Pygmy ( Kogia breviceps ) and dwarf ( Kogia sima ) sperm whales are among the least studied cetaceans due to their elusive behavior and low detectability at sea. Molecular approaches are therefore essential to clarify their taxonomy, population structure, and conservation status. We present new mitochondrial DNA data from stranded K. breviceps and K. sima specimens collected across the eastern North Atlantic, a region previous...

Southeast Asia is one of the most volcanically active regions in the world, yet their long‐term eruptive history has been comparatively little studied. In particular, little work has explored the potential of sedimentary archives to record distal cryptotephra, which may help in identifying some of the region's larger Quaternary eruptions. Here, we report the finding of cryptotephra in a sediment core from Lake Towuti (Sulawesi...

Most research on cetacean swimming has been conducted on captive dolphins due to limited accessibility to wild cetaceans. Epibiotic barnacles have been used as indirect evidence of cetacean hydrodynamics, given their lifelong association with cetaceans and dependence on water flow. Previous studies suggested that the spatial distribution of the barnacle Xenobalanus globicipitis on the tail flukes of striped dolphins (i.e., hig...

Knowledge of the distribution and residency of pelagic marine megafauna, particularly deep-diving species, is scarce due to their high mobility over difficult-to-access oceanic areas and long periods underwater. However, the threatened status of many of these species, such as the sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus , increases the need to obtain quantitative data to support conservation measures. In the warm temperate waters of...