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First record of a white rough-toothed dolphin (Steno bredanensis) off West Africa including notes on rough-toothed dolphin surface behaviour

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 June 2010

Marijke N. de Boer
Marijke N. de Boer*
Affiliation:
Wageningen IMARES, Institute for Marine Resources and Ecosystem Studies, Postbus 167, 1790 AD Den Burg, The Netherlands
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Marijke N. de Boer, Wageningen IMARES, Institute for Marine Resources and Ecosystem Studies, Postbus 167 1790 AD Den Burg, Netherlands email: marijke.deboer@wur.nl
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Abstract

In June 2009, a white rough-toothed dolphin (Steno bredanensis) calf was photographed in a group of at least 50 dolphins in the southern Gulf of Guinea, 95 nauticol miles off the Gabon coast (01°45′S 007°29′E), West Africa. Reports of unusually pigmented cetaceans are infrequent and this record represents the first of an all-white rough-toothed dolphin. Furthermore, there is little documentation concerning rough-toothed dolphins and this note contributes to the knowledge of this species in tropical West African waters.

Keywords

rough-toothed dolphinSteno bredanensispigmentationhypo-pigmentationWest AfricaGabon
Type
Research Article
Information
Marine Biodiversity Records , Volume 3 , June 2010 , e66
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2010

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