New records of Fraser's dolphin (Lagenodelphis hosei) for the Caribbean

Abstract

Fraser’s dolphins (Lagenodelphis hosei) are found in oceanic tropical waters around the world, but only seventeen records are known from the entire Atlantic Ocean. Five of these are from the Caribbean. We present two new records of Fraser’s dolphin for the Caribbean and the first records for the Puerto Rican bank. The first stranding, a subadult male, occurred at Guanica Bay, while the second, a female calf, occurred in Ponce, both on Puerto Rico’s south coast. The animals stranded singly and in a fresh state of decomposition. Postmortem examinations were carried out on both specimens and histopathology analyses were conducted, determining natural cause of death for both animals. Endoparasites collected and identified from one of the specimens included Phyllobothrium delphini, Monorygma grimaldii and Tetrabothrious forsteri. Stomach contents of the subadult included squid beaks and shrimp. Skeletal remains were collected for the University of Puerto Rico Marine Mammal Osteological Collection.