|
BULLETIN
OF THE
FLORIDA STATE MUSEUM
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Volume 9
Number 4
OBSERVATIONS ON MARINE MAMMALS IN
FLORIDA WATERS
James N. Layne
UNIVERSITY
OF FLORIDA
Gainesville
1965
Numbers of the BULLETIN OF THE FLORIDA STATE MUSEUM are pub-
lished at irregular intervals. Volumes contain about 300 pages and are not nec-
essarily completed in any one calendar year.
WALTER AUFFENBERG, Managing Editor
OLIVER L. AUSTIN, JR., Editor
Consultants for this issue:
David K. Caldwell
Joseph C. Moore
Communications concerning purchase or exchange of the publication and all man-
uscripts should be addressed to the Managing Editor of the Bulletin, Florida State
Museum, Seagle Building, Gainesville. Florida.
Price for this issue $.75
Published May 19 1965
OBSERVATIONS ON MARINE MAMMALS IN
FLORIDA WATERS
JAMES N. LAYNE 1
SYNOPSIS: Data are presented on the distribution, measurements and weights,
ecology, and other aspects of the biology of 12 species of cetaceans, one pin-
niped, and the manatee in Florida waters. Most of the records are for the period
from 1953 through June 1963, although some for earlier years are included.
Records of cetaceans based on strandings or specimens washed onshore, dead
specimens seen or collected in offshore waters, and skeletal materials from beaches
include a probable one of the little piked whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata),
1 of the humpbacked whale (Megaptera novaeangliac). 3 of the goose-beaked
whale (Ziphius cavirostris), 7 of the pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps), 2 of
the sperm whale (Physeter catodon), 1 of the rough-toothed dolphin (Steno bred-
anensis), 18 verified or probable records of the short-finned pilot whale (Globi-
cephala macrorhyncha), 17 verified or probable records of the bottle-nosed dol-
phin (Tursiops truncatus), 2 of the common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), and 1 of
the long-beaked dolphin (Stenella longirostris). The latter is the second record
of this species in Florida waters and apparently the third for North America.
Observations on living cetaceans include 16 and possibly 18 verified or
probable records for the Atlantic right whale (Balaena g. glacialis), 1 for the
humpback whale, 2 for the killer whale (Orcinus orca), 3 and a possible 4th for
the short-finned pilot whale, and 10 for the bottle-nosed dolphin. The sight
record of the humpback whale apparently constitutes the first record of this
species in the Gulf of Mexico.
External, skeletal measurements, or both, of Florida specimens of Megap-
tera, Kogia, Physeter, Steno, Globicephala, Tursiops, Delphinus, and Stenella
longirostris are given.
One pinniped record obtained was of the California sea lion (Zalophus
ca-ifornianus), and another probably also refers to this species. Both undoubtedly
involve animals escaped from captivity. One individual apparently moved ap-
proximately 100 miles from where it escaped in about 10 days.
Twenty-five records of dead manatees (Trichechus manatus) and 5 sight
records are summarized. Of the former, 10 individuals had apparently been
killed by cold, 3 by boats, and 2 by shooting. The cause of death of the re-
mainder is unknown, although the death of 7 individuals in the Fort Myers area
in the spring of 1963 coincided with a red tide epidemic in the Gulf to the north.
Further evidence of the occurrence of seasonal movements in Florida manatee
populations is presented.
'Associate Professor of Zoology, Division of Biological Sciences and Depart-
ment of Conservation, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, and Research As-
sociate in Mammalogy, Florida State Museum. The present paper is an out-
growth of an investigation of the status of North American marine mammals un-
dertaken by the Committee on Marine Mammals of the American Society of
Mammalogists. The writer represented the Florida sector on the Committee
from 1959 to 1963.
Layne, James N. Observations on Marine Mammals in Florida Waters. Bull.
Florida State Mus., vol. 9, no. 4, pp. 131-181.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction ------ ---.... --- ------
Acknowledgments ---------------..-- -...---.
Species accounts ---------------... ------...
Balaena g. glacialis, North Atlantic right whale --
Balaenoptera acutorostrata. Little piked whale
Megaptera novaeangliae, Humpback whale
Ziphius cavirostris, Goose-beaked whale -- ----
Kogia breviceps, Pygmy sperm whale ... -----.
Physeter catodon, Sperm whale ---- ...-----..-
Steno bredanensis, Rough-toothed dolphin ------
Orcinus orca, Killer whale ----- --- -----...
Globicephala macrorhyncha, Short-finned pilot whale
Tursiops truncatus, Atlantic bottle-nosed dolphin
Delphinus delphis, Common dolphin .......---------
Stenella longirostris, Long-beaked dolphin -.---
Zalophus californianus, California sea lion -----
Trichechus manatus latirostris, Manatee ----..-.
Tables 1-10 --------- --- -- ... .......... ....
Literature cited
Page
------ 132
--...-- 133
----- 134
----- 134
137
137
---- 138
--- 140
----- 143
144
----.-. 147
148
155
.----- 159
.---- 159
.----- 165
-.--.-.- 166
---- 169
---- 178
INTRODUCTION
In his summary of the available data on the occurrence of marine
mammals in Florida waters from the late 1800's through 1951, Moore
(1953) listed 18 species of cetaceans, 2 of pinnipeds, and the manatee.
Although no additional species have been added to the known marine
mammal fauna of Florida since this study, further records of the
following have been published: Balaena glacialis (Moore and Clark,
1963), Balaenoptera acutorostrata (Moore and Palmer, 1955), Ziphius
cavirostris (Hansen and Weaver, 1963; Wood and Moore, 1954), Meso-
plodon gervaisi (Moore, 1960), M. mirus (Moore and Wood, 1957),
Kogia breviceps (Caldwell, Inglis, and Siebenaler, 1960; Essapian,
1955), Physeter catodon (Caldwell, Inglis, and Siebenaler, 1960), Pseu-
dorca crassidens (Bullis and Moore, 1956), Orcinus orca (Caldwell,
Layne, and Siebenaler, 1956), Delphinus delphis (Essapian, 1954), and
Stenella plagiodon (Caldwell, 1960). Several papers concerning vari-
1965 LAYNE: MARINE MANMMIALS IN FLORIDA WATERS 133
ous aspects of the ecology, life history, and behavior of the bottle-
nosed dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, and manatee, Trichechus manatus,
in Florida waters have also appeared (Caldwell, 1955; Caldwell and
Fields, 1959; Moore, 1955, 1956; Siebenaler and Caldwell, 1956).
The purpose of this paper is to provide a further contribution to
the knowledge of the distribution and biology of the marine mam-
mals of the Florida region. Although several records for the period
covered by Moore's report are included, the bulk of the data pre-
sented are for the period from 1952 through June, 1963.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am indebted to a number of persons who have contributed infor-
mation contained in this report. Particular thanks are due F. G.
Wood, Jr., U. S. Naval Missile Center, Pt. Mugu, California, who,
while on the staff of the Marineland Research Laboratory, generously
allowed the use of the files on marine mammals maintained by Ma-
rine Studios and kindly reviewed an earlier draft of this paper.
Joseph C. Moore, Chicago Natural History Museum, also contributed
much useful information from his notes and correspondence. He
also aided in the identification of several skeletal elements and criti-
cally read an earlier version of the paper. F. C. Fraser, British
Museum (Natural History), was most helpful to me in questions re-
lating to the identification of Stenella longirostris and made avail-
able pertinent notes, measurements, and photographs from his files.
Grateful acknowledgment is also made to the following persons who
supplied specimens or observations: C. Herrick Hammond, Delray
Beach, Florida; Robert M. Ingle, Florida State Board of Conserva-
tion; W. L. Jennings, Florida State Board of Health; S. J. Olsen,
Florida Geological Survey; E. Lowe Pierce, University of Florida;
William B. Robertson, Jr., Everglades National Park; David Swindell,
Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission; Marvin Wass,
Western Carolina College; and Glen E. Wolfenden, University of
South Florida. Thanks are also due Dale E. Birkenholz, Illinois
State University, for welcome assistance in measuring and examining
specimens in the field on several occasions. Gilbert Voss, University
of Miami, identified the cephalopod beaks and Mrs. John Taylor the
algae contained in stomachs of rough-toothed dolphins. Douglass M.
Payne, Cornell University, aided in the preparation of the illustra-
tions.
Financial assistance for some portions of this vork vas provided
by the Florida State Museum.
BULLETIN FLORIDA STATE MUSEUM
SPECIES ACCOUNTS 2
Balaena glacialis glacialis Miiller
NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALE
True (1904) stated that the regular wintering grounds of the At-
lantic right whale probably extended southward to South Carolina
and the Bermuda Islands, whereas Allen (1908) regarded Florida and
the Bermudas as the southern limits of its range. Moore (1953) cited
three records involving seven individuals along the Florida east coast,
and Moore and Clark (1963) reported the first known occurrence of
this species in the Gulf of Mexico. Additional records of right whales
off the Florida east coast in recent years are summarized below. Most
of the data presented are from the files of Marine Studios, and many
of the observations were made by F. G. Wood, Jr.
On 7 January 1953, Wood observed a pair of whales accompanied
by a group of 10 to 12 Tursiops about 2 miles S of Flagler Beach
(Flagler Co.) about 300 to 400 yards off shore. The two individuals
showed a pronounced size discrepancy and were thus presumed to
be an adult female and a calf. When first observed the larger indi-
vidual was swimming slowly in circles at the surface. It then partly
submerged and swam leisurely southward. The dolphins escorting
it swam aimlessly about nearby while the whale remained in the
same area but followed on a direct course when it moved off. The
smaller individual of this pair surfaced to breathe at intervals of 7
to 20 seconds. As the larger remained partially awash nearly all
of the time it was being watched, the frequency of its breathing could
not be determined. When surfacing and submerging, the adult
tended to keep its body relatively straight, whereas the calf arched
its body markedly.
On 9 February 1954, an adult approximately 50 feet in length
accompanied by a smaller individual about 20 feet long, apparently
a calf, was seen near Summer Haven (St. Johns Co.). Observers in
a small boat were able to approach closely and photograph the pair
without visibly disturbing them.
On 15 March 1957 a Marine Studios collecting vessel sighted an
adult about 2 or 3 miles off St. Augustine (St. Johns Co.). Its length
was estimated as 30 feet. During most of the time this individual was
under observation it remained at the surface, swimming clumsily
with exaggerated movements that brought the flukes clear of the
2 Common and scientific names of cetaceans for the most part follow Scheffer
and Rice (1963) and the sequence of genera is that of Fraser and Purves (1960).
Vol. 9
1965 LAYNE: MARINE MAMMALS IN FLORIDA WATERS 135
water at each stroke. Occasionally it lay quietly at the surface, and
the few times it dove it remained submerged for no more than 3 to 4
minutes. Two more individuals were observed about 1/4 mile offshore
and 1 mile S of Crescent Beach (St. Johns Co.) on the same date; both
appeared to be adults, and the owner of a motel in the vicinity re-
ported they remained in the same general area throughout the day.
On 25 March 1957, 2 right whales were seen off Marineland (Flagler
Co.).
On 20 January 1959 F. G. Wood observed an adult Balaena a few
hundred yards off Marineland. On 22 February 1959 a resident of
South Ponte Vedra Beach (St. Johns Co.) reported seeing a "big whale
about 40 feet long," probably a right whale also, about 1/2 mile offshore.
Wood informed me that Marine Studios personnel sighted no
right whales during the winters of 1959-60 and 1960-61 and that only
second or third-hand reports of one or two sightings had been received
each season.
In contrast a number of records are available for 1962 and 1963.
On 30 January 1962 a large whale, presumably this species, was seen
close to shore just north of Flagler Beach. It swam north during the
time it was observed and was reported to be accompanied by several
large sharks. When queried about the latter identification, the ob-
server, reportedly an experienced fisherman, insisted that the animals
were sharks and not dolphins, which appear to often be associated
with right whales in Florida waters. Another large whale reported
swimming south the same day about 2 miles from the above may or
may not have been the same individual.
Wood judged 2 right whales seen about 300 yards offshore about
1% miles N of Marineland on 1 February 1962 to be an adult female
and a yearling calf. The first was about 50 feet in length, the other
25 to 30 feet long. The two animals remained close together while
under observation.
According to the Orlando Sentinel of 14 March 1962, two whales
were seen about 300 yards offshore at Canova Beach (Brevard Co.)
on the previous day. Observers reported that one of the individuals
was about 35 to 40 feet long, the other much smaller, a good
7 or 8 feet," and presumably a calf. Although this estimate is too
low even for a newborn right whale, it does suggest a very small in-
dividual. Some observers reported seeing the larger whale buffeted
by a school of porpoises. A local resident also claimed that two
whales, possibly the same pair, had been seen in the same vicinity in
late February.
The Marine Studios records contain several reports of one or more
BULLETIN FLORIDA STATE MUSEUM
whales, assumed to be Balaena, in the vicinity of Flagler Beach dur-
ing the third week in March 1962.
Two newspaper accounts of whales along the Florida east coast
in January and one in February 1963 probably refer to this species,
although in neither case is enough information given for positive
identification. On 10 January a whale estimated at 30-40 feet in
length came within 400 feet of a fishing pier at Daytona Beach (Vo-
lusia Co.). Another appeared off South Ocean Beach Park at Vero
Beach (Indian River Co.) on 23 January. When first seen this whale
was within about 150 feet of the beach and surrounded by dolphins.
Another whale, probably the same individual and also accompanied
by dolphins, was seen in the same area on the following day. Accord-
ing to the Vero Beach Press-Journal both were reported by a city
lifeguard, Richard DeCarlo, who added that in 1961 a large whale
came to within 200 feet of shore at this locality and gave birth to a
calf, and that two whales were seen in the area in 1962.
The Palm Beach Post of 7 February 1963 carried a story of a whale
seen north of Jupiter Inlet (Martin Co.) on 5 February. The article
noted that one observer reported seeing the whale jump out of the
water.
The present data for Balaena glacialis in Florida coastal waters
indicate that the species' occurrence is strongly seasonal. All sight-
ings on record fall between early January and late March; there are
5 records for January, 4 for February, and 9 for March. Sightings
along the Florida east coast have apparently increased over the past
few years, particularly in the vicinity of the Marine Studios where
reasonably constant observation effort from one year to the next may
be assumed. This may also indicate a general increase in the western
North Atlantic population of this species, which Moore and Clark
(1963) suggested as possibly explaining the first known occurrence
of the species in the Gulf of Mexico.
The apparent change in the relative frequency of pairs and single
adults during the three-month period from January to March might
be of biological significance. Half of the total sightings (9 of 18) are
of pairs believed, because of pronounced size discrepancy and in
some cases of behavior suggestive of nursing, to be adult females with
calves. The five observations available for January involve four
single adults and one pair. In contrast, three of the four February
sightings and five of the nine March records consisted of pairs. This
suggests the possibility of different migratory patterns or wintering
areas among segments of the population. Adult males and perhaps
females without young may start moving northward earlier than
Vol. 9
1965 LAYNE: MARINE MAMMALS IN FLORIDA WATERS 137
females with calves, or the latter may tend to come closer inshore
later in the season. The rather tenuous evidence of calving in Florida
waters cited above may also be relevant to this point.
? Balaenoptera acutorostrata Lacepbde
LITrLE PIKED WHALE
A small fin whale that stranded in shallow water off Pine Island
in the Gulf of Mexico near the town of Bayport (Hernando Co.) 14
November 1962 is questionably referred to this species, primarily on
the basis of size. Joe Plummer, who was one of the first persons to
examine the whale, informed me in a letter dated 31 December 1962
that it was 30 feet long from tail to the end of the snout by actual
measurement (whether straight line or over the curve of the body
was not stated) and that the upper parts were dark blue and the
belly white. He could provide no additional information on such
critical details as the length or color of the baleen plates, color of
the upper surface of the flippers, or color of the underside of the
flukes. Photographs in the St. Petersburg Times 16 November 1962
and Brooksville Sun-Journal 22 November 1962 confirm the approxi-
mate size of the specimen by the human figures standing by it, but
they do not show the flippers clearly enough to reveal whether the
diagnostic whitish patch of B. acutorostrata is present or absent. In
one photograph the upper surface of the flipper is partly obscured by
letters painted on by an enterprising local motel owner.
The whale was alive and thrashing about when first discovered
and had several wounds in the back and tail region that appeared
to have been made by large caliber bullets.
Megaptera novaeangliae (Borowski)
HUMPBACK WHALE
Although Townsend's (1935) charts show humpback whales in
the western North Atlantic occurring within about 40 miles of the
Florida coast and Brown (1958) reports a sighting of 7 individuals in
the Bahamas, apparently no previous Florida records of this species
have been based upon actual specimens.
In October 1957 the hind portion of a large whale skull washed
up on the beach at the home of C. Herrick Hammond of Delray Beach
(Palm Beach Co.). Photographs of the skull were submitted to Rem-
ington Kellogg of the U. S. National Museum who identified the
skull as that of Megaptera novaeangliae. Some measurements of this
BULLETIN FLORIDA STATE MUSEUM
partial skull, which is now on the beach at the Hammond residence,
are: greatest breadth across squamosal processes 1524 mm, greatest
breadth across occipital condyles 483 mm, greatest length of left occip-
ital condyle 254 mm, greatest breadth of left occipital condyle 152 mm.
On 8 April 1962 fishing boats encountered a large whale in the
Gulf of Mexico off Egmont Key at the mouth of Tampa Bay. The
whale was identified in newspaper accounts as a humpback, and de-
scriptive details provided by various newspaper articles and David
Haile, who was on the scene, together with photographs (Fig. 1) the
St. Petersburg Times made available to me confirm the identification.
Observers expressly mentioned the presence of exceptionally long
flippers, and photographs clearly show the characteristic dorsal fin
of Megaptera. The blow, shown in one picture, is approximately
6 or 7 feet high and appears more or less pear-shaped, closely re-
sembling that of the humpback as figured and described by Slijper
(1962, fig. 56, pp. 117-119).
The whale remained in the area throughout the day and, accord-
ing to observers, spent much of its time at the surface and doing little
actual swimming. It showed no evident concern for the small boats
that trailed it closely most of the day, and even remained at the sur-
face when they approached within a few feet.
Ziphius cavirostris G. Cuvier
GOOSE-BEAKED WHALE
Previous records for Ziphius cavirostris in Florida waters consist of
six substantiated by skeletal material and one observation unsupport-
ed by a specimen (Ulmer, 1941; Moore, 1953; Wood and Moore, 1954;
Hansen and Weaver, 1963). Three additional records for the region
follow:
Joseph M. Philip of Stuart, Florida, found a rather well-worn
skull of a beaked whale on Hobe Sound Beach (Martin Co.) about
1955. Photographs of the specimen were sent to Joseph C. Moore,
who identified it as an adult male Z. cavirostris.
In the collection of the Marineland Research Laboratory is the
skull of a goose-beaked whale that stranded at St. Augustine Beach
(St. Johns Co.) in June 1957. The whale was reported to have been
on the beach on 19 June, but the date on which it actually came ashore
is not known. On 21 June the carcass was buried with a bulldozer,
the skull being recovered 6 weeks later. The well developed teeth
in the tip of the lower jaw suggest the skull is that of a male.
On 1 November 1957 a University of Florida mammalogy class
Vol. 9
5""w
d glw
- -o
ANN!~
FIGURE 1. Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) at surface. Gulf of Mexico off Egmont Key at the mouth of Tampa
Bay, 8 April 1962. (Photography by Dan Hightower, courtesy of St. Petersburg Times.)
- xOrW.
We"n
alt.-
-vAft---
BULLETIN FLORIDA STATE MUSEUM
collected several cetacean vertebrae at the north end of Anastasia
Island (St. Johns Co.) behind the dunes at some distance from the
open beach. No other skeletal elements were located in the vicinity.
By comparing these vertebrae, No. 4621 in the University of Florida
mammal collection, with materials in the Chicago Natural History
Museum collections, Joseph C. Moore identified them as Ziphius.
Kogia breviceps (Blainville)
PYGMY SPERM WHALE
Arthur McBride in a letter to Remington Kellogg dated 30 Sep-
tember 1946 stated that he had seen five specimens of the pygmy
sperm whale beached within 10 miles of Marineland in a period of
9 years. Moore (1953) cited seven records of this species in Florida
waters, and Essapian (1955) and Caldwell et al. (1960) each provided
another. A number of additional records for the period 1955 to 1962
have been obtained.
A photograph published 1 February 1.955 in the Daytona Beach
Morning Journal showed a specimen that washed ashore 3 miles N
of Ormond Beach (Volusia Co.) on 29 January. Its length was stated
as 14 feet and its weight as about 1,400 pounds. The animal was
dead when discovered and bore a wound near the head.
A male Kogia that stranded just north of Palm Beach (Palm Beach
Co.) 8 April 1955 was alive when discovered but died shortly after-
ward. Al Pflueger of Miami placed it in a refrigerated room where
Joseph C. Moore examined it the next day and sent me the following
data from his notes: The flippers and flukes of the whale were black
above and white flecked with irregular blotches of black beneath;
the black patches were more strongly developed on the flukes than
on the flippers. The anterior teeth were blunt from wear, the front
ones having only about %' inch of the crowns exposed above the gum
line; the teeth in the more posterior part of the series were charac-
teristically long, sharp, and curved backward; 12 exposed teeth were
counted on the right side and 10 on the left, from which 2 teeth
were obviously missing. The genital groove was 10 inches long and
the dissected penis was approximately 24 inches long. The combined
weight of the testes was 12 pounds. Moore's body measurements
of this specimen are given in Table 1.
The Marine Studios files record Kogia strandings in 1957 and 1958.
On 1 March 1957 F. G. Wood, Jr., examined a male stranded on the
south side of St. Augustine Inlet. Local residents told Wood the
whale had come ashore several days before and a bulldozer operator
Vol. 9
1965 LAYNE: MARINE MAMMALS IN FLORIDA WATERS 141
working nearby shoved the animal back into the water two or three
times only to have it beach itself again each time. The right and
left testes were 485 and 500 mm long respectively and together
weighed 13 pounds, 1 ounce. Cephalopod beaks were recovered
from the second stomach. Wood's body measurements of this indi-
vidual are given in Table 2. The skull is now in the collection of the
Marineland Research Laboratory.
A young male Kogia stranded on the beach adjacent to Marineland
on 2 September 1958. The animal was alive when found and was
transferred to one of the dolphin tanks at Marine Studios, where it
survived until 27 September. Wood took the following notes and
measurements on the carcass: The thickness of the blubber on various
parts of the body was as follows-venter just posterior to sternum 20
mm, neck 8 inches posterior to blowhole 27 mm, middle of side be-
low origin of dorsal fin 26 mm, side below tip of dorsal fin 283 mm.
The left testis was 110 mm in length. The body and skull measure-
ments of this specimen, now No. 5857 in the University of Florida
mammal collection, are given in Tables 2 and 3, respectively. As
this animal was a juvenile, its measurements are useful in assessing
the degree of ontogenetic variation in body and skeletal proportions
in this species.
On or about 7 March 1960 a small whale was sighted just off the
beach about 2 miles S of St. Augustine Beach. It later washed up
dead on shore and was buried before it could be examined, but from
the description a local resident gave F. G. Wood a short time later
there can be little doubt that it was a Kogia.
Robert Christensen, while a graduate student at Florida State
University, informed me of an individual found on the beach at
Jupiter Island about 1 mile N of Jupiter Inlet (Palm Beach Co.) 23
December 1960. The whale was at the edge of the wave zone when
first seen and was still alive, but bleeding from the vent, perhaps
from internal wounds received from being pounded on nearby rocks
by the waves. There were no obvious external wounds. The speci-
men, believed to be a female, was about 6 feet long. It was photo-
graphed in the flesh and the skeleton was prepared.
On 23 December 1961 a pygmy sperm whale approximately 10
feet long washed ashore dead at Key Biscayne south of Miami Beach
(Dade Co.). A photograph of the ventral aspect of the whale pub-
lished in the Miami Herald of 24 December clearly shows the salient
characteristics. The animal was a male and the venter was rather
heavily marked with dark, irregular spots.
Another animal came ashore at Hallandale Beach (Broward Co.)
BULLETIN FLORIDA STATE MUSEUM
on 24 August 1962. The whale was alive though bleeding when
discovered and was being pounded heavily by waves. When pushed
back into the water it attempted to beach itself again. It finally died
while an effort was being made to pull it out of the waves onto the
beach. It was reported to be 12 feet long and to weigh 1,140 pounds.
Table 4 gives additional body measurements of a Kogia (female)
from Florida. Extracted from the Marine Studios files copy of a letter
from Arthur McBride to Remington Kellogg, they were presumably
made by McBride.
Gunter et al. (1955) suggested that the pygmy sperm whale popu-
lation in the western North Atlantic may shift northward during the
summer. Of the 31 Gulf of Mexico stranding records available to
them, none occurred in June, July, or August, and only two in May.
Fourteen dated records from Florida waters exhibit a similar sea-
sonal trend, none occurring from May through July and only one
in August.
Except for the summer scarcity, the total stranding records for
Florida waters show no obvious seasonal peaks, there being 4 in the
September-November interval, 4 in the December-February period,
and 5 from March through May. However, the apparent frequency
of strandings shows a marked contrast between the northern and
southern parts of the Atlantic coast, using Melbourne (Brevard Co.)
as an arbitrary dividing line, with 14 records from the northern
sector and 5 from the southern. Even admitting the undoubtedly
higher probability of cetacean strandings being recorded in the vi-
cinity of Marineland in northern Florida, the difference still seems
pronounced enough to be real. The limited data give no clear indi-
cation of any seasonal differences in the occurrence of strandings in
the two sectors.
To summarize further, the strandings of Kogia on the Florida
coast show no differences in overall sex ratio. Of 11 individuals of
known sex, 5 were males and 6 females. Considered on a seasonal
basis, however, the data suggest the possibility that females may
strand more frequently during fall and early winter. Two of five
male strandings occurred in the September-December period in com-
parison to four out of six female records. Moore's (1953) report of a
stranded female that gave birth to a calf in November and another
with a calf (size not stated) stranding in September suggest the possi-
bility that adult females may frequent inshore waters to give birth
to young or when accompanied by young calves and at such times
may be more vulnerable to stranding.
Another aspect of the Florida Kogia data worth noting is the
Vol. 9
1965 LAYNE: MARINE MAMMALS IN FLORIDA WATERS 143
marked discrepancy between the number of strandings known for
the Gulf (2) and Atlantic coasts (19). A difference in the probability
of strandings being reported on the two coasts may account for some
of the disparity, but the paucity of records on the Florida west coast
as well as for the Gulf as a whole is suggestive of a low population.
Although Davies (1963) regards Kogia as one of a group of basically
tropical cetaceans with a relatively wide temperature tolerance, Gun-
ter et al. (1955) suggest that it may be an example of a species show-
ing an antitropical distribution. As evidence they point to the lack
of records of Kogia breviceps in the western North Atlantic south of
the Gulf of Mexico. If the latter hypothesis is correct, the apparent
scarcity of pygmy sperm whales in the Gulf of Mexico could be at-
tributed to the fact that only a small segment of the western North
Atlantic population ranges far enough south to gain access to these
waters.
Physeter catodon Linnaeus
SPERM WHALE
Although compilations of whaling and sighting records (Town-
send, 1935; Gilmore, 1959; Slijper and Utrecht, 1959) indicate the
sperm whale is not uncommon in the Gulf of Mexico and western
North Atlantic in the latitude of Florida, only six records based on
strandings or skeletal remains have previously been available for the
Florida coasts (Moore, 1953; Caldwell et al. 1960). Two additional
records are noted below:
A photograph of a sperm whale that had become trapped in shal-
low water about 12 miles off Marco Island (Collier Co.) in the Gulf
of Mexico in 1956 appeared in the Collier County News of 7 July
1963. According to reports, the whale was 54 feet long.
C. Herrick Hammond told me of a dead whale that washed into
shallow water at Delray Beach (Palm Beach Co.) in the summer of
1958. The animal floated in the surf for several days and was finally
buried on the beach at the home of Harold Roig. Later a portion of
the skull was exhumed during the building of some concrete struc-
tures on the beach near the burial site. I examined this partial skull,
which is being kept as a souvenier at the Roig home, in August 1960.
The fragment consists of most of the right half of the rostrum and
a small portion of the facial region. The shape of the intact part of
the rostrum, presence of a basirostral notch, position of various for-
amina, and size (length from basirostral notch to tip of rostrum, 1937
mm), show the skull to be that of Physeter catodon. A figure of a
sperm whale skeleton and body outline given by Lydekker (1894-95)
BULLETIN FLORIDA STATE MUSEUM
indicates that rostral length is contained about 4.6 times in total
length, from which the length of the Delray Beach specimen in the
flesh may be estimated at approximately 30 feet. The apparently
small size of this individual suggests that it may have been a young
male or an adult female.
Steno bredanensis (Lesson)
ROUGH-TOOTHED DOLPHIN
The basis for the previous inclusion of this species in the list of
cetaceans known from Florida waters is a specimen in the U. S.
National Museum from Tampa (Miller, 1924). Moore (1953) noted
of this record, however, that in the absence of further information
about the circumstances under which the specimen was obtained, the
possibility that it might have been brought in on a ship from else-
where should not be ignored. A mass stranding in 1961 on the upper
east coast of the Gulf of Mexico now definitely establishes the oc-
currence of this species in Florida waters.
On the night of 29 May 1961, a fisherman, Wallace Blue, discov-
ered a herd of dolphins stranded on the coast of Taylor County be-
tween the mouths of the Fenholoway River and Cow Creek about
1 mile NNW of Rock Island. He counted 16 animals and noted no
movements when he put a light on them. Presumably, the dolphins
were dead at this time. The following day Florida Game and Fresh
Water Fish Commission Wildlife Officer M. Cook visited the scene
and counted 14 dolphins. He returned on 1 June and tried to carry
a specimen back to the mainland across the bow of his small boat,
but it slipped off and was lost.
David Swindell of the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Com-
mission notified me of the stranding on 1 June, and the following day
I visited the area with Cook and Dale E. Birkenholz. At this time we
were able to locate 12 animals. All were blackened and blistered by
the sun and badly bloated. Two carcasses were extensively dam-
aged, apparently having been fed upon by crabs and fishes.
The stranding had occurred in an area of shallow water extending
% mile or so from shore. The coast here is bordered by extensive
salt marshes and greatly dissected by creeks. At low tide many bars
are exposed and much of the area is covered by less than a foot of
water (Fig. 2). At normal high tide the depth of water at the site
of the stranding was about 2 feet.
The dolphins lay at the edge of the marsh within about 100 feet
of one another; eight were bunched together, the others more widely
Vol. 9
ilI~ II
~- _
FIGURE 2. Site of stranding of rough-toothed dolphins (Steno bredanensis) in Gulf of Mexico approximately 1 mile NNW of
Rock Island, Taylor Co., 29 May 1961. Several carcasses are visible in foreground.
BULLETIN FLORIDA STATE MUSEUM
scattered. No signs of struggle were apparent other than the vege-
tation matted down around one or two carcasses which could have
been caused by wave or wind action. The location of the carcasses
and absence of clear evidence of struggling suggest that the herd
might have stranded farther out at low tide and drifted in on the
high tide.
Of the 10 carcasses that could be sexed, 6 were males and 4 were
females. All the carcasses had scars of various sorts. Some had ap-
parently rather fresh long, narrow scratches on the venter as well as
older round scars on the sides and back.
The stomachs of 11 specimens, 6 males, 4 females, and one un-
sexed, were examined. Those of 1 unsexed, 1 male, and 2 females
were empty; the contents of the others consisted of only two items,
beaks of the blanket octopus, Tremoctopus violaceus, and remains of
the algae Sargassum filipendula. One male and one female had only
Tremoctopus beaks in the stomach; 2 males had both beaks and pieces
of Sargassum; while the stomachs of 2 males and 1 female contained
only algae. All materials found in the stomachs were in the second
compartment. One would be inclined to speculate that the plant
material represented accidental ingestion, for in most cases it was
present only as a few fragments representing various parts of the
plant. In one case, however, the second compartment of the stomach
was filled with a surprising quantity of Sargassum. According to
Gilbert L. Voss (in litt.) the blanket octopus is a fairly common pelagic
cephalopod. Roundworms were present in the stomach of only one,
a male, of the animals examined.
None of the females examined was pregnant or obviously recently
parturient. The mean measurements (greatest length and breadth)
of the right ovary of four females were: 41.8 x 17.5 mm. Two indi-
viduals with unworn and only slightly worn teeth and with total
lengths of 1995 and 2187 mm had ovaries (right) measuring 32 x 16 mm
and 35 x 15 mm respectively. The right ovary of one specimen with
more heavily worn teeth (total length 2090 mm) was 40 x 15 mm, while
that of one individual (total length 2550 mm) with greatly worn and
broken teeth was 60 x 24 mm.
Testes measurements were obtained for five males. The mean
(greatest length x greatest breadth) was 106.6 x 19.8 mm. Three in-
dividuals with unworn dentition had testes with the following meas-
urements (total lengths in parentheses): 88 x 17 (2170), 110 x 13 (1800),
120 x 24 (2000) mm. The testes of an individual 1970 mm long with
slightly worn teeth and one of 1820 mm total length whose tooth con-
dition was not recorded were 120 x 25 and 95 x 20 mm respectively.
Vol. 9
1965 LAYNE: MARINE MAMMALS IN FLORIDA WATERS 147
Eight body measurements of 11 individuals (6 males, 4 females,
1 unsexed) are given in Table 5. The four females averaged larger
than males in all measurements with the exception of length of flipper
from axilla, but whether the differences are due to sex or age is not
clear. As possible evidence for the latter, however, it may be noted
that whereas three out of four females showed signs of tooth wear,
only one of five males had visibly worn teeth.
Entire or partial skulls of the animals in this stranding collected
later by David Swindell are now numbers 6810 to 6821 in the Univer-
sity of Florida mammal collection.
Orcinus orca (Linnaeus)
KILLER WHALE
Most of the killer whale sight records given by Moore (1953) in-
volve observations at some distance offshore in the Gulf Stream, and
only one case concerned more than single individual. The following
records of occurrence of a herd and single individual of this species
in inshore waters in the Florida area are thus of interest:
F. G. Wood, Jr. observed a small herd of killer whales off Marine-
land in the early afternoon of 19 February 1952. The surf tempera-
ture at the time was 60 F. The whales were readily identifiable
by the characteristic dorsal fin and color pattern. The members of
this herd also possessed the saddle-shaped light area behind the
dorsal fin which is of variable occurrence in this species.
The group, consisting of an estimated six to eight animals, moved
past Marineland in a southerly direction, at times no more than 100
yards offshore. The whales were strung out over a distance of about
V2 mile along the coast and moved in a leisurely manner, individuals
often remaining in the same vicinity for several minutes. The whales
surfaced frequently at intervals of about 10 seconds, although occa-
sionally one would remain submerged longer. By their behavior
and the fact that they were accompanied by a flock of gulls that
were apparently feeding on something at or near the surface, the
whales were assumed to be feeding. The lead individual, which
appeared to be the largest in the herd and had a better developed
dorsal fin than any of the others, was probably a male. One indi-
vidual, assumed to be a female on account of its relatively small size
and small dorsal fin, appeared to be accompanied by a calf.
On 6 February 1960 a Marineland employee, known to be a re-
liable observer and who had seen the 1952 herd of killer whales,
sighted a single killer whale about 1/ mile offshore. When first noted
BULLETIN FLORIDA STATE MUSEUM
the animal was lying motionless at the surface, but it soon turned
and swam off.
Globicephala macrorhyncha Gray
SHORT-FINNED PILOT WHALE
Strandings of pilot whales in Florida waters far outnumber those
of any other cetacean. The present report adds one record for the
period covered in Moore's (1953) study and a number of others for
the interval from 1955 through June 1963.
In 1953 Ivan R. Tompkins sent Joseph C. Moore a photograph of
a Globicephala skull that was exhibited in the window of a sporting
goods store in Jacksonville, Florida, and believed to have come from
Amelia Island (Nassau Co.) sometime prior to 1938.
On 3 November 1955 a mass stranding of pilot whales occurred
on the Atlantic coast 11 miles S of Melbourne (Brevard Co.). The
Florida Times-Union stated that the number of animals involved was
53, while a Miami Herald story gave the number as 55. The herd,
which came ashore at 3 PM, consisted of adults of both sexes and
four calves. The largest individual and apparently the leader of the
herd was a male 14 feet long. Weights were claimed to range from
about 100 pounds for the calves to 2,000 pounds for the largest male.
Bystanders were reported to have pushed one of the calves into deeper
water several times, only to have it return to the beach each time.
On 10 February 1957 a herd of about 50 pilot whales stranded on
Marathon Key (Monroe Co.). Newspaper accounts indicated that the
whales began to come ashore at 4 AM, that most of them beached
on the shore off the causeway of the Key Colony resort, while about
a dozen stranded on shallow flats nearby. The whales were reported
to range from 7 to 18 feet in length and from about 300 to over 1,600
pounds in weight. Attempts to tow several of the living animals
into deeper water proved unsuccessful.
Another pilot whale herd came ashore 5 miles S of Flagler Beach
(Volusia Co.) 16 December 1957. On that date F. G. Wood Jr.
found 57 whales dispersed irregularly over about a mile of beach.
According to Wood's notes, the largest was a male 16 feet, 4 inches
long and the smallest was a female 6 feet, 2 inches long. All the
larger whales (14-16 feet) in the herd were males. Additional pilot
whales scattered over other nearby sections of the coast brought the
total number involved in the stranding to about 75. Some reports
claimed that the whales had begun to come ashore about 11:30
PM, 15 December; others indicated that the animals had begun
to drift in with the breakers early the following morning and had
Vol. 9
1965 LAYNE: MARINE MAMMALS IN FLORIDA WATERS 149
seemed to become helpless when they reached shallow water, finally
being driven onto the beach by strong northeast winds.
Nine of the pilot whales that were still alive and in relatively good
condition were taken to Marine Studios and placed in an enclosed
inlet. These animals ranged in size from about 6 to 13 feet. Two of
them were found dead on 17 December, and the last survivor died on
5 January 1958. Two fetuses were recovered from the inlet in which
the whales were confined during the period of their captivity.
When I visited the site of this stranding 18 December the whales
beached at the main stranding had already been buried by bulldozers.
I found three females in the surf about 1z mile N of Flagler Beach
and saw a fourth which I did not examine just south of Flagler Beach.
The stomachs of two adult females were empty, and their reproduc-
tive tracts were not enlarged. Parasitic copepods were seen on the
flippers. Observers at the stranding three days before reported that
several females had given birth to young in the surf and that the
young, "about 3 feet long," had been promptly carried away by by-
standers.
One of the whales brought to Marineland on 16 December and
which died the next day was donated to the University of Florida
mammal collection (UF 5860). The teeth were just beginning to
erupt, and several hair follicles were distinctly visible above the mar-
gins of the upper jaw anteriorly. A whale louse (Cyamidae) was
attached to the throat and another occurred in the axilla of the flip-
per. Circles of eight light dots on several parts of the body prob-
ably marked previous cyamid attachments. The rear portion of the
body between the dorsal fin and tail stock bore a circular row of
lacerations that extended over almost the entire side of the speci-
men. The stomach was filled with a milky fluid, indicating that the
animal was still nursing.
Two strandings of small groups of pilot whales and one of a
single individual are known to have occurred in 1958. Six individuals
came ashore between noon and 1:30 PM on 8 March 1958 at South
Ponte Vedra Beach (St. Johns Co.). F. G. Wood Jr. found five
whales spaced irregularly over about /4 mile of beach and the sixth
about 1 mile S of the main group. The day was overcast, a stiff
breeze blew from the north and the air temperature was approxi-
mately 560 F. The group consisted of two males, one 7 feet 10 inches
long, the other 8 feet long, and four females of the following lengths:
9 feet 8 inches, 10 feet 8 inches, 10 feet 8 inches, and 10 feet 10 inches.
One of the males that was in better condition than the others was
removed to Marine Studios, where it lived until 10 April.
BULLETIN FLORIDA STATE MUSEUM
F. G. Wood Jr. investigated another pilot whale stranding at
Ponte Vedra on 23 May. When he arrived at the site five whales
were scattered along about 1/ mile of beach. The next morning 11
dead or moribund individuals were on the beach, and a group of
men and boys were trying to free a twelfth that had apparently come
ashore more recently and was in better condition than the others.
The whale was repeatedly turned out to sea but persisted in return-
ing to shore each time. After about an hour only one boy remained
at the task. He managed to prevent the whale from grounding de-
spite its size (about 10 feet) and the action of the surf. After pushing it
out for about 20 minutes more he finally succeeded in getting it to
swim off into deep water.
The beached whales were four males and seven females. The
lengths of the males were: 12 feet 8 inches, 15 feet 8 inches, 16 feet
3 inches, and 16 feet 3 inches; those of the females were: 11 feet 6
inches, 12 feet 3 inches, 12 feet 3 inches, 12 feet 4 inches, 12 feet 8
inches, 15 feet 2 inches, and 15 feet 8 inches. The bodies of a num-
ber of the animals showed cuts and scratches, and some examined
on 23 May possessed a few circular marks approximately 1 to 1/z
inches in diameter on several parts of the skin. These marks had
either disappeared or were much fainter the following day.
A single Globicephala stranded on the lower east coast 28 No-
vember 1958. Different newspaper accounts placed the stranding
at West Palm Beach and at Delray Beach, about 20 miles apart. Re-
ported to have been a 15-foot male, the whale was transported in a
water-filled rubber life raft to the Miami Seaquarium, where it died
on 2 December.
Another single specimen stranded 7 February 1959 at Jupiter Inlet
(Palm Beach Co.). The animal was alive when discovered and was
taken to the Miami Seaquarium. The caption accompanying a photo-
graph of the whale in the Miami Herald of 10 February stated that
the 8-foot animal had been saved from sharks, but gave no further
particulars.
Hamilton (1941) and A. Schwartz (cited by Moore, 1953) have
observed living Globicephala in inshore waters of the Gulf and lower
east coast. According to F. G. Wood, Jr. sightings of pilot whales
at sea along the upper east coast of Florida are rare. Of interest,
therefore, is an account in Marine Studios files by Pard Andreu of
the sighting of a huge herd of pilot whales about 50 miles off Marine-
land on the morning of 7 April 1959. The whales followed a north-
easterly course while under observation and passed close around
Andreu's boat without pausing.
Vol. 9
1965 LAYNE: MARINE MAMMALS IN FLORIDA WATERS 151
Glen E. Woolfenden observed a lone individual swimming in
Tampa Bay off the Sunshine Parkway, which spans the bay, on 4
December 1960. On 20 February 1961, a Marine Studios collecting
vessel encountered a herd of at least five large pilot whales swimming
rapidly south about 6 miles off St. Augustine.
The only stranding known for 1961 was of a single specimen,
variously estimated as between 15 and 18 feet long, that came ashore
at Daytona Beach (Volusia Co.) on 19 March.
William B. Robertson, Jr. wrote me 4 June 1962 that on 14 May
he had observed a stranded cetacean, tentatively identified as a pilot
whale, on a narrow beach at the northeast side of the Marquesas
pseudo-atoll about 30 miles W of Key West, Florida. On 9 August
an injured pilot whale, easily identifiable from newspaper photo-
graphs, was found in shallow water off Grassy Key near Marathon
(Monroe Co.) on the Gulf side of the Florida Keys. The animal was
towed several hundred feet into deeper water and reportedly swam
off slowly. This is the same locality where the mass stranding of
February 1957 occurred.
The Fort Pierce News Tribune of 10 August 1962 carried a story
of the stranding of a 12-foot whale, presumably Globicephala, near
Fort Pierce (St. Lucie Co.). The whale apparently came onto the
beach to escape from some sharks that were pursuing it. A lifeguard
at the scene, Richard Jurkowski, and two other persons succeeded
in getting the whale back into the water and headed out to sea. As
soon as it got into deeper water, sharks again attacked it and were
seen to rip out large chunks of its flesh. They drove the whale back
onto the beach where it died. At high tide the sharks were able to
reach the carcass and fed upon it.
A small mass stranding of six pilot whales also occurred on the
lower Gulf coast in August 1962. The animals, first seen by William B.
Robertson, Jr. on 13 August, occurred along the coast of Everglades
National Park in Monroe Co., between Highland Beach and Sem-
inole Point. Park personnel reportedly took measurements and saved
skulls of several individuals.
On 12 October 1962 local newspapers stated a dead 10-foot "por-
poise" washed up on a small sandbar in a bayou at Holmes Beach
(Manatee Co.), on the Gulf. The Miami News of 18 October reported
a herd of about 50 pilot whales seen in the Gulf off Everglades Nation-
al Park and implied that five of this herd stranded near Lostman's
River. Although the locality and number of animals are closely sim-
ilar to those reported by Robertson in August, the discrepancy in the
dates suggest two separate strandings occurred. In correspondence
BULLETIN FLORIDA STATE MUSEUM
concerning the August stranding Robertson made no mention of a
herd being seen.
Another stranding, probably of a pilot whale, in 1962 was of a
single individual, reportedly 9 feet long, that came ashore in heavy
seas at South Ocean Beach Park near Vero Beach (Indian River Co.),
on 17 October. According to the account in the 21 October edition
of the Vero Beach Free Press, the mouth of the whale was torn as if
chewed, and a dying 7- or 8-foot shark was seen floating nearby.
Two 1963 reports concern a single stranding of a small whale,
here assumed to be Globicephala although positive identification is
lacking, and a mass stranding. In the first case the whale, alive but
injured, was discovered on Hutchinson's Island about 12 mile N of
Jensen Beach (Martin Co.) 10 February. It was shot by an unidenti-
fied conservation officer, who was quoted in a Fort Pierce News-
Tribune story on 12 February as claiming that the whale appeared
to have been the victim of a shark attack.
The mass stranding occurred between South Daytona Beach and
New Smyrna Beach (Volusia Co.) in April. The many news reports
of this stranding present a rather confused picture of the event. Ap-
parently a large herd, numbering over 20 and perhaps as high as 27,
came into shallow water at low tide between South Daytona Beach
and New Smyrna Beach during the night of 7-8 April. At least four
of the animals stranded and died on the beach, while others entered
nearby ditches or creeks and remained alive for some time. Three
individuals were seen swimming in continuous circles in Callalisa
Creek some distance from the ocean, and seven or eight others were
reported in other creeks or ditches in the area. Two of the animals,
reported to measure 9 feet 10 inches and 10 feet 6 inches in length,
were taken alive to Marine Studios.
Of 13 dated records available to Moore (1953), 10 were from the
period March-July, suggesting that the occurrence of the pilot whale
in Florida waters, or at least its tendency to strand, was seasonal.
Table 6 summarizes the monthly distribution of 29 records of strand-
ings or dead individuals washed ashore now available for this region.
These additional data extend the occurrence of strandings to every
month except January and September and reduce the proportion of
total records falling in the March-July period to about 48 per cent.
Although no strong seasonality in strandings is indicated for the
Florida region as a whole, Table 6 suggests possible seasonal differ-
ences between strandings on the Gulf and Atlantic coasts. All of
the records for the Gulf are from February through October. In
contrast, five (33%), or seven if two records from "late autumn" and
Vol. 9
1965 LAYNE: MARINE MAMMALS IN FLORIDA WATERS 153
"winter" are included, of the Atlantic strandings have occurred from
October through December. A sighting in December falls outside
the period delimited by strandings in Gulf waters, while two sight
records of pilot whales at sea fall within the seasonal range of strand-
ing records for the Atlantic coast.
Reports of strandings or sightings of live pilot whales from other
parts of the Gulf (Gunter 1946, 1954, Lowery 1943, Caldwell 1955)
do not alter the seasonal picture given by the Florida data alone.
The present data show no obvious correlation between latitude and
date of strandings on either coast, although the larger mass strand-
ings in the Atlantic have occurred along the upper east coast in
October, November, and December.
The reason or reasons for the apparent difference in the seasonal
occurrences of stranding on the two coasts of Florida must remain
speculative until further data are accumulated. Actual seasonal
movements of the populations may occur as a result of shifting food
supply or changing water temperature. On the other hand, the
tendency to strand may vary at different times of the year as the
result of seasonal variation in social behavior or other habits, presence
of predators, or other biological factors. Abiotic environmental fac-
tors such as frequency and intensity of storms, wind direction, and
water temperature might also be involved. In the latter connection,
it is suggestive that the larger strandings on the Atlantic coast occur
at a time of the year when high onshore winds are especially preva-
lent (U.S.D.A. Weather Bur., 1938).
Although all records of pilot whales from Florida have here and
elsewhere been referred to G. macrorhyncha, species identification has
not been verified by actual examination of specimens in all cases. As
the limits of the ranges and seasonal movements of G. melaena and
G. macrorhyncha in the western North Atlantic are not clearly known,
the possibility that melaena may occasionally range southward to the
Florida latitudes, particularly in winter when cooler surface waters
extend farther south, should not be dismissed. Although this possi-
bility is perhaps slight, it is probably prudent to regard as provisional
Florida records of G. macrorhyncha that are not accompanied by
adequate data for species identification.
Table 7 gives measurements of five skulls in the University of
Florida mammal collection. Skull 624 is of a young male from a
stranding that occurred about 8 miles N of Marineland on 7 Oc-
tober 1948 (Kritzler, 1949, 1952). This animal was kept in captivity
at Marineland for about nine months. The tooth count in this speci-
BULLETIN FLORIDA STATE MUSEUM
8? 8?
men is R -, L -; the last tooth in the left mandibular series is
9 10
small and was probably non-functional in life. Skulls 5858 and 5859
are from adult females involved in the mass stranding near Flagler
Beach in December 1957, while 3337 and 3338 are unsexed and lack
locality data, although both are presumed to have come from Florida.
All of the above skulls have the prominently expanded premaxillae
diagnostic of G. macrorhyncha and, allowing for probable age, sex,
and individual differences, generally agree in absolute and propor-
tional measurements with data given for the short-finned pilot whale
by Fraser (1950). Moore (1953) and Miller and Kellog (1955) list
other records of G. macrorhyncha from Florida based on examination
of skulls.
Table 8 gives body measurements of two adult and one young
female from the 1957 Flagler Beach stranding. The relative length
of the flipper in these specimens approximates the value character-
istic of G. macrorhyncha, although averaging somewhat higher than
the figures presented by Sergeant (1962), which might result from
minor variations in methods of measuring. Kritzler (1952) found the
relative length of the flipper in specimens that stranded north of
Marineland in October 1948 to agree with the proportion considered
characteristic of G. macrorhyncha. As noted above, the skull of one
of these whales (UF 624) is typical of G. macrorhyncha.
Although G. macrorhyncha and G. scammoni were previously
thought to lack the light ventral markings of G. melaena, Norris and
Prescott (1961) and Sergeant (1962) have pointed out that all three
forms possess the ventral pattern, which Sergeant (1962) notes is a
darker gray in G. macrorhyncha and G. scammoni than in G. melaena.
Fraser (1950) specifically stated that well-defined markings are ab-
sent in specimens of G. macrorhyncha from the South Atlantic and
Indian Oceans and neither Gunter (1946) nor Lowery (1943) mentioned
their presence (or absence) in observations on stranded short-finned
pilot whales in the Gulf of Mexico. In some or all of the above cases
possibly the stage of decomposition of the specimens might have
obscured the kedge mark. On the other hand, the paucity of de-
tailed color descriptions of G. macrorhyncha populations through-
out the species' range suggests that geographic variation in the ex-
pression of this pattern should not be ruled out.
In view of the need for additional data on color patterns of
Globicephala, it seems worthwhile to present further observations on
the markings of Florida specimens. Four pilot whales from the
Vol. 9
1965 LAYNE: MARINE MAMMALS IN FLORIDA WATERS 155
stranding near Flagler Beach in December 1957 examined several
days after death were all black, although slightly lighter below.
Two of three adult females and a young female showed a definite,
though rather faint, grayish kedge-shaped mark on the underside
of the throat and breast. The anterior border of the expanded por-
tion of the mark was more distinct than the posterior margin and was
deeply indented medially. The tapering shaft extended posteriorly
along the mid-ventral line to a point under the anterior one-third
of the dorsal fin. The greatest breadth of the anterior wing-like por-
tion of the mark on the young female was 7 inches, and the length
of the shaft was 22 inches. Light areas of the same color as the
mark were also present around the genital slit of this specimen.
A similar pattern has been observed in at least two other Florida
specimens of Globicephala. Kritzler (1952) described a grayish kedge-
shaped mark on the pilot whales that stranded in October 1948 near
St. Augustine Beach. The mark is faintly visible in photographs of
adults at the scene of the stranding and shows clearly in a photograph
of a young male from this herd (UF 624) that was kept in captivity at
Marineland (Kritzler, 1949). As indicated above, specimens of this
herd are clearly referable to G. macrorhyncha on the basis of flipper
proportions and the skull characteristics of UF 624. F. G. Wood,
Jr. also noted the ventral mark on the Globicephala that stranded at
Ponte Vedra 23 May 1958. His notes suggest that pronounced post-
mortem changes may alter its appearance, for the pattern was con-
spicuous when the animals were examined shortly after stranding,
but had faded markedly by the next morning, being little lighter
than the rest of the venter. No skulls or flipper measurements are
available for specimens in this stranding.
Kritzler (1952) observed the mark on some pilot whales stranded
at Beaufort, North Carolina. These were identified as G. macro-
rhyncha, the flipper length being stated to be about Vs of the body
length. The site of the stranding is not far south of the southern-
most locality (Virginia) for G. melaena in the western North Atlantic
(Paradiso, 1958).
Tursiops truncatus (Montagu)
ATLANTIC BOTTLE-NOSED DOLPHIN
The Marine Studios files contain several records of beached in-
dividuals of this species. A small male was found badly decom-
posed on the beach at Marineland 16 December 1952. The dolphin
was apparently recently born, having a total length of only 40 inches.
BULLETIN FLORIDA STATE MUSEUM
A large male was found on the beach at Summer Haven (St. Johns
Co.) 17 February 1954. The animal was dead but still relatively
fresh when discovered. A badly decomposed carcass of a female
dolphin, not positively identified but presumed to be Tursiops, was
found in St. Johns County between Crescent Beach and St. Augustine
Beach 4 February 1955. An apparently stillborn or newborn male
was discovered on the beach at Marineland 5 January 1956; its teeth
had not yet erupted, and the umbilical cord seemed to have been
chewed off. It was 38 inches long and weighed 25 pounds.
The above records of apparently recently-born Tursiops found in
December and January indicate that birth in wild bottle-nosed dol-
phin populations in Florida waters may occur outside the period
(February-May) during which mating and parturition take place in
the captive colony at Marine Studios (Tavolga and Essapian, 1957;
Essapian, 1963). Two recently-captured Tursiops gave birth to young
in September at the Miami Seaquarium (Essapian, 1963).
Marvin Wass informed me that he came upon a small Tursiops
about 40 inches long on the beach near Johns Pass at St. Petersburg
(Pinellas Co.), in February (month uncertain) 1955. Its lacerated
body suggested the animal might have been attacked and driven
onto the beach by a shark.
Robert F. Hutton, Florida State Board of Conservation, reported
in a letter to Gordon Gunter dated 6 June 1960 that a dead and
bloated adult dolphin, probably Tursiops, was seen floating offshore
in Johns Pass about 2 miles SE of Madeira Beach (Pinellas Co.) 10
October 1959. This discovery coincided with an outbreak of red
tide. E. R. Harding, an agent of the Florida State Board of Con-
servation, observed a dead dolphin about 8 feet long on the north
end of Egmont Key at the mouth of Tampa Bay on or about 28 March
1960. In all likelihood this specimen also was a Tursiops.
A dolphin found dead 23 April 1961 on the flats near the west end
of the Howard Frankland Causeway spanning Old Tampa Bay was
identified as a Tursiops by Glen E. Woolfenden, University of South
Florida, who provided the record. I observed a partially decom-
posed Tursiops carcass on Deer Island in the Gulf near Cedar Key
(Levy Co.) 29 April 1962.
An article appearing in the St. Petersburg Times on 3 October
1961 noted the stranding of two dolphins, probably Tursiops, in the
Gulf at Bradenton Beach (Manatee Co.) on 1 October. One of the
animals was stated to be about 6 feet long, the other about 4 feet.
The larger animal had severe wounds that could have been inflicted
by a boat propeller. Persons at the scene dragged both individuals
Vol. 9
1965 LAYNE: MARINE MAMMALS IN FLORIDA WATERS 157
to deeper water and they swam out to sea; the smaller one was
seen to join a group of dolphins offshore.
The Bradenton Herald of 13 July 1963 carried a story of a dead
dolphin seen floating in the Manatee River near Bradenton the day
before. It is likely that this also was a Tursiops.
Several new Florida records of the bottle-nosed dolphin are pro-
vided by skeletal material. Photographs of a skull collected on a
small island in the Indian River near New Smyrna in 1962 or 1963
by Edward G. Smith were identified by Joseph C. Moore, who in-
formed me of this record in a letter dated 16 April 1963. A skull
(UF 868) in the University of Florida mammal collection was col-
lected by B. A. Barrington 12 miles S of Melbourne Beach (Brevard
Co.) in March 1948. Another, UF 4648, was obtained by W. L. Jen-
nings from St. George Island (Franklin Co.) 10 July 1958. A series
of vertebrae in the University of Florida collection (UF 7644) col-
lected behind the beach at Anastasia State Park (St. Johns Co.) by
Mrs. Margaret C. Lewis on 11 December 1962 appear to be those
of Tursiops. David K. Caldwell informed me (in litt.) that in 1955
he obtained the skull of an adult Tursiops reported to have come from
an animal washed up on shore at St. Augustine Beach after a winter
storm several years before; in the interval 1954-56 he saw a badly
decomposed Tursiops on Atsena Otie Key at Cedar Key (Levy Co.).
Bottle-nosed dolphins are of course common in the coastal waters
of Florida. Some specific localities at which I have observed them
in recent years are as follows: Caloosahatchee River at Fort Myers
(Lee Co.) 3 June 1956; vicinity of Cedar Key (Levy Co.) 20 October
1956, 25 March 1961, 29 April 1962, 19 May 1962; St. Marks National
Wildlife Refuge (Wakulla Co.) 31 May 1959; Melbourne Beach (Brev-
ard Co.) 21 August 1960; Sanibel Island (Lee Co.) 26 August 1960;
Fort Myers Beach (Lee Co.) 27 August 1960; and Captiva Island
(Lee Co.) 15 May 1962.
A group of 10 to 12 Tursiops I watched for about /z hour 25 March
1962 in the Gulf at Cedar Key appeared to be engaged in breeding
behavior. When first seen they were about 500 yards off a dock, but
they gradually worked in closer, then back out again. Most of the
time the animals were associated together in groups of two or three.
They maintained very close contact and spent a good deal of time
rolling over, splashing and churning about vigorously at the surface,
and thrusting their heads out of the water. Sometimes they would
surface to breathe simultaneously, and several times one dolphin
appeared to be wrapped around the body of another. At such times,
the pair would flop around at the surface, rolling over on their sides
BULLETIN FLORIDA STATE MUSEUM
or backs. In some cases one of the individuals would slide over the
other. Sometimes during such a performance the flukes of one
animal would suddenly be thrust vertically out of the water.
Considering the abundance of bottle-nosed dolphins in Florida
waters, strandings appear to be relatively infrequent. Very young
animals account for a rather high proportion of the dead individuals
found, and possibly some of the smaller specimens may represent
stillbirths. With one exception the stranding records noted above
involve animals dead on discovery, and it is thus not possible to
know how many of these actually represent accidental strandings.
R. Winston Menzel of Florida State University noted in a letter to
Gordon Gunter dated 30 May 1960 that the occasional dead Tursiops
he has examined often appear to have been shot. Shooting and
various accidents, such as being struck by boats, probably account
for a good share of the dead individuals found. Because of its tend-
ency to occur in inshore waters, Tursiops may also be somewhat
more vulnerable to storms than other species. In a letter of 4 June
1962 William B. Robertson Jr., reported observing one dead Tursiops
on a beach at Cape Sable and two in Florida Bay and another trap-
ped in canals behind Cape Sable following hurricane Donna in 1961.
Gilmore (1959) has postulated that the low incidence of actual strand-
ings of Tursiops is due to the species' adaptation to shallow water
habitats. Occasionally, however, mass strandings of Tursiops do
occur. E. Lowe Pierce of the University of Florida told me that
some years ago he witnessed an entire herd of some 30 individuals
swim onto a beach near Key West (Monroe Co.) and perish. He
observed no apparent reason for this behavior.
Fraser (1949) notes that strandings of Tursiops in the English
Channel and North Sea show a definite relationship to time of year,
whereas Gunter (1942) found no evidence of migration or seasonal
variation in abundance along the Texas Gulf coast. The bottle-nosed
dolphin seems to occur year-round along both the Gulf and Atlantic
coasts of Florida, and no seasonal pattern is apparent in the strand-
ings and sighting records presently available. Possibly, however,
more intensive observations might well reveal seasonal shifts in
numbers, herd sizes and composition, tendencies to occur in cer-
tain environments, or other aspects of the ecology and behavior of
populations of this species in Florida waters.
Vol. 9
1965 LAYNE: MARINE MAMMALS IN FLORIDA WATERS 159
Delphinus delphis Linnaeus
COMMON DOLPHIN
The Marine Studios files contain a note on the stranding of an
adult female Delphinus delphis just north of Marineland 20 January
1952. The specimen had a total length of 7 feet, and the flukes were
16 inches wide. Jane Gallena and Joseph Scolara, then students
at the University of Florida, found a partially buried carcass of a
young male common dolphin at Crescent Beach (St. Johns Co.), on
2 April 1960. Although the skin was peeling, some color details were
still discernible. The total length of this specimen, the skeleton of
which is now in the University of Florida mammal collection (UF
5425), was 1473 mm.
Moore (1953) quotes a letter from R. Collins stating that Marine
Studios collectors have seen this species only during the winter, in-
dividuals having been captured in January and February, and sug-
gests the possibility that a seasonal shift in range might occur in
the North Atlantic. If such is the case, the April record noted above
of an animal that surely stranded in March, indicates the presence
of Delphinus in Florida waters at least into the early spring. Essapian
(1954) also records the capture of a common dolphin about 10 miles
off St. Augustine in March.
Stenella longirostris (Gray)
LONG-BEAKED DOLPHIN
A large herd of dolphins that stranded on a small island a few
miles off the Florida coast in the northern Gulf of Mexico in Septem-
ber 1961 appears referable to this species. Although both Miller and
Kellogg (1955) and Hall and Kelson (1959) cite a skeleton of a speci-
men in the U. S. National Museum (No. 23302) taken between the
Galapagos Islands and Panama as the only North American record
of this species, Moore (1953) also records it from west of the Bahamas
about 45 nautical miles off Miami Beach. Stenella microps, known in
the eastern North Pacific from the vicinity of the Tres Marias Islands
off Nayarit, Mexico (Miller and Kellogg, 1955), is possibly conspecific
with S. longirostris (Nelson, 1899; Scheffer and Rice, 1963).
The site of the stranding was Dog Island (Franklin Co.) about
4 miles off the coast at Carrabelle between St. George Island on the
west and Alligator Point on the east. Dog Island is approximately
6% miles long and 1 mile wide at the widest point. It is broadest
at the eastern end and tapers to a narrow strand at the western ex-
tremity. The long axis of the island roughly parallels the coast and
BULLETIN FLORIDA STATE MUSEUM
is oriented approximately NE-SW. Dog Island Reef, which is about
5 miles long and 1 mile wide, lies about 4 miles ENE and has ap-
proximately the same orientation as the island. Topographic maps
indicate that the bottom in the vicinity of Dog Island is mainly sand
and grass and the water is generally shallow.
The dolphins were discovered the afternoon of 23 September
by Charles Campbell, an agent of the Florida State Board of Con-
servation. He reported them to David Weatherspoon of the Florida
State University Marine Station on Alligator Point who, accom-
panied by Robert Short, also of Florida State University, went with
Campbell to the site. They brought six of the dolphins to Florida
State University at Tallahassee. Three of these they examined for
parasites and disposed of, while the remaining three (2 males, 1
female) they placed in a cold room for temporary storage. Ralph
Yerger of Florida State University advised me of the stranding by
telephone, and on the next day Dale E. Birkenholz and I drove to
Tallahassee to examine and measure the remaining specimens. At
that time Yerger kindly provided me with as many details of the
stranding as he had been able to obtain.
The herd had stranded on the outer beach at the northeast end
of the island. The bottom here is of sand and gently sloping, and
the water is very shallow. Observers believed that a bar might have
been located just offshore at the site of the stranding. If so, the
dolphins were between it and the shore. Thirty-six dolphins were
counted. The tide was in at the time the site was visited, and the
dolphins were in 2 to 3 feet of water. All were dead and their heads
were directed toward the beach. Most were resting on the bottom,
but one or two appeared to be floating. The animals had apparently
not been dead long, as none was obviously bloated, the skin was still
in good condition, and the color pattern remained fairly distinct. It
was considered possible that the herd might have stranded during
the previous low tide.
As is often the case, there was little evidence as to the cause of
the stranding. All three of the specimens I examined bore fresh
wounds. Two individuals had rather superficial cuts, but one had
a series of deep lacerations on the left side of the body arranged in
the form of a series of concentric arcs. The female also had a cir-
cular wound about 3 inches in diameter on the lower abdominal re-
gion of the left side which might have been caused by a lamprey.
One of the males had a small hole about the size of a .38 cal. bullet
on the left side of the tail stock, which suggests the possibility that
the dolphins had been shot at either before or after stranding.
Vol. 9
1965 LAYNE: MARINE MAMMALS IN FLORIDA WATERS 161
A ,
FIGURE 3. Adult female long-beaked dolphin, Stenella longirostris, collected on
Dog Island, Franklin Co., 23 September 1961. (Upper) lateral aspect; (middle)
close-up of head; (lower) detail of flukes. Reflections obscure some details of
the color pattern, particularly on the head.
BULLETIN FLORIDA STATE MUSEUM
By the time of examination the specimens had apparently under-
gone some postmortem changes in coloration as a result of drying,
exposure to sun, or discoloration from blood, which should be con-
sidered when evaluating the following descriptions. The specimens
were generally dark gray to blackish on the back, upper sides, tail
stock, and flukes, shading to a light gray on the sides. The mid-
ventral areas all were blotched with reddish-purplish color, which
appeared to be due to accumulation of blood rather than a feature
of normal coloration. The female showed the most distinctive color
pattern (Fig. 3) of the three, and its details were more evident on
the side upon which the carcass had lain in the cooler, the exposed
side being very dark, perhaps from drying. This individual had a
series of small, dark, relatively discrete pigment spots extending hori-
zontally from the eye to a point about halfway to the origin of the
dorsal fin and a rather broad band of dark gray passing obliquely
from the eye to the base of the flipper. This band was bordered
anteriorly by a rather conspicuous patch of light gray. A fainter and
more poorly defined streak of gray extended from behind the shoulder
posteriorly across the lighter ground color of the lower sides. The
eye was ringed with blackish, which extended forward to meet that
from the opposite side on the forehead. There was no evidence of
yellowish on the sides of the body.
Body measurements of the Florida specimens are given in Table
9. Short noted that some of the dolphins in the stranding were
smaller than the smallest individual collected, but the largest speci-
men obtained was about as large as any in the herd. Weights of
the female and larger male were 135 and 133 pounds, respectively.
The skull and posteranial skeleton of the female and the skull of
the smaller male are now in the mammal collection of Florida State
University (nos. 284 and 285, respectively), while the postcranial
skeleton of the smaller male and the skull and partial posteranial
skeleton of the larger male are now numbers 6741 and 7861, respec-
tively, in the University of Florida mammal collection. Measure-
ments of the male skull UF 7861 are given in Table 10. Counts of
visible teeth in the female (FSU 284) and larger male (UF 7861) were
48 48 45 44
made in the flesh, and the numbers obtained were and -,
52 50 49 49
respectively. The numbers of alveoli counted in the cleaned skull
56 56
of the male are -. The first four alveoli in the maxillary tooth
49 49
Vol. 9
1965 LAYNE: MARINE MAMMALS IN FLORIDA WATERS
FIGURE 4. Skull (UF 7861) of adult male Stenella longirostris collected on Dog
Island, Franklin Co., 23 September 1961. (Upper) dorsal aspect; (middle) lateral
aspect; (lower) ventral aspect.
BULLETIN FLORIDA STATE MUSEUM
rows of both sides are indistinct, and the first alveolus on the left side
contains a tiny forward projecting tooth that was not visible above
the gum in life. Other such teeth may have been present at the an-
terior ends of the tooth rows and lost in cleaning. Although the vis-
ible tooth and alveoli counts for the lower tooth rows agree, possibly
additional small, unerrupted teeth were hidden in a small amount
of hard dried tissue present on the tip of the lower jaw.
The Florida skull (fig. 4) agrees closely with the diagnosis and
measurements of S. longirostris given by True (1889). I have also
compared the skull with photographs of the dorsal, lateral, and ventral
aspects of the type of S. longirostris (No. 12, Mus. Pays Bas) kindly
provided by F. C. Fraser and can find no significant differences. The
shallow lateral palatal grooves mentioned by True as one of the char-
acteristics of the species extend forward in the Florida skull to within
about 70 mm of the tip of the rostrum, at the level of the 40th alveolus
from the rear. The grooves are about 7 mm wide and 1 mm deep
at midrostral length. The bone of the proximal part of the furrow
up to about the level of the beginning of the maxillary tooth rows is
smooth and compact, while that of the remaining portion is distinctly
more porous. According to Fraser (in lift.), the former type of bone
reflects the extent of the anterior air sac.
None of the stomachs of the three specimens examined contained
food. Weights and measurements of the testes of the smaller male
were: left-215 x 60 mm, 309 g; right-232 x 60 mm, 326 g. Cor-
responding values for the larger specimen were: left-240 x 74 mm,
397 g; right-252 x 65 mm, 369 g.
The female contained a small fetus in the left uterine horn, which
had a diameter of approximately 80 mm compared with about 20
mm for the right. The fetus was oriented with the head in the
direction of the ovary. Its head was bent ventrally at an angle
to the longitudinal axis of the trunk, and the tail stock was curled
under the body so that the flukes were directed anteriorly. The total
length of the fetus, measured from the vertex of the head which was
the most anterior point to the end of the straightened tail, was 81
mm. The flipper was 15 mm from its anterior base to the tip, and
the digits were apparent within the common integument. The flukes
were spade-like in shape and 7 mm in greatest breadth. The jaws
were not greatly produced; the upper extended about 5 mm beyond
the forehead and was about 1 mm shorter than the lower. The dis-
tance from the tip of the upper jaw to the blow hole was 13 mm.
The eye was approximately 3.5 mm in diameter. The dorsal fin was
indicated only as a slight ridge on the midline of the back; the prom-
Vol. 9
1965 LAYNE: MARINE MAMMALS IN FLORIDA WATERS 165
inent urogenital papilla was 2.5 mm from anterior base to tip. The
diameter of the umbilical cord at the point of attachment to the fetus
was 5 mm. The fetus showed no indication of a color pattern. Nu-
merous fine longitudinal grooves, which may have been an artifact
of preservation, were visible on the sides.
The left and right ovaries were 43 x 28 and 26 x 11 mm, respec-
tively. The former showed a large corpus luteum externally while
the remainder of the ovarian tissue appeared lobulated. The max-
imum diameter of the corpus luteum was 26 mm, and when hand-
sectioned with a razor blade it proved to have a small central cavity
about 4 mm in diameter.
The following organ weights (grams) were obtained for the larger
male: heart 369, lungs 2055, liver 1276, kidneys (both) 396.
Zalophus californianus (Lesson)
CALIFORNIA SEA LION
Marineland personnel captured a young California sea lion at Flag-
ler Beach 25 January 1958. According to F. G. Wood, Jr. it was not
particularly tame and appeared to be in poor health. The animal
was kept at Marineland until 27 May 1958, when it was presented
to the Jacksonville Zoo. In all likelihood it had escaped from cap-
tivity, although Wood ascertained it had not been lost by either the
"Theater of the Sea" at Windley Key (Monroe Co.) or "Sea Zoo" at
Daytona Beach, both of which have featured performing sea lions
in recent years. It may have escaped or been released from a pass-
ing vessel.
In January 1963, several Florida newspapers (Miami Herald,
Stuart News, Orlando Sentinel) published accounts of two "seals",
probably Zalophus californianus, that escaped or were stolen 11 Jan-
uary from a tourist attraction known as "Florida Wonderland" near
Titusville (Brevard Co.). One of these was recaptured the following
day in the nearby Indian River. A seal, presumably the other indi-
vidual, was seen in Cape Canaveral Harbor a day or two later. On
20 and 21 January a seal was observed swimming in the North Fork
of the St. Lucie River near Stuart, approximately 100 airline miles
south along the coast. It appears likely that the seal seen near Stuart
was the same individual lost near Titusville earlier. If so, the animal
may have moved south along the coast to enter the Sebastian or St.
Lucie Inlets rather than remaining entirely within the Indian River.
BULLETIN FLORIDA STATE MUSEUM
Trichechus manatus latirostris (Harlan)
MANATEE
A number of reports of dead manatees during the period from
December 1957 to June 1963 have been obtained from various sources.
S. J. Olsen provided information on 10 dead ones observed by field
parties of the Florida Geological Survey in south Florida. Single
specimens were reported from Martin Co. (exact locality not stated)
in December 1957, near Shark Island in the St. Petersburg area 4
January 1960, Jupiter Inlet (Palm Beach Co.) in January 1958, and
the Caloosahatchee River at Fort Myers (Lee Co.) in January 1958.
Five females and one male were also found at the last locality 2 Feb-
ruary 1958. The skeleton of one of these females is now in the
University of Florida collections (UF 5713). Most of the animals
reported above were found after cold snaps of 26 to 30' F in south
Florida, and the deaths can probably be attributed to cold. Moore
(1951) summarized 18 previous records of manatees in which low
temperatures were the apparent cause of mortality.
A mass of decayed flesh containing some ribs washed ashore at
Siesta Key (Sarasota Co.) 13 October 1959. Eugenie Clark of the
Cape Haze Marine Laboratory collected two ribs and sent them to
Joseph C. Moore who identified them as manatee and kindly sent me
the record.
Agent Melvin Davis of the Florida State Board of Conservation
reported finding a dead manatee on the south shore of the Caloosa-
hatchee River near Fort Myers in February (month uncertain) 1960.
The animal was approximately 8 feet long. From the nature of
wounds on the body, the manatee appeared to have been killed
by a boat propeller.
Agent Joe Humphreys, Florida State Board of Conservation, ob-
served a dead manatee 5 to 6 feet long floating in Barnes Sound at
Cross Key (Dade Co.) 15 February 1961. An adult female found
dead in Blue Springs (Volusia Co.) 14 December 1961 appeared to
have been shot through the head with a large caliber bullet. Its
measurements (in millimeters) were as follows: total length 3099,
length of flipper from axilla to tip 584, greatest breadth of flipper 165,
length of nails 25, 26, 18, and greatest breadth of flukes 711. The
teats and mammary tissue of this specimen were well developed and
the genital tract was enlarged and vascular, suggesting that parturi-
tion had occurred fairly recently. The skeleton is in the University
of Florida vertebrate paleontology collection.
On 7 March 1962 J. C. Dickinson, Jr. of the Florida State Museum
Vol. 9
1965 LAYNE: MARINE MAMMALS IN FLORIDA WATERS 167
informed me that he had learned from local residents of the shoot-
ing of a baby manatee about 3 weeks earlier at the mouth of the
Withlacoochee River (Citrus Co.). Agent L. A. Walcott, Florida State
Board of Conservation, told me that on 14 May 1962 his boat had
struck a manatee swimming in shallow water near Fort Myers (Lee
Co.), and that the animal had probably died. When asked about
winter mortality in the Fort Myers area over the past few years, he
said that he knew of no deaths in 1961-62 but that two dead man-
atees had been reported in the area during the winter of 1960-61.
An unusual number of manatee deaths are on record for 1963.
An article and photograph of a manatee that died in the Imperial
River near Bonita Springs a day or so before appeared in the Bonita
Banner of 20 December. Another individual drifted into shallow
water along the east shore of the Indian River near Eau Gallie
(Brevard Co.) on 28 March and died shortly afterwards. According
to several newspaper accounts (Orlando Sentinel, 29 March; Miami
Herald, 31 March) the animal had evidently been struck by the
propeller of a boat.
Seven dead manatees were reported in the vicinity of Fort Myers
(Lee Co.) between 26 March and 9 April 1963, and another washed
ashore in the Caloosahatchee River 4 May. The unusual manatee
mortality in this area coincided with newspaper reports of many
deaths of cormorants, gulls, and raccoons and the occurrence of a
red tide outbreak in the Englewood area not far to the north.
Sight records of manatees obtained from newspaper accounts
include about six animals in the St. Johns River at Jacksonville (Duval
Co.) 2.3 October 1960 (Miami Herald, 25 October), four in the With-
lacoochee River near Yankeetown in July 1962 (St. Petersburg Times,
28 July), a herd of approximately a dozen in Turkey Creek near Palm
Bay (Brevard Co.) in October 1962 (Miami Herald, 16 October), two
in the St. Johns River near Blue Springs (Volusia Co.) during the
third week of October 1962 (Orlando Sentinel, 28 October); and a
herd estimated to number more than 50 in the St. Johns River near
Palatka (Putnam Co.) in late May 1963 (Palatka News, 30 May).
Additional evidence of seasonal movements by Florida manatees
is provided by some of the new reports available. Several individ-
uals apparently winter each year in Blue Springs. Gordon W. Pier-
son, owner of Blue Springs Park, reports that the animals arrive each
year within a day of 11 November, according to the Orlando Sentinel
of 23 October 1962. The newspaper story cited above of manatees
in Turkey Creek near Palm Bay in October 1962 stated that this is an
annual occurrence. Manatees also apparently spend the winter reg-
BULLETIN FLORIDA STATE MUSEUM
ularly in the St. Johns River in the vicinity of the Talleyrand Avenue
and Southside electric plants of the city of Jacksonville, seemingly
attracted by warm water the plants discharge into the river. An
article in the Miami Herald of 25 October 1960 quoted C. W. Taylor,
a guard at the Talleyrand Avenue plant, as reporting that the man-
atees had appeared at the plant on 23 October for three consecutive
years and over a longer period had always arrived between 22 and
27 October. I visited the plant on 4 December 1960 and talked with
Joseph Winter, the station engineer, who told me that four or five
manatees were present that winter. Although none was observed
during the hour or so I was present, Winter told me that the animals
are usually seen every day. The bottom of the river in the area of
warm water the manatees frequent was heavily silted and lacking in
vegetation. Potential feeding grounds were present across the river
from the plant, but Winter expressed his impression that the animals
went farther away to feed. Although present data on seasonal move-
ments suggest the most prevalent pattern to be a migration into
springs and rivers in the late fall and early winter, F. G. Wood, Jr.
informed me in a letter of 21 March 1961 that manatees appear in
Matanzas Bay at St. Augustine every year, usually in July or August,
and that the dockmaster of the St. Augustine Yacht Pier had seen as
many as 17 animals in one herd.
Vol. 9
TABLE 1. BODY MEASUREMENTS OF AN ADULT -IALE Kogia brecicepS STRAND-
ED NEAR PALM BEACH, PALM BEACH Co., FLORIDA, 8 APRIL 1955. MEASURE-
MENTS, EXCEPT THOSE MARKED WITH AN ASTERISK, ARE THE SAME AS THOSE
USED BY YAMADA, 1954.
% Total
Measurement Mm length
Total length, from snout to notch of flukes 3162 100.0
From snout to tip of lower jaw 292 9.2
From snout to center of blowhole 394 12.5
Length of blowhole 102 3.2
From snout to center of eye 540 17.1
Lower jaw, from tip to corner of gape 190 6.0
From snout to tip of flipper 1156 36.6
From notch of flukes to hind margin of dorsal fin* 1321 41.8
Height of dorsal fin 203 6.4
From notch of flukes to anus 889 28.1
Flipper, length from anterior insertion* 381 12.0
Greatest width of flipper 152 4.8
Left fluke, from tip to notch 432 13.7
Right fluke, from tip to notch 444 14.0
Tail flukes, distance between tips 876 27.7
Depth of body at anus 381 12.0
Right eye to blowhole0 330 10.4
Right eye to corner of gape0 279 8.8
TABLE 2. BODY MEASUREMENTS OF TWO MALE Kogia breviceps STRANDED IN
FLORIDA IN 1957 AND 1958.
St. Augustine Marineland
1 Mar. 1957 2 Sept. 1958*
Measurement % Total % Total
Mm length Mm length
Total length 3048 100.0 2019 100.0
Length from snout to origin
of dorsal fin 1524 50.0 1003 49.7
Length from snout to origin
of flipper 737 24.2 432 21.4
Length from snout to anus 2083 68.3 1384 68.6
Length from snout to center of eye 457 15.0 279 13.8
Length from snout to blowhole 381 12.5 248 12.3
Length of flipper 476 15.6 305 15.1
Breadth of flipper 190 6.2 114 5.7
Span of flukes 8640 28.3 597 29.6
Height of dorsal fin 127 4.2 102 5.0
Length from origin to tip of dorsal fin 286 9.4 229 11.3
" UF 5857.
f Tip abraded.
BULLETIN FLORIDA STATE MUSEUM
TABLE 3. SKULL MEASUREMENTS AND TOOTH COUNT OF A JUVENILE MALE
Kogia breviceps (UF 5857) STRANDED 2 SEPTEMBER 1958, AT MARINELAND, FLAG-
LER COUNTY, FLORIDA.
% Total
Measurement Mm length
Total length
Length from inferior margin of foramen magnum to tip
of rostrum
Rostral length from line joining antorbital processes to tip
Breadth of rostrum at antorbital processes
Breadth of rostrum at mid-length
Length from tip of rostrum to middle of posterior margin
of pterygoid
Breadth across preorb. angles of supraorbitals
Breadth across postorb. angles of supraorbitals
Least interorbital breadth
Breadth across lateral margins of pmx. on line connecting
antorbital processes
Length from hind edge occipital condyles to posterior
wall of left naris
Height of supraoccipital from superior margin of
foramen magnum
Greatest length of pterygoid
Maximum breadth across occipital condyles
Maximum length of temporal fossa
Maximum height of temporal fossa
Length of right ramus from condyle to tip
Length of right tooth row
Length of symphysis
Teeth
326 100.0
67 20.6
140 42.9
L 14, R 13
Vol. 9
1965 LAYNE: MARINE MAMMALS IN FLORIDA WATERS
TABLE 4. BODY MEASUREMENTS OF AN ADULT FEMALE Kogia breviceps
STRANDED AT CRESCENT BEACH, ST. JOHNS COUNTY, FLORIDA, ON 23 SEPTEMBER
1948.
% Total
Measurement Mm length
Total length 3200 100.0
Length from tip of snout to tip of dorsal fin 1905 59.5
Length from anus to trailing edge of flukes 1067 33.3
Length from eye to axilla 432 13.5
Length from eye to tip of snout 419 13.1
Length from eye to blowhole 178 5.6
Length from eye to angle of mouth 229 7.1
Length from tip of jaw to angle of mouth 203 6.3
Breadth of jaw at angle of mouth 140 4.4
Length of flukes in midsagittal plane 394 12.3
Breadth of flukes from midline to tip 444 13.9
Height of dorsal fin 140 4.4
Length of dorsal fin base 229 7.1
Length of flipper from ant. edge to tip 521 16.3
Length of flipper from axilla to tip 406 12.7
Breadth of flipper 190 6.0
Breadth of head through level of eye 597 18.6
Depth of body at eye 457 14.3
Depth of body at ant. insertion of dorsal fin 756 23.6
Depth of body at tip of flipper 762 23.8
Depth of body at anus 483 15.1
Depth of body at mid-peduncle 318 9.9
TABLE 5. BODY MEASUREMENTS (IN MILLIMETERS)* AND TOOTH COUNTS OF 11 Steno bredanensis FROM A STRANDING
IN THE GULF OF MEXICO ON THE COAST OF TAYLOR CO., FLORIDA, MAY, 1961.
Sex
Measurement S 6 S 6 & 6 9 9 9 9 ? P
Total length 1820 1970 2000 1800 1750 1820 2187 2090 2550 1995 2170
Length from tip of upper jaw to center of eye 322 340 335 335 290 336 350 338 335 347 330 H
Length of gape from tip of upper jaw to angle of gape 260 287 288 280 250 300 295 288 290 310 270 Z
Length from tip of upper jaw to anterior insertion
of flipper 480 500 538 490 406 500 540 510 525 560 520 0
Length of flipper from anterior insertion to tip 318 404 398 340 298 352 400 393 360 388 420
Length of flipper from axilla to tip 234 297 311 243 210 252 312 289 270 288 315 S
Maximum width of flipper 118 140 144 102 107 102 144 144 103 104 152
Width of flukes from tip to tip 460 575 532 490 412 510 590 620 625 575 --
Visible teeth
Upper right 21 21 19 23 23 23 21 20 20 21 19
Upper left 21 21 19 23 22 24 23 20 19 21 19
Lower right 22 22 19 22 22 23 23 20 20 21 20
Lower left 22 22 20 22 21 24 23 22 20 21 20
Total 86 86 77 90 88 94 90 82 79 84 78
Condition of teeth f U S U U U ? S M H U U
* Taken in the manner defined by Norris et al. (1961).
I U-unworn, S-slight wear, M-moderate wear, 4-heavy wear.
o
1965 LAYNE: MARINE MAMMALS IN FLORIDA WATERS
TABLE 6. SEASONAL DISTRIBUTION OF 29 Globicephala STANDINGS OR DEAD
INDIVIDUALS WASHED ONSHORE ALONG FLORIDA COASTS (DATA FROM MOORE, 1953,
AND PRESENT STUDY).
Number of Individuals Involved
Month Gulf Coast and Keys Atlantic Coast
January -
February -50 1?, 1
March 26 6, 1?
April 1, 12 1, 20-27
May 4, 1? 12
June 5, 200+ -
July 3, 7 -
August 1, 6 1?
September -
October 5, 1? 46, 1?
November 1, 53-55
December 75+
Late autumn 5
Winter 3- 0+
TABLE 7. SKULL MEASUREMENTS OF Globicephala macrorhyncha from Florida.
UF 624 & Yg UF 3337 Sex ? UF 3338 Sex ? UF 5858 9 Ad. UF 5859 9 Ad.
8 mi. N Locality Locality % mi. N. % mi. N.
Measurement Marineland unknown unknown Flagler Beach Flagler Beach
Mm %TL Mm % TL Mm % TL Mm % TL Mm % TL
Total length
Length of rostrum
Width of rostrum at base
Width of rostrum 60 mm anterior to
antorbital notches
Width of rostrum at middle
Breadth across preorb. angles of
supraorbital processes
Breadth across postorb. angles of
supraorbital processes
Breadth at orbits
Breadth across zygomatic apophyses
Width of braincase across parietals
Max. distance between outside edges
of pmx. proximally
Max. dist. between outside edges
pmx. distally
Breadth of pmx. at middle of rostrum
Least dist. between lateral margins of pmx.
Tip of rostrum to middle of post.
margin of pterygoid
Length of temporal fossa
Depth of temporal fossa
Length of upper tooth row (to end pmx.)
518 100.0 659 100.0 550* 100.0 555 100.0 558 100.0
251 48.4 344 52.2 279 50.7 285 51.4 293 52.5 c
175 33.8 257 39.0 213 38.7 221 39.8 201 36.0
166 32.0 260 39.4 205 37.3 206 37.1 190 34.0
131 25.3 235 35.7 173 31.4 145 26.1 160 28.7
305 58.9 453 68.7 371 67.4 360 64.9 341 61.1
323 62.4 481 73.0 409 74.4 394 71.0 380 68.1
294 56.8 439 66.6 365 66.4 358 64.5 339 60.8
326 62.9 487 73.9 413 75.1 396 71.4 382 68.4 >
213 41.1 291 44.2 247 44.9 235 42.3 235 42.1 M
137
137
124
119
322
125
57
136
26.4
26.4
23.9
23.0
62.2
24.1
11.0
26.2
172 26.1 150 27.3 140 25.2 149 26.7 G
226 34.3 178 32.4 157 28.3 161 28.8
221 33.5 176 32.0 147 26.5 155 27.8
165 25.0 140 25.4 137 24.7 130 23.3
62.7
24.9
16.2
24.7
64.4
26.7
15.3
25.3
63.4
22.3
14.0
23.1
64.7
24.7
14.9
26.5
Co
* Occipital condyles partly missing.
1965 LAYNE: MARINE MAMMALS IN FLORIDA WATERS
TABLE 8. BODY MEASUREMENTS OF THREE SPECIMENS OF Globicephala
macrorhyncha FROM A STRANDING NEAR FLAGLER
DECEMBER 1957.
BEACH* (VOLUSIA CO.) ON 16
UF 5858 UF 5859 UF 5860
9 Adult 9 Adult 9 Young
Measurement Mm % TL Mm % TL Mm % TL
Total length
Girth at post. insertion of flipper
Tip of snout to blowhole
Tip of snout to insertion of
dorsal fin
Tip of snout to tip of dorsal
Tip of snout to ant. margin of eye
Post. margin of eye to ant.
insertion of flipper
Blowhole to insertion of dorsal
Post. margin of eye to auditory
meatus
Length of eye
Greatest width of closed blowhole
Tip of snout to angle of mouth
Tip of dorsal to notch of flukes 2
Spread of flukes
Height of dorsal
Length of dorsal from insertion
to tip
Length of flipper from ant.
insertion to tip
Length of flipper from post.
insertion to tip
3277 100.0
1511 46.1
3340 100.0
1524 45.6
1968 100.0
1181 60.0
273 13.9
622 31.6
1029 52.2
241 12.2
- 197
- 362
28
70
381
!013
851f
286
70
28
44
222
1060
495
178
724 22.1 -
610 18.6 565 16.9 362 18.4
489 14.9 419 12.5 298 15.2
UF 5858 and 5859 collected % mile N of
elected 5 miles S of Flagler Beach.
f Extreme tip of one cut off.
t Tips of both flukes cut off.
Flagler Beach; UF 5860 col-
BULLETIN FLORIDA STATE MUSEUM
TABLE 9. ABSOLUTE* AND PROPORTIONAL BODY MEASUREMENTS OF Stenella
longirostris FROM A STRANDING ON DOG ISLAND, FRANKLIN CO., ON 23 SEPTEM-
BER 1961.
UF 6741 UF 7861 FSU 284
Measurement Mm % TL Mm % TL Mm % TL
Total length 1845
Length from tip of upper jaw to
center of eye 312
Length from tip of upper jaw to
angle of gape 246
Length from tip of upper jaw to
anterior-most point of head
on midline 154
Length from tip of upper jaw to
mid-point of dorsal fin base 940
Length from tip of upper jaw to
blowhole 297
Length from tip of upper jaw to
anterior insertion of flipper 435
Length of eye 20
Height of eye 8
Width of blowhole 21
Length of flipper from anterior
insertion to tip 258
Length of flipper from axilla to tip 200
Maximum width of flipper 90
Height of dorsal fin 181
Length of dorsal fin base 265
Width of flukes from tip to tip 200f
100.0 1910 100.0 1965 100.0
330 17.2
338 17.2
263 13.7 260 13.2
172 9.0 163 8.2
1005 52.6 1018 51.8
354 18.5 392 19.9
* Taken as described by Norris et al. (1961).
t Left fluke from center of notch to tip. Tip of right missing.
Vol. 9
1965 LAYNE: MARINE MAMMALS IN FLORIDA WATERS
TABLE 10. SKULL MEASUREMENTS OF AN ADULT MALE Stenella longiros-
tris (UF 7861) COLLECTED ON DOG ISLAND, FRANKLIN CO., ON 23 SEPTEMBER
1961.
% Total
Measurement Mm length
Total length 425 100.0
Length of rostrum 280 65.8
Width of rostrum at base of maxillary notches 75 17.6
Width of rostrum at middle (140 mm from base) 45 10.5
Width of rostrum over posterior maxillary teeth 55 12.9
Width of premaxillaries at middle of rostrum 18 4.2
Maximum width of premaxillaries proximally 63 14.8
Length of upper tooth row 244 57.4
Distance from last tooth to base of maxillary notch 40 9.4
Exposed portion of vomer on midline of rostrum 78 18.3
Distance from tip of rostrum to anterior margin of superior nares 315 74.1
Distance from tip of rostrum to end of pterygoid 323 76.0
Breadth of cranium between middle of orbits 145 34.1
Breadth of cranium between hinder margins of temporal fossae 124 29.1
Greatest breadth of cranium (at posterior margin of orbit) 156 36.7
Length of temporal fossa 48 11.2
Depth of temporal fossa 32 7.5
Breadth of superior nares 41 9.6
Length of mandible 370 87.0
Length of mandibular symphysis 52 12.2
Length of mandibular tooth row 227 53.4
Depth of mandible between angle and coronoid process 58 13.6
BULLETIN FLORIDA STATE MUSEUM
LITERATURE CITED
Allen, J. A.
1908. The North Atlantic right whale and its near allies. Bull. Amer. Mus.
Nat. Hist., vol. 24, pp. 277-329.
Brown, S. G.
1958. Whales observed in the Atlantic Ocean. The Marine Observer, vol. 28,
nos. 181-182, pp. 142-146, 209-216.
Bullis, Harvey R., Jr., and Joseph Curtis Moore
1956. Two occurrences of false killer whales, and a summary of American
records. Amer. Mus. Novitates, no. 1756, pp. 1-5.
Caldwell, David K.
1955. Evidence of home range of an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. Jour.
Mammal., vol. 36, no. 2, pp. 304-305.
1955. Notes on the spotted dolphin, Stenella plagiodon, and the first record
of the common dolphin, Delphinus delphis, in the Gulf of Mexico.
Jour. Mammal., vol. 36, no. 3, pp. 467-470.
1960. Notes on the spotted dolphin in the Gulf of Mexico. Jour. Mammal.,
vol. 36, no. 3, pp. 134-136.
Caldwell, David K., James N. Layne, and J. B. Siebenaler
1956. Notes on a killer whale (Orcinus orca) from the northeastern Gulf of
Mexico. Quart. Jour. Fla. Acad. Sci., vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 189-196.
Caldwell, David K., and Hugh M. Fields
1959. Surf-riding by Atlantic bottle-nosed dolphins. Jour. Mammal., vol. 40,
no. 3, pp. 454-455.
Caldwell, David K., Anthony Inglis, and J. B. Siebenaler
1960. Sperm and pigmy sperm whales stranded in the Gulf of Mexico. Jour.
Mammal., vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 136-138.
Davies, J. L.
1963. The antitropical factor in cetacean speciation. Evolution, vol. 17, no.
1, pp. 107-116.
Essapian, F. S.
1954. A common dolphin-uncommonly marked. Everglades Nat. Hist., vol.
2, no. 4, pp. 220-222.
1955. Pygmy sperm whale strands. Everglades Nat. Hist., vol. 3, no. 1,
p. 119.
1963. Observations on abnormalities of parturition in captive bottle-nosed
dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, and concurrent behavior of other porpoises.
Jour. Mammal., vol. 44, no. 3, pp. 405-414.
Fraser, F. C.
1949. Whales and dolphins. In Norman, J. R., and F. C. Fraser, Field book
of giant fishes. New York, G. P. Putnam's Sons, pp. 203-349.
Vol. 9
1965 LAYNE: MARINE MAMMALS IN FLORIDA WATERS 179
1950. Two skulls of Globicephala macrorhyncha (Gray) from Dakar. In At-
lantide-Rept., no. 1, pp. 49-60.
Fraser, F. C., and P. E. Purves
1960. Hearing in cetaceans. Evolution of the accessory air sacs and the struc-
ture and function of the outer and middle ear in Recent cetaceans.
Bull. Brit. Mus. (Nat. Hist.) Zool., vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 1-140.
Gilmore, Raymond M.
1959. On the mass strandings of sperm whales. Pacific Nat., vol. 1, nos. 9-10,
pp. 9-16.
Gunter, Gordon
1942. Contributions to the natural history of bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops
truncatus (Montague), on the Texas coast, with particular reference to
food habits. Jour. Mammal., vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 267-276.
1946. Records of the blackfish or pilot whale from the Texas coast. Jour.
Mammal., vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 374-377.
1954. Mammals of the Gulf of Mexico. In Gulf of Mexico, its origin, waters,
and marine life. Fishery Bull. Fish and Wildlife Service, vol. 55, pp.
543-551.
Gunter, Gordon, Carl L. Hubbs, and M. Allan Beal
1955. Record of Kogia breviceps from Texas, with remarks on movements and
distribution. Jour. Mammal., vol. 36, no. 2, pp. 263-270.
Hamilton, W. J., Jr.
1941. Notes on some mammals of Lee County, Florida. Amer. Midland Nat.,
vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 686-691.
Hansen, Keith L., and Harold F. Weaver
1963. Another Florida record of the goose-beaked whale. Jour. Mammal.,
vol. 44, no. 4, p. 575.
Kritzler, Henry
1949. The pilot whale at Marineland. Nat. Hist., vol. 58, no. 7, pp. 303-308,
331-332.
1952. Observations on the pilot whale in captivity. Jour. Mammal., vol. 33,
no. 3, pp. 321-334.
Lowery, George H., Jr.
1943. Check-list of the mammals of Louisiana and adjacent waters. Occ.
Papers Mus. Zool. Louisiana State Univ., no. 13, pp. 213-257.
Lydekker, Richard (Ed.)
1894-1895. The royal natural history, vol. 3. London, Frederick Warne and
Co., 584 pp.
Miller, Gerrit S., Jr.
1924. List of North American Recent mammals. 1923. Bull. U. S. Nat.
Mus., no. 128, pp. 1-673.
BULLETIN FLORIDA STATE MUSEUM
Miller, Gerrit S., Jr., and Remington Kellogg
1955. List of North American Recent mammals. Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., no.
205, pp. 1-954.
Moore, Joseph Curtis
1951. The status of the manatee in the Everglades National Park, with notes
on its natural history. Jour. Mammal., vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 22-36.
1953. Distribution of marine mammals to Florida waters. Amer. Midland
Nat., vol. 49, no. 1, pp. 117-158.
1955. Bottle-nosed dolphins support remains of young. Jour. Mammal., vol.
36, no. 3, pp. 466-467.
1956. Observations of manatees in aggregations. Amer. Mus. Novitates, no.
1811, pp. 1-23.
1960. New records of the Gulf-Stream beaked whale, Mesoplodon gervaisi,
and some taxonomic considerations. Amer. Mus. Novitates, no. 1993,
pp. 1-35.
Moore, Joseph Curtis, and Eugenie Clark
1963. Discovery of right whales in the Gulf of Mexico. Science, vol. 141, no.
3577, p. 269.
Moore, Joseph Curtis, and Ralph S. Palmer
1955. More piked whales from southern North Atlantic. Jour. Mammal., vol.
36, no. 3, pp. 429-433.
Moore, Joseph Curtis, and F. G. Wood, Jr.
1957. Differences between the beaked whales Mesoplodon mirus and Meso-
plodon gervaisi. Amer. Mus. Novitates, no. 1831, pp. 1-25.
Nelson, E. W.
1899. General account of the islands, with report on mammals and birds.
In Natural history of the Tres Marias Islands, Mexico. No. Amer.
Fauna, no. 14, pp. 7-19.
Norris, K. S. (Ed.)
1961. Standardized methods for measuring and recording data on the smaller
cetaceans. Jour. Mammal., vol. 42, no. 4, pp. 471-476.
Norris, K. S., and J. H. Prescott
1961. Observations on Pacific cetaceans of Californian and Mexican waters.
Univ. Calif. Publ. Zool., vol. 63, no. 4, pp. 291-402.
Paradiso, John L.
1958. The common blackfish in Virginia coastal waters. Jour. Mammal., vol.
39, no. 3, pp. 440-441.
Scheffer, V. B., and D. W. Rice
1963. A list of the marine mammals of the world. U. S. Fish and Wildl. Serv.
Spec. Sci. Rep.-Fisheries no. 431, pp. 1-12.
Vol. 9
1965 LAYNE: MARINE MAMMALS IN FLORIDA WATERS 181
Sergeant, D. E.
1962. On the external characters of the blackfish or pilot whales (Genus Globi-
cephala). Jour. Mammal., vol. 43, no. 3, pp. 395-413.
Siebenaler, J. B., and David K. Caldwell
1956. Cooperation among adult dolphins. Jour. Mammal., vol. 37, no. 1,
pp. 126-128.
Slijper, E. J.
1962. Whales. New York, Basic Books, Inc., 475 pp.
Slijper, E. J., and W. L. van Utrecht
1959. Observing whales. Norwegian Whaling Gaz., no. 3, pp. 101-117.
Tavolga, Margaret C., and Frank S. Essapian
1957. The behavior of the bottle-nosed dolphin (Tursiops truncatus): Mating,
pregnancy, parturition and mother-infant behavior. Zoologica, vol. 42,
pt. 1, pp. 11-31.
Townsend, Charles Haskins
1935. The distribution of certain whales as shown by logbook records of
American whaleships. Zoologica, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 1-50.
True, Frederick W.
1889. Contributions to the natural history of the cetaceans, a review of the
family Delphinidae. Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., no. 36, pp. 1-192.
1904. The whalebone whales of the western North Atlantic. Smithsonian
Contrib. Knowledge, vol. 33, pp. 1-332.
Ulmer, Frederick A.
1941. Mesoplodon mirus in New Jersey, with additional notes on the New
Jersey M. densirostris, and a list and key to the ziphoid whales of the
Atlantic coast of North America. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia,
vol. 93, pp. 107-122.
United States Weather Bureau
1938. Atlas of climatic charts of the oceans. Washington, U. S. Govt. Print-
ing Office.
Wood, F. G., Jr., and Joseph Curtis Moore
1954. The mystery whale of Vilano Beach. Everglades Nat. Hist., vol. 2,
no. 3, pp. 136-142.
Yamada, Munesato
1954. Some remarks on the pygmy sperm whale, Kogia. Sci. Repts. Whales
Res. Inst., no. 9, pp. 37-58.
Contributions to the BULLETIN OF THE FLORIDA STATE MtUSEUM may be in any
field of biology. Manuscripts dealing with natural history or systematic problems
involving the southeastern United States or the Caribbean area are solicited
especially.
Manuscripts should be of medium length-50 to 200 pages. Examination for
suitability is made by an Editorial Board.
The BULLETIN is distributed worldwide through institutional subscriptions and
exchanges only. It is considered the responsibility of the author to distribute his
paper to all interested individuals. To aid in this, fifty copies are furnished the
author without cost.
PREPARATION OF MANUSCRIPT
Highly recommended as a guide is the volume:
Conference of Biological Editors, Committee on Form and Style.
1960. Style manual for biological journals.
Amer. Inst. Biol. Sci., Washington. 92 p.
Manuscripts should be typewritten with double spacing throughout, with ample
margins, and on only one side of the paper. The author should keep a copy; the
original and a carbon must be submitted. Tables and legends of figures should
be typed on sheets separate from the text. Several legends or tables may be
placed on a single sheet.
Illustrations, including maps and photographs, should be referred to as "figures."
All illustrations are reduced to a maximum of 4-1/4 by 7-1/8 inches. Size scales,
wherever they are necessary, should be incorporated into the figure.
References to literature should conform with the bibliographic style used in recent
numbers of the BULLETIN. Spell out in full the titles of non-English serials and
places of publication.
Footnote material should be kept to a minimum. However, provide copy for a
footnote detailing the title, affiliations, and address of the author (see recent num-
bers of the BULLETIN).
Manuscripts must be accompanied by a synopsis-a brief and factual summary
(not a mere description) of the contents and conclusions, which points out the
presence of any new information and indicates its relevance. In it list all new
organisms described and give their ranges; indicate all taxonomic changes pro-
posed. The synopsis, written in full sentences, should be concise, but completely
intelligible in itself without references to the paper, thereby enabling the busy
reader to decide more surely than he can from the title alone whether the paper
merits his reading. The synopsis will be published with the paper. It does not
replace the usual conclusions or summary sections. It may also serve as copy
for the abstracting services.
Manuscripts and all editorial matters should be addressed to:
Managing Editor of the BULLETIN
Florida State Museum
Seagle Building
Gainesville. Florida
|
