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Rare and Vagrant Cetacean Species in Europe

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Handbook of the Mammals of Europe

Part of the book series: Handbook of the Mammals of Europe ((HDBME))

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Abstract

Eight cetacean species have been documented in Europe on a rare or vagrant basis; the gray whale Eschrichtius robustus, Antarctic minke whale Balaenoptera bonaerensis, Gray’s beaked whale Mesoplodon grayi, melon-headed whale Peponocephala electra, pygmy killer whale Feresa attenuata, Indian Ocean humpback dolphin Sousa plumbea, spinner dolphin Stenella longirostris, and the Clymene dolphin Stenella clymene. This chapter summarizes their taxonomy, global and European distribution, morphology and coloration, life history, ecology, behavior, and conservation management. A distribution map, a photograph of the animal, and a list of key literature are provided for each species.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks to Marisa Tejedor Fuentes (Oriental Canary Islands Strandings Cetaceans Network) for providing information on some records of species in the Canary Islands. Luís Freitas (Museu da Baleia da Madeira) provided information and images of pygmy killer whales in Madeira. Robin Baird made useful comments on the melon-headed whale and pygmy killer whale sections. Mick Baines provided some unpublished information on species in Mauritania. Erich Hoyt and Maren Reichelt provided advice on species names in other languages. Thanks to Robin Baird, Simon Elwen/Sea Search Research and Conservation, Stefanos Rapanis/Pelagos Cetacean Research Institute (via Alexandros Frantzis), Conor Ryan, A. Tiedemann/Lobosonda (via Museu da Baleia da Madeira), and Els Vermeulen for generously providing some of the photographs used in this chapter. Peter Evans made useful comments during review.

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  1. Ketos Ecology, Kingsbridge, UK

    Caroline R. Weir

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  1. Caroline R. Weir
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Correspondence to Caroline R. Weir .

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  1. Institute of Wildlife Biology and Game Managment, University of Natural Resources and Life, Wien, Austria

    Klaus Hackländer

  2. Säugetiersammlung, Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Wien, Austria

    Frank E. Zachos

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  1. Ketos Ecology, Kingsbridge, Devon, United Kingdom

    Caroline Weir

  2. Sea Watch Foundation, Bangor, UK

    Peter Evans

  3. University of Iceland, Husavik, Iceland

    Marianne Helene Rasmussen

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Weir, C.R. (2020). Rare and Vagrant Cetacean Species in Europe. In: Hackländer, K., Zachos, F.E. (eds) Handbook of the Mammals of Europe. Handbook of the Mammals of Europe. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65038-8_113-1

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