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Checklist of Marine Mammals of Kerala - a reply to Kumarran (2016) and the updated Checklist of Marine Mammals of Kerala

P.O. Nameer

Centre for Wildlife Studies, College of Forestry, Kerala Agricultural University, KAU (PO), Thrissur, Kerala 680656, India

nameer.po@kau.in

 

 

doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/jott.2497.8.1.8417-8420 | ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:DF556615-8313-4EDF-B412-51B89815DC0E

 

Date of publication: 26 January 2016 (online & print)

 

Manuscript details: Ms # 2497 | Received 06 January 2016

 

Citation: Nameer, P.O. (2016). Checklist of Marine Mammals of Kerala - a reply to Kumarran (2016) and the updated Checklist of Marine Mammals of Kerala. Journal of Threatened Taxa 8(1): 8417–8420; http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/jott.2497.8.1.8417-8420

 

Copyright: © Nameer 2016. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication.

 

Acknowledgements: I thank Kumaran Sathasivam, Rajeev Raghavan and Praveen J for offering useful comments on the earlier draft of the reply. I also thank P. Naveenlal for his assistance with the Malayalam fonts.

 

 

At the outset let me thank K.P. Kumarran for making some critical comments on the marine mammal checklist of Kerala. I list below the answers on the doubts raised by Kumarran (2016).

The maritime limits for including species in the “Checklist of Vertebrates of Kerala” (Nameer et al. 2015) is on par with the definition for the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of a country and the biological resources (including their conservation measures), as proposed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Klein 2005).

The suggestion by Kumarran (2016) on the taxonomy of the Common Dolphin is a welcome one. According to Wang et al. (2014) only a single species of Common Dolphin was recognised prior to 1994; however, it was subsequently split into two species Delphinus delphis and D. capensis. The one that is known from the Indian coasts including the Kerala coast is Delphinus capensis. Wang et al. (2014) also opined that Delphinus capensis tropicalis is the subspecies of the Common Dolphin that is seen in the Indian Ocean.

Very few cetacean inventories have been undertaken in the maritime limits of India, and the majority (71%) of cetacean records from India are opportunistic in nature (Kumarran 2012). However, Kumarran (2016) claims that “Kerala being one among the well-studied regions for marine mammals” citing (Afsal et al. 2009) contradicts his own previous conclusion published just three years back. It may be noted that Afsal et al. (2009) study based on opportunistic sightings of cetacean species was not exclusive to Kerala EEZ but has straddled different maritime limits of the country. Hence, we concur with the previous conclusion mentioned in Kumarran (2012) that there is paucity in cetacean inventories for Kerala.

The nomenclature of the marine mammals used in Nameer (2015) follows Mead & Brownell (2005), and the vernacular names were taken from various sources (Prater 1971; Sadasivan 1987; Nameer 2000; Sathasivam 2004; Menon 2008; Dinesan et al. 2010), and most of which were already in use by the local fisher folk. These were not literal translations of the English names to Malayalam as pointed out by Kumarran (2016).

The primary reference used for preparing the list of marine mammals included in Nameer (2015) was Mead & Brownell (2005) and Shoshani (2005). The list was subsequently checked using a more recent publication on marine mammals by Wilson & Mittermeier (2014). Many of the doubts and arguments raised by Kumarran (2016) seem to be based on a select set of publications hand-picked by him, the primary one being his own (Kumarran 2012). May I suggest the author to refer to some of the recent publications on the marine mammals (Deméré 2014; MacLeod 2014; Marsh 2014; Wang et al. 2014; Wilson & Mittermeier 2014), which have latest information on the marine mammal distribution.

To further support the inclusion of certain species doubts on the distribution of which were raised by Kumarran (2016), we provide the following explanations.

  1. Dugong Dugong dugon: There is a historical record of Dugong from Malabar coasts (Blanford 1888–1891). According to Shoshani (2005), dugong is distributed in the coastal waters of Indian Ocean. Marsh (2014) provides a global distribution map that clearly shows the distribution of dugong from the Kerala coast.
  2. Pygmy Killer Whale Feresa attenuata: Mead and Brownell (2005), gives the distribution of Pygmy Killer Whale as tropical waters. According to Wang et al. (2014) the Pygmy Killer Whale has cosmopolitan tropical distribution between 400N and 350S, including Arabian sea, and the Kerala coast, which is explicitly shown in the distribution map.
  3. Fraser’s Dolphin Lagenodelphis hosei: Mead and Brownell (2005), gives the distribution of Fraser’s Dolphin as tropical waters. According to Wang et al. (2014) this species has a distribution in the tropical oceans from 300N and 300S, including the Kerala coast.
  4. Rough-toothed Dolphin Steno bredanensis: Mead and Brownell (2005), gives the distribution of Rough-toothed Dolphin as tropical waters. Wang et al. (2014) mentions the distribution of this species as tropical oceans from 400N and 350S, including Kerala coast.
  5. Striped Dolphin Stenella coeruleoalba: Mead and Brownell (2005), gives the distribution of Striped Dolphin as tropical waters. Wang et al. (2014) mentions the distribution as tropical oceans from 500N and 400S, including Kerala coast.
  6. Pantropical Spotted Dolphin Stenella attenuata: Mead and Brownell (2005), gives the distribution of Pantropical Spotted Dolphin as tropical waters. Wang et al. (2014) mentions the distribution as tropical oceans from 400N and 400S, including Kerala coast. Wang et al. (2014) had further suggested that the subspecies of Pantropical Spotted Dolphin seen in the Arabian Sea is Stenella attenuate attenuata.
  7. Ginkgo-toothed Whale Mesoplodon ginkgodens: According to Mead & Brownell (2005), Ginkgo-toothed Whale is distributed in tropical waters including the Indian Ocean and Sri Lanka. MacLeod (2014) gives the distribution as warm waters of Indian oceans in southern India and Sri Lanka, including a distribution map showing its presence from the Kerala coast.
  8. Minke Whale Balaenoptera acutorostrata: Mead and Brownell (2005), gives the distribution of Minke Whale as tropical waters. Deméré (2014) provides a distribution map showing the presence of this species from the Kerala coast.

When the most recent publications on marine mammals (Deméré 2014; MacLeod 2014; Marsh 2014; Wang et al. 2014; Wilson & Mittermeier 2014) were consulted, which the author did not have access at the time of publication of Nameer (2015), it was found that the following additional species that were not included in Nameer (2015) are also distributed in the Kerala coasts.

  1. Deraniyagala’s Beaked Whale Mesoplodon hotaula: This species was considered as a synonym of Ginkgo-toothed Whale Mesoplodon ginkgodens until 2014, when molecular studies have resurrected Mesoplodon hotaula as a distinct species (MacLeod 2014). Its distribution is given as warmer waters of Indian Ocean from southern India and Sri Lanka. MacLeod (2014) also gives the distribution map of Deraniyagala’s Beaked Whale showing its presence from the Kerala coast.
  2. Blainville’s Beaked Whale Mesoplodon densirostris: has worldwide distribution in tropical waters, and the distribution map by MacLeod (2014) shows its presence from the Kerala coast.
  3. Longman’s Beaked Whale Indopacetus pacificus: MacLeod (2014) provides a distribution map showing the presence of the species in the Kerala coast Cuvier’s Beaked Whale Ziphius cavirostris: MacLeod (2014) provides a distribution map showing the presence of the species in the Kerala coast.
  4. Killer Whale Orcinus orca: According to Wang et al. (2014) Killer Whale is the most widely distributed of all cetaceans, and provides a distribution map showing the presence of the species in the Kerala coast.
  5. Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin Tursipos aduncus: Wang et al. (2014), provides a distribution map showing the presence of the species in the Kerala coast
  6. Sperm Whale Physeter macrocephalus: Formerly known as Physeter catodon (Mead & Brownell 2005), the species was subsequently synonymised with Physeter macrocephalus (Mesnick 2014). According to Mesnick, (2014) Sperm Whale has a cosmopolitan distribution and Mesnick (2014) provides a distribution map showing the presence of the species in the Kerala coast.
  7. Dwarf Sperm Whale Kogia sima: McAlpine (2014) provides a distribution map showing the presence of the species in the Kerala coast.
  8. Sei Whale Balaenoptera borealis: Deméré (2014) provides a distribution map showing the presence of the species in the Kerala coast.

Thus the updated marine mammal (cetacean and sirenian) list of Kerala adds to 31 species under seven families and two orders. The revised list of marine mammals of Kerala is given in Table 1. Six species of marine mammals are threatened according to the IUCN Red List, with three species each in ‘Endangered’ and ‘Vulnerable’ categories. Close to 40% of marine mammals distributed in the Kerala coast come under the ‘Data Deficient’ category.

 

 

References

 

Afsal, V.V., K.S.S.M. Yousuf, B. Anoop, A.K. Anoop, P. Kannan, M. Rajagopalan & E. Vivekanandan (2008). A note on cetacean distribution in the Indian EEZ and contiguous seas during 2003–07.Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 10(3): 209–215.

Blanford, W.T. (1888–1891). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Mammalia. Part I & II. Taylor and Francis, Red Lion Court Fleet Street, London, 617pp.

Deméré, T.A. (2014). Family Balaenopteridae (rorquals), pp. 242–299.In: Wilson, D.E. & R.A. Mittermeier (eds.). Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Vol. 4 - Sea Mammals. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Dinesan, C., C. Radhakrishnan & M.J. Palot (2010). Keralathile Sasthanikal (Mammals of Kerala). Malabar Natural History Society, Kozhikode, 174pp.

Klein, N. (2005). Dispute Settlement in the UNConvention on the Law of the Sea. Cambridge University Press, 415pp.

Kumarran, R.P. (2012). Cetaceans and cetacean research in India. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 12(2): 159–172.

Kumarran, R.P. (2016). Comments on the list of marine mammals from Kerala. Journal of Threatened Taxa 8(1): 8415–8416; http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/jott.2449.8.1.8415-8416

MacLeod, C.D. (2014). Family Ziphiidae (beaked whales), pp. 326–357.In: Wilson, D.E. & R.A. Mittermeier (eds.).Handbook of the Mammals of the World.Vol. 4 - Sea Mammals. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Marsh, H.D. (2014). Family Dugongidae (dugong), pp. 564–576. In: Wilson, D.E. &R.A. Mittermeier (eds.). Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Vol. 4 - Sea Mammals. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Mead, G.J.& L.R. Brownell Jr. (2005).Order Cetacea, pp. 723–743.In: Wilson, D.E. & D.M. Reeder (eds.). Mammal Species of The World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. 3rd Edition - Vol. 1. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.

Menon, V. (2008). Indiayile Sasthanikal - Oru Field Guide. (Indian Mammals - A Field Guide). DC Books, 321pp.

Nameer, P.O. (2000). Checklist of Indian Mammals.Kerala State Forest Department and Kerala Agricultural University, 90pp+xxv.

Nameer, P.O. (2015). A checklist of mammals of Kerala, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 7(13): 7971–7982; http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/jott.2000.7.13.7971-7982

Nameer, P.O., J. Praveen, A. Bijukumar, M.J. Palot, S. Das & R. Raghavan (2015). A checklist of the vertebrates of Kerala State, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 7(13): 7961–7970; http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/jott.1999.7.13.7961-7970

Prater, S.H. (1971). Book of Indian Animals. 3rd Edition. Bombay Natural History Society, Bombay.

Sadasivan, V. (1987). Keralathile Vanyajeevikal - Sasthanikal. (Wildlife of Kerala - Mammals). Kerala State Institute of Language, Kerala, 81pp.

Sathasivam, K. (2004). Marine Mammals of India. University Press, Hyderabad, 180pp.

Shoshani, J. (2005). Order Sirenia, pp. 92–93. In: Wilson, D.E. &D.M. Reeder (eds.). Mammal Species of The World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. 3rd Edition - Vol. 1. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.

Wang, J.Y., K.N. Riehl & S.Z. Dungan (2014). Family Delphinidae (ocean dolphins), pp. 410–527. In: Wilson, D.E. & R.A. Mittermeier (eds.). Handbook of the Mammals of the World.Vol. 4 - Sea Mammals. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Wilson, D.E. & R.A. Mittermeier (eds.). (2014). Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Vol. 4. Sea Mammals. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

 

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