Stranding of a minke whale on the eastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey, April 2015

Ayaka Amaha Öztürk, Ayhan Dede, Arda M. Tonay, Erdem Danyer, Işıl Aytemiz

Turkish Marine Research Foundation (TUDAV), P.O. Box: 10, Beykoz, Istanbul, TURKEY
Faculty of Fisheries, Istanbul University, Ordu St., No. 200, 34470, Laleli, Istanbul, TURKEY
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Istanbul University, 34320, Avcılar, Istanbul, TURKEY

Abstract

Minke whale, Balaenoptera acutorostrata Lacépède, 1804, is known as a visitor species in the Mediterranean Sea. On 10 April 2015, a female minke whale stranded in Yumurtalık on the eastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey. The body length and body weight were measured as 3.55 m and 400 kg, respectively. The carcass was necropsied, however the reason of the stranding was not evident due the advanced stage of decomposition. This is the second case of minke whale stranding in Turkey.

Keywords: Minke whale, Balaenoptera acutorostrata, stranding, eastern Mediterranean Sea

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