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24 March 2016 First record of a hagfish anchored to a living bottlenose dolphin in the Mediterranean Sea
Daniela Silvia Pace, Barbara Mussi, Angelo Miragliuolo, Carlotta Vivaldi, Giandomenico Ardizzone
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Abstract

An unusual observation of a hagfish (Myxine glutinosa) anchored to a living bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) was documented in an encounter with a group of about 80 dolphins during an ongoing long-term research program on cetaceans in the central Mediterranean Sea, Italy. The body of the hagfish was observed extruding from the blowhole of the bottlenose dolphin showing a stereotypical surfacing–breathing pattern. The observation lasted 2 h; photo-identification, acoustic, and behavioral data were collected. Succorant behaviors (i.e., “standing by”) from conspecifics and overlapping vocalizations during social phases were recorded. The dolphin was encountered again after 1 month in the same area without the hagfish, apparently in healthy conditions.

© 2016 American Society of Mammalogists, www.mammalogy.org
Daniela Silvia Pace, Barbara Mussi, Angelo Miragliuolo, Carlotta Vivaldi, and Giandomenico Ardizzone "First record of a hagfish anchored to a living bottlenose dolphin in the Mediterranean Sea," Journal of Mammalogy 97(3), 960-965, (24 March 2016). https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyw022
Received: 10 November 2015; Accepted: 29 January 2016; Published: 24 March 2016
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