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A description of the first intact Dwarf Sperm whale from the South China Sea and a review of documented specimens of the Kogiidae (Cetacea) from Hong Kong

2003; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 1; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1017/s1477200003001038

1478-0933

Lindsay Porter, B. Morton,

Marine and coastal plant biology

Abstract Reports of the Dwarf Sperm whale (Kogia sima) in Chinese waters exist only for four specimens, which stranded along the coast of the East China Sea. Records of this species in the South China Sea consist of one skull noted as present in a Vietnamese ‘whale temple’. Recently recognized material in the biological sciences building of the University of Hong Kong, confirms the presence of both the Dwarf (K. sima) and the Pygmy (K. breviceps) Sperm whales in Hong Kong. In addition, close examination of Hong Kong stranding records reveals that of the four specimens identified as K. breviceps one is, in fact, K. sima. A comparison of the Hong Kong material, the holotype of K. sima and other Asian specimens of Kogia spp. affirms that most of the features already used elsewhere to distinguish the two species are reliable.