LEAF SHAPED FANGS?! PACIFIC DISCOVERY LINKS UNPRECEDENTED FIND! GINKO BEAKED WHALES

Unprecedented!   OOOOH this is great!

UNION RAYO: GOODBYE TO DECADES OF ASSUMPTIONS : GINKO BEAKED WHALES

Excerpt: For the first time in history, a team of scientists managed to see, record and document the elusive ginkgo-toothed beaked whale (Mesoplodon ginkgodens) swimming in open sea, off the coast of Baja California, Mexico. And the best part is that with this encounter they also solved a mystery that had been puzzling experts for more than a decade, a mysterious acoustic signal, the famous BW43, that no one had managed to attribute to a specific species.

.... For the first time, a species known only from stranded remains was alive, recorded, confirmed!!! Now scientists can track this species without seeing it, just by listening to its signals in the ocean.

Battles, wounds and sharks

The ginkgo-toothed beaked whale has a distinctive feature and it is that the males develop two flat leaf-shaped teeth near the tip of the snout. They do not use them to eat, but to fight with other males for the females.

The photos show long scars, cuts, white lines, many battles on their backs. In addition, many had circular bite marks made by sharks called “cookie cutters”.

WORLD WILDLIFE FUND : WORKING IN NATURE'S AQUARIUM - THE GULF OF CALIFORNIA

WORLD WILDLIFE FUND - GULF OF CALIFORNIA

Excerpt: Wedged between the mainland of Mexico to the east and the Baja Peninsula to the west is the GULF OF CALIFORNIA.  

Described by French ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau as the world's aquarium, the gulf supports an extraordinary diversity of marine life, which includes endangered marine turtles and dolphins, coral reefs and over 900 different fish species.

The waters are also an important breeding area for the world's largest animal, the blue whale and other whales such as fin, sperm, orca and humpback.

But pressures from unsustainable tourism, development and commercial fishing are threatening the wildlife and the way of life for millions of people who depend on the sea for their livelihoods.

SEA SHEPERD : VASQUITA ON THE BRINK OF EXTINCTION : SEA OF CORTEZ : MEXICO : IT'S POSSIBLE ONLY TEN EXIST!

SEA SHEPHERD ORG : VAQUITA 

SEA SHEPHERD CREWS have spent over a decade in the upper Sea of Cortez defending the Vaquita Porpoise from the brink of extinction. Jacques Cousteau called the region, “the aquarium of the sea”. In spite of being endemic (non-migratory) to these nutrient-rich waters, scientists estimate only ten Vaquita remain today.

AXOLOTL : MEXICO'S ENDANGERED FISH : CRITICALLY ENDANGERED AXOLOTL : SALAMANDER WITH GILLS : HABITAT LAKE NEAR MEXICO CITY : MAYBE ONLY 50 -1000 LEFT IN THE WILD!

I must say that these Axolotl are some of the ----cutest ---- fish I've seen. But at a local library event I stopped in at recently, the children were crayoning coloring pages of this fish ---- and I had no idea it was actually critically endangered! My internet searches revealed that considering them play-things was common... IN FACT THERE ARE MANY YOUTUBE VIDEOS ENCOURAGING OWNERSHIP OF THIS FISH!!! 

I DON'T LIKE THAT IDEA AT ALL!

Endangered species do not belong in home aquariums. If you have such a creature in a home aquarium I ask you - please - to contact your closest aquarium or university that has a marine biology program. I would like to see such fish united in a marine environment where they can live a more normal fish life and possible reproduce...

Earth Org : Spotlight on endangered species AXOLOTL


Excerpt: Unlike other amphibians, the axolotl is neotenic and does not go through metamorphosis, thus remaining aquatic and retaining its juvenile features into adulthood. A popular pick for the exotic pet trade, the ever-smiling, feathery-gilled axolotl is easily bred in captivity, having further piqued the interest of scientists and geneticists through its ability to regenerate parts of its body, such as its limbs, eyes, heart, spinal cord and parts of its brain. As such, the species’ plight is regarded as a conservation paradox: although abundant in captivity, rampant habitat degradation and disturbance has rendered the species critically endangered in the wild.

TOTOABA : MEXICO'S ENDANGERED FISH : TOTOABA : FISHING ALSO ENDANGERING THE VAQUITA PORPOISE : DUAL EXTICTION DUE TO BYCATCH : SEA SHEPHARD ORG

PORPOISE CONSERVATION SOCIETY

Excerpt: Capable of reaching over six feet in length and weighing up to 220 pounds, these fish were once abundant in the region, serving as a staple for local communities and a thriving commercial fishery in the mid-20th century. However, overfishing and habitat degradation have led to a dramatic decline in totoaba populations, pushing them to the brink of extinction. ...

It is the totoaba’s swim bladder, an organ that helps the fish control its buoyancy, that has become the epicenter of a black-market boom. In traditional Chinese medicine, these swim bladders, known as “fish maws,” are believed to have numerous health benefits, including promoting longevity and vitality. This demand has driven up the price of totoaba swim bladders to astonishing levels, earning them the nickname “cocaine of the sea.”

The illegal fishing methods used to catch totoaba, particularly gillnets, have proven disastrous for the vaquita population. Gillnets, designed to catch fish by their gills, are indiscriminate, often trapping and killing vaquitas as bycatch. As a result, the vaquita, already struggling with declining numbers, has become collateral damage in the race to supply the lucrative totoaba trade.
A Dual Extinction

The intertwined fates of the vaquita and the totoaba have given rise to the term “dual extinction,” highlighting the fact that both species are teetering on the edge of oblivion. With the vaquita’s population plummeting to fewer than 20 individuals and the totoaba’s numbers in a critical state, urgent action is needed to prevent both species from disappearing forever.

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Did you know that you can bring up past posts about the Vaquita?  Use the search feature embedded in this blog!

ONLY TEN VAQUITA EXIST - WORLD'S RAREST MARINE MAMMAL - A SMALL PORPOISE

WORLD WILD LIFE ORG SPECIES DIRECTORY 

Excerpt:  Vaquita, the world's rarest marine mammal, is on the edge of extinction.  The plight of cetaceans - whales, dolphins, and porpoises - as a whole is exemplified by the rapid decline of the vaquita in Mexico, with about 10 individuals remaining.  This little porpoise wasn't discovered until 1958 and a little over half a century later, we are on the brink of losing them forever. Vaquita are often caught and drowned in gillnets used by illegal fishing operations in marine protected areas within Mexico's Gulf of California...

PROTECTION FOR THE GIANT CONCH OF MEXICO - YUCATAN PENINSULA - MEXICAN CARIBBEAN

BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY : PROTECTION SOUGHT FOR MEXICO'S GIANT CONCH 

Excerpt: The Banco Chinchorro Biosphere Reserve in Mexico's Yucatan peninsula is one of the last remaining fishing areas in the Mexican Caribbean, where more than 90% of the country's queen conch production is harvested.  Despite policies involving bans, minimum harvest size and catch quotas, fishing pressure and uncontrolled poaching in recent years have decreased queen conch populations, which are now considered over-exploited. The Mexican National Fisheries Chart describes the fishery as "in deterioration."

SEA LION NIBBLING ON DIVER FINS

DAILY MAIL - SEA LIONS NIBBLING ON DIVER'S FIN

EXCERPT: The diver reckons the sea lion didn't want to actually eat the fin - rather, it was the animal's version of playing.

WHALE WATCHING IN BAJA, MEXICO

NATHAB : WHALE WATCHING MEXICO - BAJA

I try not to post commercial sites such as this, but I thought the photos and the information was good, so take a look.

EXCERPT:  Every winter, hundreds of Pacific gray whales return to their traditional breeding and birthing grounds in sheltered San Ignacio Lagoon on Mexico's Baja Peninsula.  Their migration from Alaska's Bering Sea to the warm water sof Baja's Pacific lagoons is the longest mammal migration on Earth.

"GALLON OF MILK" RARE ALBINO WHALE SPOTTED

CS MONITOR - HUGE ALBINO WHALE SPOTTED OFF MEXICO



EXCERPT: This specimen was observed for the first time during the 2008-2009 season as a whale calf with the albino characteristics for which it was named,” Conap (Commission of Natural Protected Areas) explains in a recent online post....

In the recent sighting, this time in the area known as Alambre Island in the Ojo de Liebre Lagoon, Gallon of Milk was accompanied by a calf that was completely gray, which must mean she has become a mother for the first time." ...

The bright white whale’s condition albinism makes her of a special kind, since the gene mutation that leads to a sharp decrease in the pigment melanin – or the lack of it – is barely recorded among marine mammals,” Tech Times explains.

AXOLOH - TINY WATER MONSTER FISH - MAY BE EXTINCT

io9: MEXICO TINY WATER MONSTER MAY BE EXTINCT  full article link - great picture!

...The iconic axolotl — a salamander-like creature capable of extraordinary regenerative abilities — has disappeared from its only known natural habitat in Mexico's few remaining lakes...

Biologist Luis Zambrano of Mexico's National Autonomous University says the most recent three-month attempt to net axolotls found not one of the creatures. He says researchers are planning a second three-month hunt for the creatures, which still survive in labs and breeding tanks...

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SIREN HERE : THE AXOLOTL does exist in tanks if not the wild.  The question I have is, will this species ever be able to live in the wild again anywhere?

MEXICO FISHERMEN WASTE THE LIVES OF 250 STINGRAYS

HUFFINGTON POST ARTICLE : STINGRAYS ON MEXICAN BEACH link

The Stingrays were destined to be eaten in Vera Cruz, but when the fisherman could not get a good price, they dumped them.  This article contains a lot of good pictures.