First record of an anomalously colored franciscana dolphin, Pontoporia blainvillei

Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências

Marta J. Cremer¹  Camila M. Sartori¹  Beatriz Schulze¹  Renan L. Paitach¹  Annelise C. Holz¹ 

关键词: anomalously coloration;    Pontoporia blainvillei;    franciscana dolphin;    albinism;    Babitonga Bay;    coloração anormal;    Pontoporia blainvillei;    toninha;    albinismo;    Baía da Babitonga;   

DOI  :  10.1590/0001-3765201420130229

来源: SciELO

【 摘 要 】

On October 2011, a newborn franciscana dolphin with an anomalously coloration was sighted in Babitonga Bay, southern Brazil. The calf was totally white. Besides the potential mother and newborn, the group also had the presence of another adult, who always was swimming behind the pair. Both adults had the typical coloration of the species, with the back in grayish brown. The group, composed by the white franciscana calf, his pontential mother and one more adult, was reported in five occasions. The group was always in the same area where it was first recorded and showed the same position during swimming. Between first and last sighting of the white calf (113 days) the color has not changed. This is the first case of a white franciscana dolphin. This coloration has never been reported despite the high number of dead franciscanas recovered each year along the distribution of the species, resulting from accidental capture in fishing nets. This fact leads us to believe that this is a very rare characteristic for this species. We considered the possibility that this franciscana could be an albino dolphin.

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