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Southernmost records of bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus

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Abstract

Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops spp.) are cosmopolitan animals widely distributed in waters of both hemispheres. The taxonomy of Tursiops has long been controversial, with over 20 specific names being published, and subspecies and inshore/offshore forms being proposed. In the southwestern South Atlantic, subspecies T. truncatus truncatus and T. truncatus gephyreus were proposed for specimens along the coasts of Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina. Sightings of bottlenose dolphins are common along the coast of Argentina as far south as the Province of Chubut (ca. 46°S). Here, we summarize and discuss the southernmost records of bottlenose dolphins. We cannot make inferences about the species or subspecies to which these animals belong given the small number of specimens. Future studies of external measurements, pigmentation, DNA, and isotopes from both sides of the continent should help clarify the situation off southern South America. Furthermore, research is needed to explore a possible link between an effect of general global warming and the Tursiops specimens found this far south. The sighting and specimens described here, at 53°S–nearly 55°S, are the southernmost records for the genus and extend the range of the species in the southern South Atlantic.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the Committee for Research and Exploration (CRE) of the National Geographic Society and Cetacean Society International for continuing grants to support the field work carried out in Tierra del Fuego. We thank Total Austral SA, the Fundación RNP Goodall, and several other companies for support to the Museo Acatushún de Aves y Mamíferos Marinos Australes (AMMA), where research can be carried out. We especially thank Mariana Garcia Peredo and Sol Bayer for assistance with measurements, Ricardo Bastida and Ian Strange for advice and the AMMA interns who helped collect, clean, and study the animals. We also thank R.L. Brownell Jr. and another reviewer for improving the manuscript. Research in Tierra del Fuego is carried out under permit from the local government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Museo Acatushún de Aves y Mamíferos Marinos Australes, Sarmiento 44, 9410, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

    R. Natalie P. Goodall, M. Constanza Marchesi, Lida E. Pimper, Natalia Dellabianca, Mónica A. Torres & Luciana Riccialdelli

  2. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas (CADIC), B. Houssay 200, 9410, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

    R. Natalie P. Goodall, Natalia Dellabianca & Luciana Riccialdelli

  3. Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Intendente Güiraldes 2160, Ciudad Universitaria, Capital Federal, 1428, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Lida E. Pimper

  4. Museo de la Ciudad Virginia Choquintel, 9420, Río Grande, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

    Luis G. Benegas

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  1. R. Natalie P. Goodall
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  2. M. Constanza Marchesi
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  3. Lida E. Pimper
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  4. Natalia Dellabianca
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  6. Mónica A. Torres
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  7. Luciana Riccialdelli
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Correspondence to R. Natalie P. Goodall.

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Goodall, R.N.P., Marchesi, M.C., Pimper, L.E. et al. Southernmost records of bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus . Polar Biol 34, 1085–1090 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-010-0954-1

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