Dear list,
My co-authors and I are very pleased to announce the publication of our recent article in Marine Mammal Science, Early View:
David M. Donnelly, Paul Ensor, Peter Gill, Rohan H. Clarke, Karen Evans, Michael C. Double, Trudi Webster, Will Rayment and Natalie T. Schmitt
New diagnostic descriptions and distribution information for Shepherd's beaked whale (Tasmacetus shepherdi) off Southern Australia and New Zealand
Version of Record online : 10 FEB 2018, DOI: 10.1111/mms.12478
Abstract:
Shepherd’s beaked whale (Tasmacetus shepherdi), is amongst the most poorly understood of all mammals and is one of the least known cetaceans globally. Prior to 2006, there had been no validated vessel-based at-sea sightings of this species and subsequently there has been a paucity of detailed descriptive data on the external morphology of live specimens. Offshore vessel-based surveys between May 2008 and February 2017, in the region of southern Australia and New Zealand, presented rare opportunistic sightings of free-swimming Shepherd’s beaked whale. Here we present relevant data pertaining to the first detailed morphological description of live Shepherd’s beaked whale using first-hand accounts gathered from eighteen validated field observations of the species.
Regards,
David
David Donnelly
Marine Wildlife Consultant