Abstract
The Burmeister’s porpoise Phocoena spinipinnis is a small, poorly-studied, and Near Threatened cetacean species, with a limited geographic range comprising the Pacific and Atlantic coastal temperate waters of five South American countries. Here we describe a stranding of a freshly-dead adult male Burmeister’s porpoise that was discovered opportunistically on the eastern coast of the Falkland Islands (51°40.9′S, 57°43.2′W) on 29 June 2019. Unfortunately the carcass was removed by an unknown source prior to any scientific sampling, but the morphological features revealed in photographs taken of the dead animal were sufficient to verify the species identification. This is the first known record of Burmeister’s porpoise in the Falklands, confirming a sixth range state for the species and expanding its known distribution range eastwards from the previous nearest documented occurrence in Tierra del Fuego by at least 600 km across the Patagonian Shelf.
Highlights
The Burmeister’s porpoise (Phocoena spinipinnis) has a distribution that is endemic to the Pacific and Atlantic coastal temperate waters of southern and central South America (Brownell Jr. and Clapham 1999)
Staff from Falklands Conservation (FC) received notification of the event, but were unable to locate the animal during a site visit shortly after dawn the following morning (30 June)
We document its occurrence for the first time in the Falkland Islands, confirming a sixth range state
Summary
The Burmeister’s porpoise (Phocoena spinipinnis) has a distribution that is endemic to the Pacific and Atlantic coastal temperate waters of southern and central South America (Brownell Jr. and Clapham 1999). It occurs along the coasts of both ocean basins from Tierra del Fuego northwards to Peru (~ 5°S) in the Pacific and to southern Brazil (~ 29°S) in the Atlantic, it remains unclear whether or not that distribution is continuous (Corcuera et al 1995; Goodall et al 1995a, 1995b). We report the first known record of a Burmeister’s porpoise in the Falkland Islands, documenting a new range state for the species and extending its known global distribution range
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
