back to the map FAMILY DELPHINIDAE GENUS DELPHINUS Common name: short beaked common dolphin Delphinus Delphis Linnaeus 1758 Description: Description: length up to 2,5 m, male bigger than female, length at the birth 80 cm, weight about 75/85 kg. Prominent and thin beak, more than 50 teeth. The coloration diverges geographically, black or blackish brown the upper-side, hourglass effect on side, with tan or yellowish tan region making up posterior half of hourglass. Breeding: in the Mediterranean only during summer. Total number:unknown; it is described as the most common species in the world. Common dolphin in the Mediterranean was object of hunting, in the Black Sea, Russian and Turks took a great deal of them for commercial targets, in the Italian waters they were hunted to take meat for human feeding ("musciame"). Nowadays is in danger of extinction in the Mediterranean Sea; disappeared from entire parts of the Mediterranean basin (Balearic Islands, Ligurian Sea, Provencal basin, Adriatic Sea). Is now in the endangered species’ list by cetacean experts from IUCN at the maximum protection level. For this species has been recommended for immediate safety measures and protection actions for the few communities left permanent in the Mediterranean. Distribution: multinational, especially in all tropical, subtropical and warm temperate seas (including the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, the Red Sea and Persian Gulf). Distribution today: The endangered short beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) - once one of the commonest cetacean species in the Mediterranean Sea, has faced a dramatic decrease in the last few decades. Literature, photographic documentation, and data collections indicate that the common dolphin used to be common, hence its name, throughout the Mediterranean Sea. Nevertheless, the specimen has experienced a dramatic decline in numbers during the last three decades, and has almost completely disappeared from large portions of its former range including the northern Adriatic Sea and the Ligurian Sea. In 2003 the Mediterranean common dolphin 'subpopulation' was listed as endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals (http://www.redlist.org), based on criterion A2, which refers to a 50% decline in abundance over the last three generations, the causes of which 'may not have ceased or may not be understood or may not be reversible'. South Tyrrhenian fishermen claim that co-operative fishing may occur from time to time, with fishermen taking advantage of fish aggregations that are actively shaped and pushed near the surface by short-beaked common dolphins. Sometimes the fishermen offer small fish to the dolphins as a reward for their useful work. Their situation in the Mediterranean Sea underline that the fate of remaining animals will likely depend much upon precautionary actions and the adoption of precise conservation measures to prevent a further decline of this specimen. It is fundamental that any long or short-term management decisions that have an impact on both the dolphins and their habitat are made with the support of detailed and current scientific information.
	back to the map FAMILY DELPHINIDAE GENUS GRAMPUS Common name: Risso's dolphin Grampus griseus Cuvier, 1812 Description: length 3.8/4 m, weight 600/700 kg. The body is robust anterior to the dorsal fin, and the blunt snout lacks a noticeable beak. The dentition of this species is peculiar: generally there are no maxillary teeth and no more than seven pairs of peg-like mandibular teeth. The appendage is very prominent: tall and slender, falcate dorsal fin, approximately at midback; and long pointed flippers. The coloration when they are newborn is even light grey, and they change to an even chocolate brown early in life. By adulthood, much of the pigment has been lost, and parts of the body are white or light grey except for a narrow cape, which is sometimes visible. Scarring is extensive. There is a large anchor shaped light grey patch on the dark ventrum (similar to that found in pilot whales). Breeding: not sufficiently known. The new born are usually sighted in July and August. Situation today: 2 – 6 individuals (2003-2006) Distribution in the South Tyrrhenian Sea: cosmopolitan, all over the tropical, warm tempered waters. Risso's dolphins (Grampus griseus) appeared to be seasonally "resident" in the South Tyrrhenian, with few small groups of about 10-20 individuals regularly spotted, based on photo-identification data collected in recent years starting since 1999. The animals were always sighted over the submarine canyon of Cuma, a highly productive marine area characterized by high pelagic biodiversity and multi-species associations. The marine canyon is right in between Ventotene and Ischia Islands. Risso's dolphins appeared to be seasonally resident in this area and were regularly not far local shores according to studies based on photo-identification data collected between 1998-2000.
	back to the map FAMILY DELPHINIDAE GENUS STENELLA Common name: Striped dolphin Stenella coeruleoalba Meyen 1833 Description: length 1.7/2.7m (male slightly larger than female), length at the birth 80 cm; weight 100 kg approximately. Long and thinned rostrum (shorter than the one of common dolphin), small and sharpened teeth; slender and torpedo-shaped body; small and falcate dorsal fin, small slender flippers. The Coloration present a pleasant metallic dorsal color varied from light grey to dark grey to bluish grey, its sides are light grey with the belly totally white. A black band begins behind the eye, and extends along the flank to the anus. The light spinal blaze originates as an open V above and behind the eye, narrowing to its vertex below and behind the dorsal fin. Breeding: During summer. Newborns are normally sighted in July and August. This and other species of seem to use the area of Cuma’s marine canyon either as breeding or as feeding ground. The abundant food resources are likely to make sure that the most challenging time for the upbringing of calves is without wasting precious energies. This area of the South Tyrrhenian Sea around Cuma is important for the high number of newborns in dolphins' groups. Breeding activities were observed and studied often. Researchers found a high percentage of calves always present in one or more of the group sub-units. The Striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba), is the commonest species in Mediterranean Sea. Every year we could observe, in the area of the sea canyon between Ventotene and Ischia Islands, large groups of 200 individuals. Striped dolphins were often observed in close company with common dolphins. Distribution in the South Tyrrhenian Sea: All tropical, subtropical and warm temperate seas. There are no sure data about the total number of the population, but (together with common dolphin and long-snouted spinner dolphin) it is most likely one of the most common cetacean in the world, with over some million individuals. In the Italian waters, this species was previously hunted to take meat for human consumption the so-called "musciame" down around Liguria, Sardinia, Corsica, Civitavecchia, Ponza and other Pontine Islands and so on. In the area between Ventotene, the other Pontine Islands and Ischia were sighted large groups up to 200 individuals.
	back to the map FAMILY DELPHINIDAE GENUS TURSIOPS Common name: common bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus Montagu, 1821 Description: length 2.5/3.8m (male larger than female), length at the birth about 1 m, weight: up to 350 kg, robust body compared to other dolphins, short and stubby beak (bottlenose), and a robust, almost chunky head and trunk, slimming sharply behind the dorsal fin. 18/26 teeth in each row. The color is variable, usually dark grey upside, light grey on both sides (variable in extension), shading to white and pink on the belly. Spots are not uncommon on few individuals. Bottlenose dolphins live in groups of fewer than ten (the coastal sub-species) or 25 (the open sea sub-species) individuals though herds up to seven hundred have been observed from some pelagic regions. Bottlenose dolphins are the most common cetacean in captivity, and have been the mainstay of displays at zoos, aquariums and marine parks around the world. Breeding: Gestation is about twelve months. Calves are often nurse for about a year or more. Babysitting has been observed frequently, in which adults remain with a calf while the mother hunts for food. Distribution in the South Tyrrhenian Sea: international, including the Mediterranean, the Black sea, the Red sea and Persian Gulf. It appears that, two ecotypes (separated each other by both morphology and ecology) exist in the tropical and warm temperate areas: a coastal form and an offshore one. Total number of population in unknown for lack of verifiable data. Most likely smaller than Stenella and Delphinus genus. A visible reduction was observed in the Northern area of Europe, in the Mediterranean and in the Black Sea. In the South Tyrrhenian Sea a residential group of 20 common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) is photo-identified and has been studied between the Pontine Islands and Ischia Island since 1993. The home range of this group is extended from Ischia to Ponza, but the most frequent observations have been recorded around Ventotene and Ischia Island. Common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) are quite common in Mediterranean Sea. In the study area they were distributed in coastal waters particularly at the mouth of the river Volturno, and around Ischia and Ventotene islands at an average depth of 138,5m. Bottom gillnets are used in the area only by artisan fishermen. Every year, in the months of March, May and September dolphins were seen preying directly from nets: they made long dives around the nets, and produced large rips to catch the trapped fish.
	back to the map FAMILY DELPHINIDAE GENUS GLOBICEPHALA Common name: Long finned pilot whale Globicephala melas Trail 1809 Description: length: 6.2/8.5 m the male, 5.4/6.0 m the female, weight: 3000/3500 kg the male.1800/2500 the female. Robust body, with an elongated wedge shape when viewed dorsally. Their main distinctive features are surely the bulbous forehead and rudimental beck, ten teeth each jaw. Their profile is low, with long base, but a large, outstanding dorsal fin. Male average size 5 m. The most common coloration ranges from slate grey to black brown, except for small areas of light markings on throat and belly. Called "black fish" by whalers. Present all over the world except north Pacific area. Breeding: in the Mediterranean Sea, during summer. Sometimes groups of hundreds of individuals. Aggressive behavior among competing males for mating with females witnessed by the many parallel scares visible along the body. Distribution in the South Tyrrhenian Sea: in free waters, temperate or sub polar. Total number of the population: unknown. Occasionally the more rare and uncommon species. A single stable pod of long finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) has been monitored since 1995. During the years whales' number decrease from six to two. Long finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas) is an infrequent species in the Mediterranean Sea, relatively common only in the Alboran Sea and in the Strait of Gibraltar. From 1995 it was sighted for the first time a free-ranging pod of long finned pilot whales off the south-western coast of the island of Ventotene in the Archipelago of the Pontine Islands in the South Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy. This area between the Pontine Islands and Ischia has been studied for Cetaceans since 1991. From 1995 to 2003 were observed, every year, this single stable pod of long finned pilot whales that seems to be a small seasonal resident group off Ventotene Island. The pod was headed by the largest male that researchers from Delphis called the "pilot" Cagliostro.
	back to the map FAMILY PHYSETERIDAE GENUS PHYSETER Common name: sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus Linnaeus 1758 Description: Length 15.8/20 m for the male, 10.9/12 m for the female, 3.5/5 m at the birth, weight: 47/70 t. The male, 15,20 t. the female. Head huge (the 40% of the body length), box like. Single blowhole on left of the front; blow projects obliquely forward; back has rounded or triangular hump followed by knuckles along spine. The flukes are broad and triangular, straight rather than concave on the rear margin, and deeply notched. The long, narrow lower jaw contains eighteen to twenty five functional teeth, which are thick and conical and fit into sockets in the generally toothless upper jaw. Their most typical coloration tend to be dark or brownish grey; their colossal body has a corrugated and wrinkled look with the belly and the front of the head sometimes greyish to almost-white. This was the famous Moby Dick whale. Calves are always much paler grey overall. Sperm whales may be found alone or in groups of fifty or more individual. Total number: Sperm whales are the largest of the toothed whales, with males attaining an average length of 16m and females of 11m. Recent global population estimate is approximately 360,000. Breeding: Older males are usually solitary or in small groups, except during the summer breeding season, when they may join with nursery schools for mating. During the rest of the year, large groups may be bachelor herds (sexually inactive males), juvenile or immature schools, or nursery schools containing females and juveniles of both sexes. Distribution in the South Tyrrhenian Sea: sperm whales are widely distributed in all oceans of the world; they may be encountered almost anywhere on the high seas. Sperm whales inhabit all of the world's oceans, in general only mature males are found in the higher latitude cold waters, whilst the females and the young are limited to tropical and temperate seas. In Mediterranean Sea sightings are attributed usually to solitary males, nursery schools are rare, mostly located in Crete Island, Ligurian and here in the South Tyrrhenian Sea between Ventotene and Ischia Island).Sperm whales can easily disappear if endangered as they are capable of dives deeper than 1,000 m and stay submerged for periods of an hour and more. If mother are with calves they can be protective and potentially dangerous to smaller boats. The Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) sightings are off of the marine canyon area between Ventotene and Ischia Islands, in the slope environment. They are monitored acoustically, following their signals (clicks), which are emitted constantly during their abyssal diving. Since 2002 were recorded the presence of groups of sperm whales. Their social group was composed by females and their relatives. While females and immature sperm whales spent most of their time diving deep, other members of the group showed up in clusters at the surface for periods of one hour or longer.
	back to the map FAMILY BALAENOPTERIDAE GENUS BALAENOPTERA Common name: Fin whale Balaenoptera physalus Linnaeus 1758 Description: lenght:18/25m. (Bigger females in the populations of southern hemisphere) Length at the birth 6m, weight 60/70 t; 70/100 typical ventral grooves of the Balaenopteridae family. They have 260/480 baleens plates on each side of the upper jaw. Long, slender and streamlined body, flat broad "V" shaped head when view form above, frequently has greyish white chevron on back behind head. Fin whale ejects a cone-shaped blow, followed by a slow swimming on the surface during which the animal shows the upward in all its length, up to the small and triangular sickle-shaped dorsal fin situated in the last third of the body. Their color vary from dark grey to brownish black on the back and side, the undersides, includes flukes and flippers are white; characteristic extension from whites to yellowish at times on the right side of the jaw, together palate and lower lip area of the same side. Total number: Several large groups registered, with the total number of the population estimated at 130.000 examples (30.000 northern emisphere, 100.000 southern oceans). Distribution in the South Tyrrhenian Sea: Cosmopolitan, but with poor presence at the low latitudes. According to information based on data collected between 1996-2000, here in the South Tyrrhenian Sea, Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) is the commonest species in the Ventotene and Ischia marine canyon. With the help of local fishermen, researchers focused their efforts in the waters surrounding the island of Ischia a not far from Ventotene throughout 1996. In the following years it was possible to ascertain the presence of a large amount of fin whales in the zone between the islands of Ischia and Procida and the mainland coast in a comparatively small area (about 35 square miles) roughly corresponding to the submarine canyon of Cuma (Pennetta et al. 1998). It was possible to repeatedly observe the fin whale's feeding behavior. As a consequence of a high concentration of shared prey in the area between the Pontine Islands and Ischia and Procida Islands, many fin whales have been observed with several other species like striped dolphins and common dolphins, along with a large number of some pelagic fishes as Mobula mobular, Thunnus sp. and sea birds as Calonectris diomedea, Puffinus puffinus and Larus ridibundus.
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