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- Nov 19, 2002
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This specimen, 'Whale # 9" stranded on Whatipu Beach in 01 December 2004 (the animal with the worn teeth).
Like 'Whale's 1-6 and 8', as far as I know (to the best of my efforts), every squid beak in the stomach was retained (despite this the number of upper beaks exceeds that of the lowers). The identifications must be treated as provisional, but I don't expect too many changes (other than 'Octopoteuthis/Lepidoteuthis') and cranchiids.
If you like you can look at the squid composition of this whale, compare it to that of the previous lot, 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 # 9, male, ~ 15m, stranded 01 December 2004, Whatipu Beach
Number of upper beaks: 964
Number of lower beaks: 880
Lower beak-determined squid composition in diet of Sperm Whale # 9
Architeuthis dux: 7
Pholidoteuthis boschmai: 1
Octopoteuthis/Lepidoteuthis spp. (LRL > 14mm): 16
Taningia danae: 16
Moroteuthis ingens: 28
Moroteuthis robsoni: 32
Histioteuthis cf. eltaninae: 517
Histioteuthis miranda: 138
Histioteuthis sp. A5 (sensu Clarke): 33
Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni: 2
Teuthowenia sp.: 51
Megalocranchia sp.: 8
Cranchiid sp. 1: 4
Chiroteuthis sp.: 1
Gonatus sp.: 17
Mastigoteuthis sp.: 5
Haliphron atlanticus: 4
Again, much more could be said (am I repeating myself?).
Like 'Whale's 1-6 and 8', as far as I know (to the best of my efforts), every squid beak in the stomach was retained (despite this the number of upper beaks exceeds that of the lowers). The identifications must be treated as provisional, but I don't expect too many changes (other than 'Octopoteuthis/Lepidoteuthis') and cranchiids.
If you like you can look at the squid composition of this whale, compare it to that of the previous lot, 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 # 9, male, ~ 15m, stranded 01 December 2004, Whatipu Beach
Number of upper beaks: 964
Number of lower beaks: 880
Lower beak-determined squid composition in diet of Sperm Whale # 9
Architeuthis dux: 7
Pholidoteuthis boschmai: 1
Octopoteuthis/Lepidoteuthis spp. (LRL > 14mm): 16
Taningia danae: 16
Moroteuthis ingens: 28
Moroteuthis robsoni: 32
Histioteuthis cf. eltaninae: 517
Histioteuthis miranda: 138
Histioteuthis sp. A5 (sensu Clarke): 33
Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni: 2
Teuthowenia sp.: 51
Megalocranchia sp.: 8
Cranchiid sp. 1: 4
Chiroteuthis sp.: 1
Gonatus sp.: 17
Mastigoteuthis sp.: 5
Haliphron atlanticus: 4
Again, much more could be said (am I repeating myself?).