| albicetus oxymycterus, a new generic name and redescription of a basal physeteroid (mammalia, cetacea) from the miocene of california, and the evolution of body size in sperm whales. | living sperm whales are represented by only three species (physeter macrocephalus, kogia breviceps and kogia sima), but their fossil record provides evidence of an ecologically diverse array of different forms, including morphologies and body sizes without analog among living physeteroids. here we provide a redescription of ontocetus oxymycterus, a large but incomplete fossil sperm whale specimen from the middle miocene monterey formation of california, described by remington kellogg in 1925. th ... | 2015 | 26651027 |
| prevalence of vesicular exanthema of swine antibodies among feral mammals associated with the southern california coastal zones. | serum-neutralizing antibodies to both vesicular exanthema of swine virus (vesv) and san miguel sea lion virus (smsv) were found in a number of animal species having an association with the southern california coastal zones. california sea lions (zalophus californianus) had antibodies to 9 vesv types (a48, c52, d53, e54, f54, g55, i55, j56, and k56). fur seals (callorhinus ursinus) and elephant seal pups (mirounga angustirostris) were tested for antibodies to 6 vesv types and all were negative. c ... | 1978 | 629463 |
| fatal ingestion of floating net debris by two sperm whales (physeter macrocephalus). | in 2008 two male sperm whales (physeter macrocephalus) stranded along the northern california coast with large amounts of fishing net scraps, rope, and other plastic debris in their stomachs. one animal had a ruptured stomach, the other was emaciated, and gastric impaction was suspected as the cause of both deaths. there were 134 different types of nets in these two animals, all made of floating material, varying in size from 10 cm(2) to about 16 m(2). the variability in size and age of the piec ... | 2010 | 20381092 |
| carbon and nitrogen isotopes from top predator amino acids reveal rapidly shifting ocean biochemistry in the outer california current. | climatic variation alters biochemical and ecological processes, but it is difficult both to quantify the magnitude of such changes, and to differentiate long-term shifts from inter-annual variability. here, we simultaneously quantify decade-scale isotopic variability at the lowest and highest trophic positions in the offshore california current system (ccs) by measuring δ15n and δ13c values of amino acids in a top predator, the sperm whale (physeter macrocephalus). using a time series of skin ti ... | 2014 | 25329915 |
| monsters of the sea serpent: parasites of an oarfish, regalecus russellii. | examination of a small portion of the viscera of an oarfish ( regalecus russellii ) recovered from santa catalina island, southern california, revealed numerous tetraphyllidean tapeworm plerocercoids, clistobothrium cf. montaukensis; 2 juvenile nematodes, contracaecum sp.; and a fragment of an adult acanthocephalan, family arhythmacanthidae. this suggests that the fish was relatively heavily parasitized. the presence of larval and juvenile worms suggests that oarfish are preyed upon by deep-swim ... | 2015 | 25220829 |