Updating the Cetacean Species List of Raja Ampat, Indonesia with Additional Sightings of the Rarely Documented Omura’s Whale (Balaenoptera omurai)
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCUAbstract
[Extract] For some morphologically similar species, it can be challenging to provide identification, particularly when they are observed in a fleeting encounter in the wild, and cetaceans are not an exception. Baleen whales exemplify this issue, as morphologically similar species can be easily confused (e.g., Omura’s whale [Balaenoptera omurai] and fin whale [Balaenoptera physalus]). Omura’s whale is one of the least known cetacean species. It was relatively newly described as a distinct species (Wada et al., 2003; Sasaki et al., 2006) after previously being misclassified as a pygmy/dwarf form of Bryde’s whale (Balaenoptera edeni) (Sasaki et al., 2006; Cerchio et al., 2015). Omura’s whale is distributed in the tropical and subtropical waters of the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans, with most doc mented occurrences in the eastern Indo-Pacific Ocean (de Vos, 2017; Cerchio et al., 2019).
Journal
Aquatic Mammals
Publication Name
Aquatic Mammals
Volume
50
ISBN/ISSN
0167-5427
Edition
N/A
Issue
3
Pages Count
8
Location
N/A
Publisher
Western Illinois University Regional Center
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Publish Date
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Date
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EISSN
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DOI
10.1578/AM.50.3.2024.171