Southern smooth dolphins have been spotted in the Strait of Magellan after over 20 years. The last visual evidence dates back to 1999
Southern Lissodelphins (Lissodelphis peronii) have been sighted for the first time after 20 years in Chile. A team of Chilean scientists observed them in the Strait of Magellan. Today the images have gone viral and are traveling around the world.
From a distance it might have been mistaken for a penguin but up close the one that appeared to scientists was a rare specimen of austral lissodelfino.
In March 2018, marine biologist Marco Pinto-Torre, from the Center for Dynamic Research of Marine Ecosystems at High (Ideal) Latitudes of the Southern University of Chile, took part in a scientific expedition to Seno Ballena, which is located in the south of the Strait of Magellan. The campaign aimed to install an oceanographic buoy to measure changes in the Southern Ocean and study the effects of melting glaciers.
While collecting phytoplankton (microalgae) on the boat carrying the team, Pinto-Torres realized that one by one, the scientists were stepping out onto the deck. Something had caught their attention in the icy waters of the southern tip of Chile. So he decided to follow them. The researchers were sailing towards the Carlos III Islands (Francisco Coloane Marine Park), an area of great importance for the feeding of marine mammals and internationally known for the sighting of humpback whales in the summer season. There, however, 5 Southern Lissodelphins swam.
“We quickly realized it was not a dolphin that can occasionally be seen such as the Australian whale, Commerson's duiker or the Chilean, which are the most common species in the area. Since it did not have a dorsal fin, we knew it was the southern lyssodelphine. This really caught my attention, so I decided to photograph it, ”explains the researcher, who is also a PhD student in Aquaculture Sciences at UACh.
Southern Lissodelphins are animals that usually live in ocean depths, for this reason it is even more rare to spot them near the coast. According to what we read on the IUCN website, it lives in ocean waters and only reaches the coast in depth. It is found infrequently in temperate waters, from northern Chile to the coast of Peru (but it is also regularly sighted in the coasts of New Zealand), while it is more characteristic of Patagonia and the Falkland Islands.
The last visual record of the species is due to the scientist Rodrigo Hucke-Gaete 20 years ago, in 1999. These are cetaceans rarely seen in southern latitudes. In the eastern South Pacific, there are fewer than 73 confirmed records. Additionally, all single live records have been spotted in deep water, not in the canals and fjords of southern Chile.
The lissodelfino is about two meters long and is the only one living in the southern hemisphere and not having a dorsal fin. The scientific name is (Lissodelphis peronii) and it can weigh up to 116 pounds.
Seeing them in the Strait of Magellan, one of the largest and most important natural passages between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, was therefore an entirely exceptional event.
Check here this incredible audiovisual record of smooth dolphins in #Magallanes! Images were captured in March 2018 during an oceanographic expedition of the IDEAL Center to Seno Ballena ?? Courtesy: @Dbravogomez pic.twitter.com/6V2K2ZBNyB
– IDEAL Center (@CentroIDEAL_CL) June 13, 2019
The discovery was published in the scientific journal Polar Biology.
Sources of reference: Polar Biology, Centroideal, Twitter / Centroideal
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