°38' W (168, 206) ; Nags Head,
35°55' N, 75°36' W (171, 206) ; Oregon Inlet, 35°47' N, 75°32' W (170,
206) ; Pea Island, 35°39' h, 75°28' W (170, 206) ; Salvo, 35°33' PJ,
75°28' W (169) ; 1 .5 km S Avon, 35°20' N, 75°30' W (17C, 206) ; 2 .6 km N
Ramp 22, Hatteras Island, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, 35°lE' N,
75°30' W (171) ; Ocracoke Island, 35°07' N, 75°55' W (2Q6) .

Q uad 5 South Carolina : Sullivan's Island (168, 206) .

Quad 8 Florida : St . Johns Co ., S Ponte Vedra Beach, 30°13' N, E1°23' W

170) .

Quad 12 Florida : Brevard Co ., Melbourne Beach, 28°04' N, 8C°55' W (170) .

Quad 16 Florida : Stuart (37, 94) .

Quad 25 Gulf of Mexico : Corpus Christi study area, 28°C5' N, 95°57' W (2Q8) .

Quad 26 Louisiana : Cameron Parish, 4 mi w' Holly Reach (9G, 191) .

Quad 33 Gulf of Mexico : Corpus Christi study area, 26°09' N, 95°54' W (208) .

Quad 37 Gulf of Mexico : Clearwater study area, 27°37' N, 84°02' W (208) .

Quad 38 Gulf of Mexico : Clearwater study area, 27°3G' N, 84°56' w' (208) ;
Gulf of Mexico : Clearwater study area, 27°13' N, 84°40' W (208) .

Quad 39 Florida : Indian Rocks beach, 27°52' PJ (31 as S . st x, 36, 90) ; Gulf
of Mexico : Naples study area, 26°07' Pd, 82°50' 4v X208 ; Gulf of Mexico :
Naples study area, 25°57' N, 82°49' W (208) ; Gulf of Mexico : Naples
study area, 26°08' R, 83°37' W (208) ; Gulf of Mexico : Clearwater study

136
 area, 27°17' N, 83°35' W (2Q8) ; Gulf of Mexico : Clearwater study area,
27°27' N, 83°28' W (208) ; Gulf of Fiexico : Naples study area, 26°08' N,
83°11' W (2C6) ; Gulf of Mexico : Naples study area, 25°58' N, 82°24' W
(208) .

Quad 47 Gulf of Mexico : Naples study area, 25°38' N, 82°26' il (208) ; Gulf
o Mexico : Naples study area, 25°37' N, 82°24' W (208) ; Gulf of Mexico :
Naples study area, 25°27' N, 82°23' W (ZOa) .

Quad 48 Florida : Newport Fishing Pier, Miami Beach, 28°53' N, 8_0°07' W

171) .

SPINNER DOLPHIN

Stenella longirostris (Gray 1828)

Other Common Napes - Long-snouted dolphin, spinner porpoise .

Other Scientific Names - None.
Description and Identification

These dolphins are slender-bodied and reach a maximum length of about 7

ft (2 .1 m) . The body is dark gray on the hack, tan on the sides, and white on
the belly . The beak is extremely long and slender ; it is black above and
white below with a distinctly black tip and lips . A black stripe extending
from the flipper to the eye is evident . The dorsal fin is distinctly erect,
triangular, and colored light gray near the middle, bordered by black or dark
gray. Spinner dolphins derive their common name from their habit of leaping
clear of the water and spinning on their longitudinal axis (Leatherwood et al .
1976) .

Distribution

These dolphins occur in tropical waters of the Atlantic, Indian, and

Pacific Oceans (Rice 1977) . In the western North Atlantic, they occur from
North Carolina south to the West Indies and Venezuela, including the Gulf of
Mexico . In the Atlantic portion of the study area, stranding records exist
from the coasts of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida (Figure 29) .
In the Gulf, strandings are known from the coasts of Texas and Florida . The
records from North Carolina represent the northerriost documented distribution
of this species . Apparently, spinner dolphins are an offshore, deep-water
species .

Seasonal Movements

The data available from the study area are too meager for any pattern to
emerge. Stranding records are scattered throughout the year (Table 4) .

137
Figure 29 . Distribution -of the spinner dolphin, Stenella lanairostris . See
legend for Figure 3 and text for explanation of symbols .

138
Status and Abundance

No data are available concerning abundance in the study area . The most
that can he said is that these dolphins rarely strand . In the Pacific Ocean
spinner dolphins occur in herds of up to several hundred individuals (Leather-
wood et al . 1976) . As a species, they are believed to be stable and not
endangered (Winn et al . 1979) . Presently, no pressure is exerted on stocks in
the western North Atlantic, except in the Lesser Antilles dolphin fisheries,
and there is no evidence that stocks are unstable there (Winn et al . 1979) .

Life History

Little life history information is available from the study area . A preg-
nant female, part of a mass stranding of 36 animals, came ashore at Carabelle,
Florida, on 23 September 1961 . Another pregnant female with a near-terry fetus
stranded near Malaquite Beach, Padre Island, Texas, on 3 March 1975 . Two mass
strandings of 36 and 29 individuals were reported within the study area on the
Gulf coast of Florida, near Sarasota and Tallahassee . Spinner dolphins are
known to feed on squid in Florida, and fish and shrimp in the Lesser Antilles
(Winn et al . 1979) .

The following information from other regions is from Mitchell (1975) .

Females give birth to a single calf ; length at birth i s approximately 80 cm .
Females are not known to be pregnant and lactating simulataneously . It has
been suggested that two seasonal reproductive peaks occur, in spring and fall .

In the eastern tropical Pacific, spinner dolphins are closely associated

with tuna schools, to such a decree that their presence is used by fishermen
as an indication of tuna . Dolphins are captured in the purse seine net with
the tuna, and many die when they become entangled in the webbing .

Records of Occurrence

Quad 1 North Carolina : Corolla, 36°22' N, 75°50" W (168) .

Q uad 3 North Carolina : 0 .5 km S Coquina Beach, Bodie Island, 35°50' M,

75°33' W (169, 206) ; Cape Hatteras (206) .

Q uad 5 South Carolina : Bull's Island (94, 206) .

Quad 8 Florida : mouth St . Johns River, near ftayport (37, 166),

Q uad lE Florida : Martin Co ., Hutchinson's Island, 27°12' Pd, 8C°11'4 4! (170) .

Q uad 21 Florida : Okaloosa Co ., E Fort Walton Beach (90, 191) .

Quad 26 Texas : Jefferson Co ., Sabine Pass Beach (131, 2C3) .

Quad 30 Florida : Franklin Co ., Dog Island, 4 rri off Carrabelle (85, P-0,
185, 2Q6) .

Quad 32 Texas : Nueces Co . Park, Padre Island (134) ; Klebers Co ., 4 mi S

Plalaquite Beach, Padre Island (131, 2C3) ; Padre Island (134) .

13~
Quad 39 Florida : Tampa Bay, near St . Petersburg (36) ; Siesta and Casey Key,
27018' N, 82033' W (168, 206) .

Quad 49 Turtle Rocks, W of Bahamas, 25°41' N, 79°20' W (104) .

SHORT-SNORTED SPINNER DOLPHIN

Stenella clymene (Cray 1850)

Other Common Names - None .

Other Scientific Names - None .

Description and Identification

Perrin et al . (1977) have recently shown that these dolphins are specifi-
cally distinct from the closely related spinner dolphin Stenella longirostris .
These authors describe external and cranial differences that distinguish the
two, and the following description is from the abstract of a paper presented
at the Second Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals in San Diego, Cali-
fornia, in 1977 : "S . clymene closely resembles S . lonqirostris in color
pattern and tooth shape and size and is obviously closely related to it, but
has a short, broad rostrum, is more robust inibuild, and has fewer teeth . Its
skull is very much like that of S . coeruleoalba in proportions, but smaller,
and some specimens have been erroneously referred to that species, as well as
to S . frontalis ." The external differences between S, cl ene and S, lo n i-
rostris are so subtle that field identification, especially from an airp ane,
is virtually impossible .

Distribution

S . clymene and S . longirostris are sympatric . Both have been recorded

from the Southeast, tie Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean, and the coast of Africa
(Perrin et al . 1Q77) . Stranding records in the study area are available from
the vicinity of St . Augustine and St . Petersburg, Florida, and from Padre
Island National Seashore along the Texas coast (Figure 30) .

Seasonal Movements

Stranding records in the study area for which dates are available are
frog January, September, and October, but these data are too meager to discern
a seasonal pattern (Table 4) .

Abundance and Status

No population estimates are available from the study area . These dolphins
are widely distributed and well known to the fishermen of the Lesser Antillean
dolphin fisheries . They have not noted a decrease in numbers over the years,
which would suggest populations are stable and not endangered .

140
Figure 30 . CistriEution of the short-snouted spinner dolphin, Stenella
clymene . See legend for Figure 3 and text for explanation of syrbols .

141
Life History

No information on life history parameters is available either from the

study area or other regions .

Records of Occurrence

Quad 12 Florida : Vilano Beach (37) ; St . Johns Co ., 1 mi N St . Augustine

Inlet (38 as S . loncirostris sensu lato) ; Vic . St . Augustine (38 as S .
longirostri°s sensu lato .

Q uad 32 Texas : Yarborough Pass, Padre Island National Seashore (132 as S .

frontalis , 118, 191, 203) .

Quad 39 Florida : Pinellas Co ., Bunces Pass near St . Petersburg Beach (38 as

S . longirostris sensu lato) .

Family Phocoenidae

HARBOR PORPOISE

Phocoena phocoena (Linnaeus 1758)

Other Common Names - Harbour porpoise .

Other Scientific Names - None .

Description and Identification

Harbor porpoises are the smallest oceanic cetacean . Average adult length
and weight is about 4 .9 to 5 .2 ft (1 .5 to 1 .6 m) and 91 to 122 lb (45 to 60
kg) . Their body is robust, with a blunt snout and a small rounded head lacking
a distinctive beak . The dorsal fin is relatively small and triangular . A
prominent dorsal ridge extends from the dorsal fin to the point of flake
insertion (Gaskin et al . 174) . Their color pattern is distinctive : dark
brown to gray on the back, fading to lighter grayish-brown on the sides, often
with speckling in the transition zone, and white on the belly extending far-
ther up the sides in front of the dorsal fin (Leatherwood et al . 1976) .

Distribution

Harbor porpoises are a boreal -teirperate zone species, and in the western
North Atlantic, they have been reported from the Davis Straits and the waters
from southwestern Greenland to North Carolina (Leatherwood et al . 1976) . They
barely enter the Atlantic portion of the study area where individuals have
stranded along the coast of North Carolina near Hatteras Island, Royal Shoal,
Cape Lookout, Corolla, and Ocracoke Island (Figure 31) . There have been num-
erous strandings along the North Carolina Coast north of Cape Hatteras .

142
Figure 31 . Distribution of the harbor porpoise, Phocoena phocoena . See
legend for Figure 3 and text for explanation of symbols .

143
Apparently, these porpoises do not occur south of latitude 34° N ; conse-
quently, they are absent from the remainder of the Atlantic portion of the
study area as well as the Gulf of Vexico . Harbor porpoises prefer cold water
and highly productive inshore or shallow coastal banks and rarely occur off-
shore in deep waters (Winn et al . 197p) .

Seasonal Movements

According to heave and Wright (1968), harbor porpoises exhibit a north-

south annual migratory pattern on the eastern coast of North America, moving
northward in late May and southward in early October . However, Gaskin et al .
(1974) suggest an inshore-offshore movement of the same time scale, not a
north-south movement . Sergeant et al . (1970) suggested wintering occurred
near Sable Island . All strandings in the study area occurred from February to
May (Table 4) .

Status and Abundance

No population estimates are available from the study area . Along the U .S .
Atlantic coast, harbor porpoises are most common in coastal waters from Cape
Cod northward (Prescott et al . 1979) . The recent records from North Carolina
indicate they do extend that far south, though probably as strays ; Long Island
appears to be the normal southern limit of their range (Mead 1975a) . It is
perhaps significant that this is also the northern limit for Tursiops trunca-
tus , which may compete directly with Phocoena (Mead 1975a) .

Life History

No data are available on life history parameters in the study area . The
following information frog the North Atlantic region is taken from Gaskin
et al . 1974) . Mating occurs from June to October . Implantation is immediate,
and gestation lasts about 8 to 10 months . Calving occurs from May to July .
Lactation lasts about 8 months . Full sexual maturity is probably attained at
3 to 4 years, supposedly at body lengths of about 1 .3 m in males and 1 .4 m in
ferules . Females do not bear a fetus every year. Little is known of breeding
behavior in the wild, whether there is a single dominant male in the school,
whether promiscuous mating is the rule, or whether long-term pairing occurs .

Their diet is mostly smooth, non-spiny rayed fish 100 to 250 mm long,
especially gadoids and clupeoids . Major dietary items in the western Bay of
Fundy are herring (Clu ea hareny us), pollack ( Pallachius virens ), and mackerel
(Scomber scrombus ) opulation aggregations in the Bay of Fundy consist of
several discrete schools containing up to nine individuals, and separated by
only a few hundred yards .

Records of Occurrence

Quad 1 North Carolina : Corolla, 36°30' N, 75°51' W (169, 206) ; Corolla

each (94, 171, 206) ; Corolla, 36°28' N, 75°51' W (169, 206) ; Duck,
36°10' N, 75°44' W (169, 206) ; Kitty Hawk, 36°06' N, 75°42' W (169, 206) .

Quad 2 North Carolina : Royal Shoal, Pamlico Sound (14, 41) ; Ocean Beach,
4 km S Cape Lookout (171) ; Carteret Co . (1Q6) .

144
Quad 3 North Carolina : Nags Head, 35°59' N, 75°39' W (170, 2C6) ; Nags Head,
5°57' N, 75°37' W (165, 206) ; Nags Head, 35°56' N, 75°37' W (16G, 206) ;
Nags Head, 35°56' N, 75°36' W (169, 206) ; North Carolina : Bodie Island,
35°50' N, 75°33' W (16Q, 2Q6) ; Bodie Island, 35°50' N, 75°34' b! (169,
206) ; Bodie Island, 35°47' N, 75°32' W (169, 206) ; Pea Island, 35°46' N,
75°31' W (16,, 206) ; Pea Island, 35°44' N, 75°30' 4! (1609, 2C6) ; Pea
Island, 35°45' P;, 75°30'
350,, W (16S, 2G6) ; Pea Island, 35°3S' PJ, 75°2S' W!
(16g, 206) ; Rodanthe, 36' N, 75°28' W (169, 2Q6) ; Rodanthe, 35°35' N,
75°2a' W (164, 206) ; Salvo, 35°32' V, 75°28' W (169, 206) ; Salvo,
35°30' .PJ, 75°28' W (169, 2C6) ; Hatteras Island, 35°31' PJ, 75°28' 41 (17C,
206) ; Hatteras Island, 35°2S' N, 75°2T' 4.' (169, 2CE) ; hatteras Island,
35°27' N, 75°29' W (16a, 2CE) ; Hatteras Island, 35°26' Iv, 75°20' W (170,
206) ; Hatteras Island, 35°25' N, 75°2S' 1 ;' (169, 2C6) ; Avon, 35°22' Pd,
75°3C' W (169, 206) ; Avon, 35°21' N, 75°3C' 4i (16Q, 206) ; Avon, 35°20' N,
75°30' k' (16S, 17C, 2Q6) ; Buxton, 35°17' N, 75°31' W (169, 206) ; Buxton,
35°15' N, 75°31' k' (16S., 206) ; Ocracoke Island 35°Cp' N, 75°42' W (169,
20E) ; Ocracok.e Island, 35°0~" N, 75°51' V! (17Q, 206) ; Ocracoke Island,
35°00" N, 75°52' W (lE9, 206) ; Qcracoke Island, 35°ln' N, 75°50' 4: (165,
206) ; Ocracoke Island, 35°10' N, 75°51' W (169, 2C'6) .

Order Pinnipedia

Family Otariidae

CALIFORNIA. SEA LION

Zalophus californianus (Lesson 1828)

Other Common Names - None .

Other Scientific Names - None .

Description and Identification

Unlike harbor seals ( Phoca vitulina ), California sea lions have small,
pointed external ears and hind flippers that can be reversed and brought be-
neath the body for movement on land . Males are much larger than females and
ray reach a total length of 8 ft (2 .4 m) and weigh up to 600 lb (30C kg) ;
females may reach a length. of 6 ft (1 .P r~) and weigh up to 200 1b (100 kg) .
Males also have a conspicuous crest on top of their head . Coloration is black-
ish when wet, varying from light buff to deep sepia when dry (Hall and Kelson
1959) .

Distribution

California sea lions occur normally only on the Pacific coast, from Brit-
ish Columbia south to the Tres Marias Islands off Nayarit (Lowery 1'14) . They

145
have been introduced (presumably by accident) into the western North Atlantic
and are known there only from a few feral individuals . In the study area
there are records from North Carolina southward around Florida and into the
northern Gulf of Mexico as far west as Louisiana (Figure 32) . These animals
are often seen on or near sea buoys for as long as several months . For
example, Gunter (1968) reported California sea lions'on buoys near the mouth
of the F'ississippi River in January 1966 and on the buoys of the ship channel
leading into Mobile Bay, Alabama, in June 1966 . Similarly, Lowery (1974)
reported an animal that visited an oil company barge in the Gulf 32 mi
(51 .4 km) south of Cameron, Louisiana, daily for nearly a month in August and
September 1971 and sunned itself on the deck in spite of the workmen a fever
yards away .

Seasonal P"overnents

Sightings that occur within short periods of time suggest movements ay an

individual . For example, of two seals present on Chandeleur Island in January
1 9 66, one was probably the same individual as the seal seen on the buoys in
the Mobile Ship Channel in July of that year, when it was observed to have an
identifying scar that showed it to be the seal found dead on Chandeleur Island
on 11 August 1 9 66 (Gunter 1968) . According to Gunter, the second seal may have
been the cane observed on a charnel buoy off Pensacol a i n April 167 . There
seems to be no seasonal pattern to these movements (Tale 4) .

Status and Abundance

There have been no estimates of California sea lions in the study area .
However, their ability to live feral for months in the warm and temperate
waters of the study area suggests that they could establish self-sustaining
populations there .

Life History

There are no data on life history parameters within the study area .
Breeding probably does not occur in the study area ; in California breeding
occurs in May and June . California sea lions are polygamous and have a single
pup after a gestation period of 342 to 365 days (Hall and Kelson 195~) . They
feed on squid and srall fishes (4iinn et al . 175) .

Records of Occurrence

Q uad 2 North Carol ina : 34°28' N, 77°12' 4' (166) .

Quad 4 South Carolina : Charleston Co ., 18 kr SE Kiawah Island (47) : Beau-

fo rt (47) ; Georgia : Savannah (69) .

Quad 5 South Carolina : 4!inyah Bay (47) ; Charleston (37, 47) .

Quad 8 Georgia : Sapelo Island (47) ; Brunswick (37) ; Florida : t'ayport (37) .

Quad 12 Florida : St . Augustine (37) ; Summer Haven (37) ; Flagler Beach (6~,
85) ; New Smyrna Beach (37) ; Brevard Co ., Indian River near Titusville
(85) ; Cape Canaveral Harbor (25) .

146
Figure ?2 . Distribution of the California sea lion, Zalo h~us californianus .
See legend for Figure ? and text for explanation of sym oh ls .

147
Cuad 16 Florida : North Fork St . Lucie River, near Stuart (85) .

Quad 20 Alabama : Sand Point Light, Mobile Bay (69, 9Q) .

Quad 21 Florida : Pensacola (69, 9C) .

Quad 26 Louisiana : 32 ni S Cameron (90) .

Quad 28 Louisiana : Chandeleur Islands (6c, 90) ; mouth Mississippi River,

29°16' N, 88°45' W (90) .

Quad 31 Florida : Cedar Key (6 ;') .

Quad 48 Florida : Miami (65) .

Family Phocidae

HARBOR SEAL

Phoca vitulina Linnaeus 1758

Other Common Names - None .

Other Scientific Names - alone .

Description and Identification

These chunky, aquatic carnivores lack external ears and have large eyes .
The front flippers are small and the hind flippers point backward . Males ray
be 5 to 6 ft (1 .5 to 1 .8 m) in length and weigh several hundred pounds ;
ferules are slightly smaller . Their color pattern is variable . They are usu-
ally yellowish-gray dorsally, varied with irregular spots of dark brown or
black, and yellowish-white ventrally, usually with small dark brown spots .
Sometimes they are uniformly brownish-yellow or grayish dorsally, paler ven-
trally, and lack spots (Hall and Kelson 1959) .

Distribution

Harbor seals are distributed around the world i n the temperate and sub-
arctic waters of the Northern Hemisphere . Four distinct subspecies are
recognized ; animals from the Atlantic are referrable to P, v . vitulina . In
the western North Atlantic, they are commonly found from Labrador to Long
Island . Strays have been recorded in the study area from South Carolina to as
far south as Daytona, Florida (Figure 33) . These seals have not been recorded
from the Gulf of Mexico .

Seasonal Movements
Harbor seals are believed to undergo seasonal migrations along the U .S .
coast (Pilson and Goldstein 1973) . All records in the study area are from

148
Figure 33 . Distribution of the harbor seal, Phoca vitulina . See legend for
Figure 3 and text for explanation of symbols .

149
September, October, and January through April (Table 4) ; these individuals are
probably young animals that disperse from the north during the fall and winter
months .

Abundance and Status

Harbor seals occur in coastal waters, frequenting harbors and bays, and
they frequently haul out on rocks and beaches . No estimates for numbers stray-
ing into the study area exist though the number of records from North Carolina
suggests they are much more common there than in other southeastern Atlantic
States . Population estimates from other areas in the North Atlantic include
(1) Gulf of Maine, 7,000 animals (Richardson 1976) ; and (2) Canadian Maritime
(excluding Sable and Magdalen Islands), between 10,000 and 15,000 individuals
(Fisher 1949) .

Life History

No data on life history parameters are available from the study area .
These animals are scattered during summer, with late summer groups containing
individuals of all ages ; in September mature seals swim to secluded areas
where they mate . Loosely organized colonies may be formed, but harbor seals
do not establish harems (Walker 1975) . One or two pups are born the following
spring or summer after a gestation period of approximately 9 months (Hall and
Kelson 1959) . Sexual maturity is reached at 2 to 5 years in females and 3 to
6 years in males (Winn et al . 1979) . Harbor seals eat fish and mollusks, tak-
ing a variety of species depending on abundance (Pilson and Goldstein 1973) .

Records of Occurrence

Quad 1 North Carolina : Corolla, 36°20' N, 75°49' W (171) ; Kitty Hawk (195) .

Quad 2 North Carolina : Judith Island, Pamlico Sound (13, 37, 41) ; Ocracoke
Island (13, 37, 41) ; Lower Neuse River (13, 37, 41, 146) ; New River
Inlet, Beaufort, 34°33' N, 77°21' W (171) ; Hammock's Beach State Park,
34°40' N, 77°10' W (170) ; Beaufort Inlet (13, 37, 41) ; between Cape Look-
out Lighthouse and Ranger Station (171) .

Quad 3 North Carolina : Oregon Inlet, 35°55' N, 75°48' W (169) ; Cape Hatteras
National Seashore, 35°16' N, 75°32' W (171) ; Cape Hatteras (13, 37, 41) ;
near Hatteras Lighthouse on Ocean Beach (171) ; S of Cape Point, Cape
Hatteras National Seashore (170) .

Quad 4 South Carolina : Folly Beach (27, 41) ; Hilton Head Island (27, 30,
61) .

Quad 5 South Carolina : Georgetown Co ., South Island, Winyah Bay (37, 47) ;
Santee River (27, 41, 179) ; Charleston Harbor (27, 41, 61, 179) .

Quad 8 Florida : 30°15' N, 81°15' W (166) ;' Duval Co ., Jacksonville Beach

185) .

Quad 12 Florida : 29°41' N, 81°05' W (166) ; Ponce de Leon Inlet (30) .

150
 HOODED SEAL

Cystophora cristata (Erxleben 1777)

Other Common Names - Bladdernose seal

Other Scientific Names - None .

Description and Identification

Male hooded seals may reach a length of 10 .5 ft (3 .2 m) and weigh up to

850 lb (425 kg) ; females may reach a length of 8 ft (2 .4 m) and weigh up to
400 lb (200 kg) . Males are usually bluish or dark gray above, and lighter on
the sides and below ; some have whitish spots on the sides, while others have
dark spots or blotches . The face and muzzle are blackish . Females are paler
and have less distinct markings (Walker 1975) . Both sexes have a nasal "hood"
or a bladderlike protuberance on the nose, which is inflatable in times of
danger or anger .

Distribution

Hooded seals are associated with the ice pack in deep waters of the
Atlantic and Arctic Oceans where they normally occur from Greenland, Iceland,
and the Denmark Strait to Labrador and Newfoundland . They are migratory and
likely to wander, probably accounting for the few sightings in the study area
from North Carolina in 1910 and 1944, and from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in
1910 (Figure 34) . There have been no recent sightings in the study area .

Seasonal Movements

No data are available from the study area . Hooded seals migrate in autumn
from the east coast of Greenland and Baffin Bay to as far south as Sable Is-
land Bank, Nova Scotia, returning north in spring (Hall and Kelson 1x59) .

Status and Abundance

A total of about 40.0,00e hooded seals live in the North Atlantic along
and to the south of the edge of the ice pack (Scheffer 1958) . No population
estimates are available from the study area, and none have been sighted
recently, suggesting that a resident population does not occur in the region .

Life History

There are no data available on life history parameters from the study
area . Breeding occurs in Newfoundland . Hooded seals travel and breed in the
same areas with harp seals, but the two species remain apart and form separate
breeding groups, usually consisting of a bull, cow, and their offspring . Adult
sexes usually remain in separate groups except during breeding (Walker 175) .
A single pup is horn in late February or early March on the ice flees (Hall
and K.el son 1959 ) . After 2 to 4 weeks the pup i s left on its own while the
adults breed . Young animals tend to remain by themselves until sexually mature

151
Figure 34 . Distribution of the hooded seal, C sto hora cristata . See legend
for Figure 3 and text for explanation of symbo s .

152
at about 4 years (Walker 1575) . Hooded seals are solitary feeders with a diet
of fish, squid, shrimps, mussels and starfish (Pilson and Goldstein 1Q73) .

Records of Occurrence

Quad 2 North Carolina : Forehead City (14, 37, 41,`1Q4) .

Q uad 3 North Carolina : North Banks Beach (14, 37, 41, 104, 206) .

Quad ~12 Florida : Prevard Co ., Cape Canaveral, 28°27' N, 8C°33' W (41, 73,
97, 104) .

WEST INDIAN SEAL

Monachus tropicalis (Gray 1850)

Other Common Names - Caribbean monk seal .

Fp

Other Scientific Names - None .

Description and Identification

Large adult West Indian seals measure up to 7 .5 ft (2 .3 m) in length .

Externally they resemble their relative, the Mediterranean monk seal, but are
nearly uniform "brown tinged with gray, caused by the hairs being light at the
extreme tip . The color becomes lighter on the sides, and gradually passes
into pale yellow or yellowish-white on the ventral surface of the body" (Allen
1887 :4) . Consequently, they do not show the contrasting white telly of their
eastern relative (Allen 1942) . V

Distribution

West Indian seals are the only seal native to the Gulf of F"exico and Car-
ibbean area, but they are now extinct (Rice 177) . In historic times their
range included the Gulf of P`exico and Caribbean Sea as far south as the coast
of Honduras, eastward to Jamaica, Cuba, and Hispaniola, thence northward
throughout the Bahamas (Gunter 1947) . Places in the study area where they
occurred include the Florida Keys and along the Texas coast from Brownsville
to as far north as Galveston (Fioure 35) . A few were reported from Pensacola,
Florida, but these were broughtV there from the Triangle Keys in the Gulf of
Canpeche and released in the bay (h'oore 1953) .

Seasonal Movements

Nothing definitive is known about movements of these seals . Records for

which dates are available in the study area are from January, February, March,
April, and June (Table 4) .

153
Figure 35 . Distribution of the Vest Indian seal, P"onachus tropicalis . See
legend for Figure 3 and text for explanation of syr~bo-

154
Status and Abundance

The decimation and extermination of Vest Indian seals have been reviewed
by Allen (1887), Allen (142), Kellogg (143), 1foore (153), Gunter (1954),
and Kenyon (177) . The last specirlen in the study area was taker in 122
(Townsend 123) near Key West ; since that time there have been only sight
records on the Texas coast, one in 132 (Gunter 147) and one in 157 near
Galveston (Gunter 1965), which was only reported in a local weekly newspaper .
The latter record cannot be verified and probably represents a sighting of an
escaped California sea lion .

The Alacranes Islands and Triangle Keys ofd the coast of Yucatan were
apparently the last remaining stronghold for West Indian seals (Allen 142) .
Supposedly, residents of Carmen, Yucatan, reported seals in the Alacranes as
late as 1948 . Gilmore (1959) could find no seals or reports of then! on a
survey of the Caribbean region in 151 . The last authentic record was an
observation in 152 of a small colony on Seranilla Bank (Rice 1977), which is
in the Caribbean Sea (out of the study area), midway between Honduras and
Jamaica .

Kenyon (1 9 77) participated in aerial surveys from 1~` to 25 Parch 1973

around the islands and atolls off Campeche, Yucatan, Quintana Roo (t'.exico),
British Honduras, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the central Caribbean to Jamaica .
At every island croup visited, either fishing vessels or shrimp trawlers at
anchor, or fishermen and their shacks on shore, or the remains of abandoned
fishermen's carps were observed, However, there was no indication of the
existence of monk seals . Kenyon's conclusion (1977) from the 1973 survey is
that Caribbean monk seals have been extinct since the early 1950's .

The early decimation of West Indian seals was brought about by overhunt-
ina because they were the best source of oil in the southern islands during
colonial tires . Seals were slaughtered so persistently that they already had
become rare by 1851 (Allen 1942) . The subsequent extinction of these seals
can be attributed directly to human disturbance, especially by fishermen . The
most remote habitat of Caribbean monk seals now has been invaded ay fishermen,
who are prone to kill seals as competitors . Because monk seals evolved in
island environments where there were no natural eneries on shore, they were
inherently tare and thus easy victims (Kenyon 1 9 77) .

Life History

Virtually nothing was learned about the life history of best Indian seals
before their extinction . Apparently the young were born in early December
because several females killed in the Triangle Keys during this time had
fetuses nearly ready for birth . The animals themselves were remarkably slug-
gish and inconspicuous, allowing persons to core anon them without great
alarm, so that numbers could easily he killed (Allen 142) . No doubt, this
lack. of suspicion and fear contributed to their extinction . Their diet pro-
bably included fish and mollusks (Hall and Kelson 1959) .

Records of Occurrence

Quad 21 Florida : Pensacola, 3G°21' N, 87°31' 4.! (5, 1C4) .

155
Q uad 25 Texas : Galveston (65, 67, 69) .

Quad 32 Texas : Brazos Santiago Pass (65 ; E7, 69) .

Quad 47 Dry Tortuao Islands, 24°10' Pd, 83°55' W (104) ; Fort Jefferson, Dry
Tortugos (1C4) .

Quad 48 Florida : Key West (5, 67, 104, 146) ; Cape Florida, 25°Q4' N,
80009' H! (5, 104) .

Quad 56 Alacranes Islands _,(5, 6, 69, 104) .

Q uad 59 Cuba : Habana (5) .

Q uad 60 5 mi from Key West, 23°33' N, B1°48' W (1C4) .

Quad 61 Salt Bank Key (5) .

Quad 6E Triangle Keys (5, E0, 1G4) ; West Triangle Key, Gulf of Cwpeche
EO) ; Cayos Areas, lOG mi N Carren (60) .

Quad 70 Anina Islands (5) .

SUMMARY AND RECOP"P"ENDATIQNS

Thirty-three species (29 cetaceans and 4 pinnipeds) of marine mammals are

known from the study area . At least two cetaceans ( Peponocephala electra and
Lagenodelphis Fosei ) have been recorded so close to the boundaries of the
region that they are likely to be found eventually in the area . Of the four
pinnipeds, one (the West Indian seal, Monachus tropicalis ) is now extinct and
no longer occurs in the region ; another the California sea lion, Zalophus
californianus) has been introduced and occurs only in the feral condition, and
a third the hooded seal, Cystophora cristata ) is known only on the basis of
stray individuals . The harbor seal ( Phoca vitalina ) is the only pinniped to
actor regularly in the study area, and it is only known from the Atlantic
coast .

The cetacean fauna includes 12 cosmopolitan species which occur in roost

major oceans and which, for the roost part, are eurythermic with a broad range
of ter~perature tolerances . These are Balaenoptera rrusculus , Ralaenoptera
borealis , Ealaenoptera pF:ysalus , Megaptera novaeangliae , Physeter catodon ,
Zi'phius cavirostris , Pseudorca crassidens , Qrcinus orca , Celphinus delphis ,
Tursio s truncatus , Grampus ariseus , and Stenella coeruleoalba . Four species
P1eso lodon europaeus , P'esoplodor. mirus , Stenella plagiodon , and Stenella
clymene have a distriLution confined to the Atlantic Ocean . Nine cetaceans
have distributions peculiar to tropical-warm temperature waters of both her~i-
spheres and may be considered as warr!-stenotherrnal forms . These include
Balaenoptera edeni , Kogid breviceps ,~ Koala simus, Veso lodon densirostris ,
Feresa attenuata , Globicephala macrorhynchus,steno redanensis, Stenella
frontalis , and Stenella longirostris . Three species Eubalaera glacialis ,
Balaenoptera acutorostrata , and Globicephala relaena ) have disjunct bipolar

156
(antitropical) distributions and are regarded as cold-stenotherrral forms . 4
Another cold-stenotherm species, Phocoena phocoena , is peculiar to northern
waters and only barely enters the study area .

Several migratory species occur in the study area, including Physeter

catodon , several species of Balaenoptera , Megaptera novaeangliae , and Euba-
laena glacialis . These species generally travel between a breeding zone where
they do not eat and a feeding zone of high productivity in cooler waters .

Some of the larger whales that occur in the study area have been placed
on the Endangered Species List of the U .S . Fish and Wildlife Service Register .
These include sei whales ( Balaenoptera borealis), fin whales (Balaeno tera
physalus ), blue whales (Balaeno tera musculus , right whales Eubalaena
glacialis ), and sperm whales Physeter catodon ) . Only two of these, blue
whales and right whales, are considered endangered on a worldwide basis . None
of these large whales have been hunted commercially in the study area during
this century, and there are no plans for such hunting in the future .

None of the dolphins or other odontocetes in the study area are consid-
ered endangered anywhere on the species level though the spinner dolphin
( Stenella longirostris ) has received considerable attention as a locally
endangered species in the eastern Pacific, where large numbers may be killed
in the tuna purse seine fisheries . If such a fishery is established in the
eastern Gulf of Mexico, as has been suggested, then this species right become
locally endangered there as well (Caldwell and Caldwell 1973) .

The possible effects of oil and oil-industry activities on marine mammals

are a subject of great concern in the study area . All marine mammals inhabit
surface waters to breathe and some to feed, which exposes them to spilled oil
by contact, inhalation, or ingestion . Shoreline accumulation of oil directly
could affect inshore-dwelling cetaceans and all pinnipeds . As top-level pred-
ators, the odontocetes and pinnipeds are potential accumulators of oceanic
contaminants . Noise and shock waves generated by seismic surveys, drilling,
construction, and support vessels potentially threaten marine mammals by dis-
placing them from otherwise dependable feeding grounds, migratory routes, and
fragile nursing rookeries . In spite of these concerns, there are little hard
scientific data upon which to base decisions .

With the exception of the bottlenose dolphin ( Tursiops truncatus ), no

data are available for estimating population sizes of cetaceans and pinnipeds
in the study area . Huge data gaps exist, with the exception of stranding
studies . The Smithsonian Institution supports a stranding network in the Cape
Hatteras region and has a sizable unpublished data base . Similarly, there is
a Southeastern Regional Stranding Network, sponsored by National Marine Fish-
eries Service (Nh"FS), but operating largely on a volunteer, sporadic basis
because of lack of federal support .

The area in need of immediate support is field studies carried out by

airplanes, ships, and platforms of opportunity . With the exception of bays,
there is almost a complete lack of at-sea studies . Until these are done, crit-
ical areas and certain aspects of life histories, such as migrations, cannot
be determined . Without this information, it is virtually impossible to assess
the influence of man's activities in comparison to the influence of normal

157
environmental fluctuations . In this regard, the RLM-NFb;L project, involving
an offshore, systematically planned aerial-sampling scheme at several places
in the study area, offers much promise for providing adequate data to use in
assessing stocks of cetaceans and pinniFeds .

The bottlenose dolphin is in need of continued, intensive study since the

bays, river mouths, and along-shore areas are important habitats for it . In
particular, boat and aerial studies are needed to determine population esti-
mates and ascertain movements . PJFFS currently is sponsoring Tursiops studies
in Florida and Texas waters .

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165
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