Search results for " whale"
showing 6 items of 26 documents
Sometimes Sperm Whales (Physeter macrocephalus) Cannot Find Their Way Back to the High Seas: A Multidisciplinary Study on a Mass Stranding
2011
BackgroundMass strandings of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) remain peculiar and rather unexplained events, which rarely occur in the Mediterranean Sea. Solar cycles and related changes in the geomagnetic field, variations in water temperature and weather conditions, coast geographical features and human activities have been proposed as possible causes. In December 2009, a pod of seven male sperm whales stranded along the Adriatic coast of Southern Italy. This is the sixth instance from 1555 in this basin.Methodology/principal findingsComplete necropsies were performed on three whales whose bodies were in good condition, carrying out on sampled tissues histopathology, virology, bacter…
A new species of the genusCrassicaudaLeiper et Atkinson, 1914 (Nematoda: Spiruroidea) from the penis ofGlobicephala melas(Traill, 1809) (Cetacea: Glo…
1990
The examination of a male long-finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas) stranded at Cullera (Spanish Mediterranean coast) resulted in the finding of nematodes of the genus Crassicauda parasitising the penis. Pathologies associated with these worms were observed and are described here. The morphometric and morphological study of these helminths revealed that they represent a new species, Crassicauda carbonelli n. sp., which differs from other species of the genus Crassicauda in body size, cephalic morphology and spicule size in the males. Crassicauda sp. described by Dollfus (1968) must be ascribed to C. carbonelli n. sp. The taxonomy, morphometric variability of the eggs, site in the hosts, …
Toxic Effects of Organometallic Compounds towards Marine Biota
2002
Organometallic derivatives are compounds containing a direct σ or π carbon metal linkage. Furthermore, the concept of the metallic atom must be extended to all the elements that are less negative than the carbon atom. As a consequence, taking into account all elements that are less negative than carbon and the number of existing organic compounds, it is possible to synthesize millions of organometallic derivatives. Several of these are extensively used in organic syntheses; others may find application in agriculture and in many other fields as pesticides, fire retardants, wood preservatives, antifouling agents, etc. In general, the organic derivatives of the metals are more toxic than the p…
Diphyllobothriids (Cestoda: Pseudophyllidea) from the long-finned pilot whale Globicephala melas (Traill, 1809) off the Faroe Islands, with comments …
1993
The taxonomy of marine species of the genus Diphyllobothrium, particularly those parasitic in cetaceans, is rather confused. During parasitological investigations of long-finned pilot whales Globicephala melas from waters off the Faroe Islands, five diphyllobothriid species were detected: Diphyllobothrium sp. (possibly D. polyrugosum), D. stemmacephalum, Diphyllobothrium sp. A, Diphyllobothrium sp. B and Diphyllobothriidae sp. D. stemmacephalum is reported for the first time from G. melas. The stituation regarding the taxonomy of Diphylobothrium species from cetaceans is briefly reviewed. It is concluded that the recent development of genetic techniques may be of great value in relation to …
La utilización de marfil de cachalote en el Calcolítico de Portugal
2013
Scientific analysis were undertaken within a research project concerning ivory objects from the Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age of the Iberian Peninsula. In several of the analyses of objects from Portuguese Estremadura, especially V-perforated buttons, we could detect for the first time the presence of sperm whale ivory. This highlights the advantage and necessity of scientific analysis of ivory. It also clearly demonstrates that not all ivory used was ivory from African or Asian elephants, but we also did find ivory from the extinct Elephas antiquus, the hippopotamus and in this case sperm-whale. Thus, already in the Chalcolithic the raw material provenience was highly diverse, which in …
Occurrence of whale barnacles in Nerja Cave (Málaga, southern Spain): Indirect evidence of whale consumption by humans in the Upper Magdalenian
2014
A total of 167 plates of two whale barnacle species (Tubicinella major Lamarck, 1802 and Cetopirus complanatus Morch, 1853) have been found in the Upper Magdalenian layers of Nerja Cave, Mina Chamber (Maro, Malaga, southern Spain). This is the first occurrence of these species in a prehistoric site. Both species are specific to the southern right whale Eubalena australis, today endemic in the Southern Hemisphere. Because of Antarctic sea-ice expansion during the Last Glacial Period, these whales could have migrated to the Northern Hemisphere, and reached southern Spain. Whale barnacles indicate that maritime-oriented forager human groups found stranded whales on the coast and, because of th…