Whale # 3 stomach content analysis

[Steve O'Shea]

This specimen, 'Whale # 3" is actually 'Whale # 3' [Department of Conservation #] of the pod that stranded on Karikari Beach, West Coast, Auckland on 16 November 2003 (one of the 13). [sampled on 18 Nov 2003]

These beaks have only just been identified, and like 'Whale's 1 & 2', as far as I know (to the best of my efforts), every squid beak in the stomach was retained (this time the number of lower beaks exceeds that of the uppers). The identifications must be treated as provisional, although I only expect (if any changes are to occur) 1 or 2 changes (Gonatus concerns me).

If you like you can look at the squid composition of this whale, compare it to that of the 1st two, and try and make some sense out of the jigsaw (again based on what we know of the New Zealand and adjacent water mass squid faunas). I've not provided lower rostral lengths for the beaks, as I've yet to measure them.

Identifications are based on lower beaks.

Here goes:
Whale # 3, male, length to come, stranded 16 November 2003, Karikari Beach (DOC Whale # 3 )
Number of upper beaks: 244
Number of lower beaks: 297

Lower beak-determined squid composition in diet of Sperm Whale # 3
Architeuthis dux: 3
Taningia danae: 5
Pholidoteuthis boschmai: 27
Lepidoteuthis grimaldii: 5
Chiroteuthis sp.: 4
Moroteuthis ingens: 53
Moroteuthis robsoni: 15
Histioteuthis cf. eltaninae: 54
Histioteuthis miranda: 49
Histioteuthis Type A5 (sensu Clarke): 17
Megalocranchia sp.: 13
Teuthowenia sp.: 39
Octopoteuthis sp.: 5
Gonatus sp.: 8

Again, much more could be said.

[joel_ang]

WOW

[Jean]

looks like these whales did a fair bit of travelling around???


J