FIRST STRANDING RECORD OF KOGIA SIMA (OWEN, 1866) IN MOROCCO (STRAIT OF GIBRALTAR)

First stranding record of Kogia sima (Owen, 1866) in Morocco (Strait of Gibraltar)

Said Benchoucha, Mohamed Naoufal Tamsouri, Fatima El Aamri

Laboratory of Fish, National Institute of Fisheries Research (Tanger), MOROCCO
Center Specialized in Zootechny and Marine Aquaculture Engineering. National Institute of Fisheries Research (M’diq), MOROCCO

Abstract

This paper reports the first record of Kogia sima (Owen, 1866) in Morocco (Strait of Gibraltar) and the forth for the Mediterranean Sea. On 30 April 2015, in Mnar-Tanger (Morocco) a stranding of dwarf sperm whale, K. sima was found. This species is rarely observed at sea and little is known from the Mediterranean Sea.

Keywords: First record, Kogia sima, Cetacea, Kogiidae, dwarf sperm whale, Mediterranean Sea

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