First live sighting of an Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) in the Yellow Sea, the northern-most record of the species range. (14th August 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lin, Wenzhi; Wu, Lan; Zeng, Qianhui; Leng, Xiaoyu; Mo, Yaqian; Serres, Agathe; Li, Songhai
• Is Part Of: Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. Volume 102:Number 5(2022)
• Page Start: 333
• Page End: 337
• Publication Date: 2022-08-14
• Subjects: Genus Sousa -- humpback dolphin -- Liaoning -- temperate waters; Biology -- Periodicals; Marine biology -- Periodicals; 578.77
• DOI: 10.1017/S0025315422000534
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0025-3154

Abstract

Abstract: An opportunistic sighting of an Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin ( Sousa chinensis ) was reported in the nearshore waters off the east Liaodong Peninsula, China. This is the first at-sea sighting in this area, and the northern-most sighting record of this species with a distance >3000 km away from the nearest described conspecific population located in the mid-China. The present sighting occurred in close proximity to the location at which another Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin was found by-caught in 2003. The sighted individual could not be identified through the existing photo-identification catalogues of this species in China (>3500 individuals). Therefore, we suggest that a population of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins that was never reported might exist in the north of the Yellow Sea.