Cephalopods in the diet of the striped dolphin <i>Stenella coeruleoalba</i> from the western Mediterranean during an epizootic in 1990

Abstract

Fifteen cephalopod species from 28 stomach contents of striped dolphins, Stenella coeruleoalba (Meyen, 1833), stranded during an epizootic on the western Mediterranean coast in summer 1990, were analysed. Albraliopsis pfefferi, Onychoteuthis banksii, Todarodes sagittatus and Brachioteuthis riisei are species showing higher relative importance indices. Composition and characteristics of cephalopod preys were discussed and compared to the scarce literature for this cetacean. The data showed a mixed diet of muscular and gelatinous body squids, mainly consisting of oceanic and pelagic or bathypelagic species.