NOTES ON THE DIET OF MARINE SOTALIA FLUVIATILIS

Feeding habits of marine tucuxi, Sotalia fluviatilis, at Ceará State, northeastern Brazil

“…Just demersal bony fishes were found in stomachs of S. fluviatilis in the present work, what suggest that in Ceará State marine tucuxi can dive near the bottom during feeding. This statement agrees with what was found by many authors, who have recorded the presence of both surface and demersal fishes in stomachs of marine tucuxi from elsewhere in Brazilian waters (Barros and Teixeira, 1994;Silva and Best, 1996;Santos et al, 2002) and suggested that S. fluviatilis can feed in different water depths (Borobia and Barros, 1989). Regarding the cephalopods identified in this study, Lolliguncula brevis, Loligo plei and L. sanpaulensis have already been noted as prey of tucuxi (Santos and Haimovici, 2001;Di Beneditto 2000;Santos et al, 2002); however, no previous records of Octopus sp.…”

“…Octopus sp. has benthic habits (Ruppert and Barnes, 1996), while L. brevis is commonly classified as an estuarine associated species (Borobia and Barros, 1989). L. plei is thought to have a more pelagic distribution when compared to the other squid species listed in this study (Ropper et al, 1984).…”

“…Fishes from the families Gerreidae, Haemulidae, Ophichthidae and Sciaenidae have already been cited as prey of S. fluviatilis (Borobia and Barros, 1989;Barros and Teixeira, 1994;Oliveira et al, 1998). However, we could not find any previous records of the presence of the fish families Dactylopteridae, Gobiidae, Mullidae and Scaridae in the diet of the marine tucuxi.…”

<b>Detection of Anisakidae larvae parasitizing <i>Plagioscion squamosissimus</i> and <i>Pellona castelnaeana</i> in the State of Pará, Brazil

“…Plagioscion squamosissimus is the species most consumed by S. fluviatilis in Central Amazon and also appears among the most consumed in the Amazonian Estuary (Beltrán-Pedreros & Pantoja, 2006;Rosas, Marigo, Laeta, & Rossi-Santos, 2010). In addition, Borobia and Barros (1989) mentioned fish of the genus Pellona among the species predated by the tucuxi. Inia geoffrensis, essentially fluvial, is the largest river dolphin, being endemic to the Amazon and Orinoco river basins.…”

Helminths of the marine tucuxi, Sotalia fluviatilis (Gervais, 1853) (Cetacea: Delphinidae), in northern Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil

“…Previous studies were based on few specimens stranded on the beach or by-caught in fisheries (e.g. Borobia and Barros, 1989;Da Silva and Best, 1996;Marigo et al, 1999). Santos et al, (1996) carried out the first quantitative study about the parasitism of this cetacean, analyzing 23 specimens from northern Rio de Janeiro State.…”