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Records of kogiid whales in Namibia, including the first record of the dwarf sperm whale (Kogia sima)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 March 2013

S.H. Elwen ,
T. Gridley ,
J-P. Roux ,
P.B. Best  and
M.J. Smale
S.H. Elwen*
Affiliation:
Mammal Research Unit, University of Pretoria, C/o Iziko South African Museum, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa Namibian Dolphin Project, Walvis Bay, Namibia
T. Gridley
Affiliation:
Mammal Research Unit, University of Pretoria, C/o Iziko South African Museum, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa Namibian Dolphin Project, Walvis Bay, Namibia
J-P. Roux
Affiliation:
Lüderitz Marine Research, Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Shark Island, Lüderitz, Namibia Animal Demography Unit, Zoology Department, University of Cape Town, South Africa
P.B. Best
Affiliation:
Mammal Research Unit, University of Pretoria, C/o Iziko South African Museum, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa
M.J. Smale
Affiliation:
Port Elizabeth Museum at Bayworld, PO Box 13147, Humewood, 6013, South Africa Department of Zoology, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, PO Box 77000, Port Elizabeth, 6031, South Africa
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: S.H. Elwen, Mammal Research Unit, University of Pretoria, C/o Iziko South African Museum, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa email: simon.elwen@gmail.com
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Abstract

Dwarf (Kogia sima) and pygmy (K. breviceps) sperm whales occur in pelagic waters around southern Africa. Here we report the first record of K. sima from Namibia and provide information on the basic morphometrics and diet of that record and of two recent strandings of K. breviceps. All known records (N = 29) of K. breviceps from Namibia are also collated. Eight families of cephalopod were identified in the stomach contents of the K. sima but no fish remains and few crustacean parts were present. Nine and ten families of cephalopod were identified in the stomachs of the two K. breviceps specimens respectively. This report expands the known range of K. sima by more than 1000 km from previous published records in the region. The sparsely populated nature of the Namibian coast and bias of records towards centres of human habitation suggest Kogia strandings are under reported. The low number of stranded specimens of K. sima from Namibia and west South Africa, in comparison to K. breviceps suggests that K. sima occur rarely or at very low densities in the area influenced by the Benguela current ecosystem. Specimens from Namibia are valuable due to uncertainties about taxomony of kogiids in the region.

Keywords

Kogia brevicepsKogia simaNamibiadwarf sperm whalepygmy sperm whalenew range state recordstomach contentsdiet
Type
Research Article
Information
Marine Biodiversity Records , Volume 6 , 2013 , e45
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2013

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