Abstract
The dwarf sperm whale, Kogia sima, is one of the lesser known Odontoceti species, in spite of its worldwide distribution, and is considered rare due to the difficult identification in the field. Detailed information is scarce and mostly comes from stranding events or bycatch animals, just a few sightings correspond to live specimens. In the Caribbean Basin, the species has been reported in the Lesser Antilles, Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica and Venezuela. We present the first stranding record of Kogia sima in the Colombian Caribbean coast from a pregnant female in Mendihuaca region, Magdalena Department. The specimen showed no fishing or entanglement lines whatsoever, and the overall condition was good. Morphological measurements were taken and the confirmation of the species was made from the following features: body length, height and position of dorsal fin, position of blowhole, and number of teeth in the lower jaw. The record of the adult specimen is documented in the System of Information of Marine Biodiversity of Colombia –SIBM and the fetus is deposited in the Mammal collection of the Museum of Marine Natural History of Colombia –MAKURIWA under the catalogue number INV-MAM004.
Highlights
The dwarf sperm whale Kogia sima (Owen, 1866) belongs to the Kogia genus, which is currently recognized within the family Kogiidae, along with the pygmy sperm whale Kogia breviceps
The taxonomy regarding these two species has been confusing: they were initially placed within the Physeteridae family until 1966, when Handley confirmed an independent family for the genus (Rice, 1998) and described the differentiation between the two species, solving the identification confusion of previous records
Owing to the differences in body length and fin position, the dwarf sperm whale seems to be flatter in the posterior end of the body, compared to the slightly arched rear end of the pygmy sperm whale (Jefferson et al, 2015)
Summary
The taxonomy regarding these two species has been confusing: they were initially placed within the Physeteridae family until 1966, when Handley confirmed an independent family for the genus (Rice, 1998) and described the differentiation between the two species, solving the identification confusion of previous records. This was supported by Chivers et al. Kogiids are among the most frequently stranded cetaceans in some parts of the world (Baird et al, 1996; Ortega-Argueta et al, 2005), so most of the information gathered comes from stranded individuals (Jefferson et al, 2015; Muñoz-Hincapié et al, 1998).
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