EAC 11, Washington/Scripps, April-May 1967
Page 13
Image from the Biodiversity Heritage Library. Contributed by Smithsonian Institution Archives. | www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Transcription
Rock Wren Salpinctes obsoletus guadeloupensis Several birds were seen on Islote Negro on 27 April. They are also common along the rocky coastline of Guadalupe Island. House Finch Carpodacus mexicanus This bird is common locally along the coasts of Guadalupe Island. Mammals A paper now in preparation by Peterson, Hubbs, and others, summarizes and expands on work done during this trip as well as drawing from data collected previously. A few additional notes follow: Mirounga angustirostrus During our work on this species on Guadalupe Island scars were noted. They are circular in shape and primarily occur on the back of the animal. They looked like gunshot wounds and we discussed this possibility, but as many of the scars are on the midline of the back it seemed probable that any bullet entering portion of the body would hit the vertabrae and kill or cripple the animal. The cause of these scars was left undecided. Recently while working on the Hawaiian Monk Seal (Monachus schauinslandi) the same type of scar was noted on this species. K. C. Balcomb mentions in a preliminary report (P.O.B.S.P., Smithsonian Institution, Not pub- lishe d) that the scars are believed to be the result of wounds inflicted by bites of moray eels. That both animals spend much time in shallow water among rocks and coral (the haunts of the moray eel) respectively makes this a good possibility. Delphinus delphis bairdi On 29 April a pod of about 20 common dolphin were seen associated with the feeding flock of 2500 Black-vented Shearwaters at the south end of Guadalupe Island. Tursiops sp. (Pacific Bottle-nosed Dolphin) Tursiops were seen off the east shore of Guadalupe on nearly every day of our stay. After two attempts had failed, on 3 May we finally col- lected a specimen. The animal was shot with buckshot from the Scripps and recovered with the skiff. This was the first known record of Tursiops in the area of Guadalupe Island. The animal was also thought to have both behavioral and morphological characteristics distinguishing it from Tursiops gilli found along the coast. Complete measurements were taken and the entire skeleton was roughed out and is now in the San Diego County Museum awaiting identification. Ziphius cavirostris Individuals of this species were seen along Guadalupe Island on two occasions during the survey. They have been recorded in this area previously.