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New Record of a Sowerby’s Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon bidens) for the Caribbean
Antonio A. Mignucci-Giannoni1,2,*, Susana Caballero3, Diego A. Quiroga3, Robinson S. Jiménez-Cabreja4, Enrique Pugibet-Bobea5, and Wojtek Bachara6
1Caribbean Manatee Conservation Center, Inter American University of Puerto Rico, 500 Carr. John Will Harris, Bayamon, Puerto Rico 00957, USA. 2Center for Conservation Medicine and Ecosystem Health, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, PO Box 334 Basseterre, St. Kitts West Indies. 3Laboratorio de Ecología Molecular de Vertebrados Acuáticos (LEMVA), Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de los Andes, Carrera 1 No 18A–10, Bogotá, Colombia. Galleón Divers, Paseo de los Pescadores #2, Costa Verde, San Fernando de Monte Cristi, 62000, República Dominicana. 5Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, Viceministerio de Recursos Costeros y Marinos, Avenida Cayetano Germosén esq. Avenida Gregorio Luperón, Ensenche El Pedregal, Santo Domingo 11107, República Dominicana. 6PO Box 555 Legionowo, Poland. *Corresponding author.
Caribbean Naturalist, No. 97 (2024)
Published 3 April 2024
Abstract
Beaked whales in the genus Mesoplodon are among the world’s rarest cetaceans. A sub-adult female Mesoplodon bidens (Sowerby’s Beaked Whale) was found stranded on Isla Cabra, Monte Cristi, on the northwestern coast of the Dominican Republic in 2022, thousands of kilometers southwest of their natural home range. External and skull morphology and DNA analysis confirmed the species’ identification as M. bidens. Only 11 extralimital records exist for this species, so every opportunity to document the life history of these elusive and cryptic whales is essential. We encourage local biologists to be on alert for stranding cases, tend to them expeditiously, and collect all tissues available for study to enhance our knowledge of this little-known cetacean and contribute to its conservation efforts.
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