Dear fellow MARMAMers, on behalf of the authors I am happy to inform you about the recent publication of a new paper on the health of cetaceans off the island of La Gomera (Canary Islands): External Body Conditions in Cetaceans from La Gomera, Canary Islands, Spain Gratia Kautek, Marie-Francoise Van Bressem, and Fabian Ritter /Journal of Marine Animals and Their Ecology, Volume 11, Issue 2, 2019/ Abstract: We report on externally visible pathological and natural conditions in free-ranging cetaceans off La Gomera, Canary Islands, in the period 1995-2018. Photographic records of Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis), bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus), rough-toothed dolphins (Steno bredanensis), common dolphins (Delphinus delphis), Cuviers beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris), Blainsvilles beaked whales (Mesoplodon densirostris) and Brydes whales (Balaenoptera edeni) were screened for the presence of pathological and natural body conditions. External conditions were classified according to their characteristics. A total of 279 individuals were found presenting skin disorders, injuries, emaciation, deformations or parasitism. Epidermal conditions including tattoo skin disease, focal skin disease, cutaneous nodules, pale skin patches and abnormal pigmentation were detected in 76 delphinids and seemed common in T. truncatus. Cases of emaciation were observed in 25 T. truncatus and in one G. macrorhynchus in 2010 and 2014. The dorsal fin of 76 dolphins and whales was bent, collapsed, injured or amputated. Traumata of possible anthropogenic origin affected the dorsal fin, tailstock and head of 24 delphinids and two B. edeni. The obligate cetacean barnacle Xenobalanus globicipitis infested 23 individuals of five species. Scars and wounds attributed to Petromyzon marinus and Isistius sp. occurred in most species, including B. edeni. Lesions possibly caused by Pennella balaenoptera were seen in two T. truncatus and one Z. cavirostris. This study provides a preliminary insight into externally visible skin disorders, traumata, body conditions and parasites occurring in cetaceans south of La Gomera, Canary Islands. [JMATE 2019;11(2):4-17] Keywords: cetaceans, skin disease, body condition, injuries, epizoa The paper is freely available at: http://www.oers.ca/journal/volume11/issue2/scientific.pdf Best greetings, Fabian --
