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Stomach contents of two Cuvier's beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) stranded in the Adriatic Sea

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 March 2010

Iva Kovačić ,
Martina Đuras Gomerčić ,
Hrvoje Gomerčić ,
Hrvoje Lucić  and
Tomislav Gomerčić
Iva Kovačić*
Affiliation:
Biology Department, The Faculty of Science, Rooseveltov trg 6, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia
Martina Đuras Gomerčić
Affiliation:
Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embriology, The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Heinzelova 55, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia
Hrvoje Gomerčić
Affiliation:
Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embriology, The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Heinzelova 55, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia
Hrvoje Lucić
Affiliation:
Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embriology, The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Heinzelova 55, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia
Tomislav Gomerčić
Affiliation:
Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embriology, The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Heinzelova 55, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: I. Kovačić, Biology Department, The Faculty of Science, Rooseveltov trg 6, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia email: koiva@inet.hr
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Abstract

The stomach contents of two Cuvier's beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris) stranded along the eastern Adriatic coast were examined. One was a male stranded in 2004 and the other was a newborn stranded in 2008. Milk was found in the newborn's stomach. The prey of the male was only cephalopods belonging mainly to the Teuthoidea. Five families and seven species were identified. Octopoteuthis sicula represented about 50% of estimated prey weight and Chiroteuthis veranyi was the most frequent species (estimated from the quantity of lower beaks). Three species are not listed in the Adriatic fauna, while the other species are found in middle and lower slope cephalopod assemblages in the southern Adriatic Sea.

Keywords

Cuvier's beaked whaledietAdriatic Sea
Type
Research Article
Information
Marine Biodiversity Records , Volume 3 , June 2010 , e19
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2010

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