Marine mammal records of Cuba

Original provider:
Amy Whitt

Dataset credits:
Amy Whitt

Abstract:
There has been very little research on marine mammals in Cuban waters. Much of the information on marine mammals in this region is buried in historical and gray literature. In order to provide a comprehensive account of marine mammal occurrence in Cuba’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), we reviewed and verified 659 published and unpublished sighting, stranding, capture, and tagging records. Eighteen extant species and four genera have confirmed records for Cuban EEZ waters. This includes 17 species of cetaceans (three baleen whales and 14 toothed whales) and one sirenian species. An additional 11 cetacean species and one extant pinniped species have been reported, but not confirmed, or may have the potential to occur in Cuban waters. Historical records of the Caribbean monk seal (<i>Monachus tropicalis</i>) are documented in Cuba; however, this species is now considered extinct. The only two species that are seen regularly and considered common in Cuban nearshore waters are the common bottlenose dolphin (<i>Tursiops truncatus</i>) and the West Indian manatee (<i>Trichechus manatus</i>).

原始提供方：艾米·惠特（Amy Whitt）
数据集致谢：艾米·惠特（Amy Whitt）
摘要：目前针对古巴管辖海域的海洋哺乳动物的研究极少，该区域有关海洋哺乳动物的大量资料均埋没于历史文献与灰色文献（gray literature）之中。为全面梳理古巴专属经济区（Exclusive Economic Zone, EEZ）内海洋哺乳动物的出现记录，本研究梳理并核实了659条已发表与未发表的目击、搁浅、捕获及标记记录。古巴专属经济区海域已确认有18个现生种、4个属的海洋哺乳动物记录，其中包括17种鲸类（Cetacea，含3种须鲸与14种齿鲸）以及1种海牛目物种。另有11种鲸类与1种现生鳍足类（Pinnipedia）物种曾有报道，但尚未得到证实，或存在出现在古巴海域的可能性。古巴境内有加勒比僧海豹（*Monachus tropicalis*）的历史记录，但该物种现已灭绝。在古巴近岸海域常见且定期可观测到的物种仅有两种：宽吻海豚（*Tursiops truncatus*）与西印度海牛（*Trichechus manatus*）。