A northernmost occurrence record of Shepherd’s beaked whale (Tasmacetus shepherdi) – a molecular identification from Exmouth, Western Australia

Melissa A. Millar; Kelly A. Waples; Holly C. Raudino; Kym Ottewell

doi:10.1071/ZO24033

A northernmost occurrence record of Shepherd’s beaked whale (Tasmacetus shepherdi) – a molecular identification from Exmouth, Western Australia

Melissa A. Millar
, Kelly A. Waples
, Holly C. Raudino
, Kym Ottewell

School of Biological Sciences

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Shepherd’s beaked whale (Tasmacetus shepherdi) is one of the least known beaked whales. Its distribution has been described as circumpolar, between latitudes 26°S and 50°S in the Southern Hemisphere based on scarce at-sea sightings and strandings. In March 2024, the remains of a cetacean were found in the Jurabi Coastal Park in North West Cape, Western Australia, 21°48⁰S, 114°06⁰E. Heavy predation on the carcass did not allow morphological identification. DNA sequencing was used to verify its identity as T. shepherdi, representing a 600 km extension to the previous northernmost record for this species.

Original language	English
Article number	ZO24033
Number of pages	5
Journal	Australian Journal of Zoology
Volume	73
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO24033
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 17 Mar 2025

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10.1071/ZO24033Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

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title = "A northernmost occurrence record of Shepherd{\textquoteright}s beaked whale (Tasmacetus shepherdi) – a molecular identification from Exmouth, Western Australia",

abstract = "Shepherd{\textquoteright}s beaked whale (Tasmacetus shepherdi) is one of the least known beaked whales. Its distribution has been described as circumpolar, between latitudes 26°S and 50°S in the Southern Hemisphere based on scarce at-sea sightings and strandings. In March 2024, the remains of a cetacean were found in the Jurabi Coastal Park in North West Cape, Western Australia, 21°480S, 114°060E. Heavy predation on the carcass did not allow morphological identification. DNA sequencing was used to verify its identity as T. shepherdi, representing a 600 km extension to the previous northernmost record for this species.",

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AU - Raudino, Holly C.

AU - Ottewell, Kym

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AB - Shepherd’s beaked whale (Tasmacetus shepherdi) is one of the least known beaked whales. Its distribution has been described as circumpolar, between latitudes 26°S and 50°S in the Southern Hemisphere based on scarce at-sea sightings and strandings. In March 2024, the remains of a cetacean were found in the Jurabi Coastal Park in North West Cape, Western Australia, 21°480S, 114°060E. Heavy predation on the carcass did not allow morphological identification. DNA sequencing was used to verify its identity as T. shepherdi, representing a 600 km extension to the previous northernmost record for this species.

KW - cetacean

KW - DNA sequencing

KW - molecular identification

KW - Shepherd’s beaked whale

KW - species distribution

KW - Tasmacetus shepherdi

KW - Western Australia

KW - Ziphiidae

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U2 - 10.1071/ZO24033

DO - 10.1071/ZO24033

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A northernmost occurrence record of Shepherd’s beaked whale (Tasmacetus shepherdi) – a molecular identification from Exmouth, Western Australia

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