First Sighting of a Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) with Leucism in the Colombian South Pacific

Colombo Estupiñán-Montaño; Pablo Andrés Ramos Baron

doi:10.1007/s41208-025-00836-0

First Sighting of a Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) with Leucism in the Colombian South Pacific

Título traducido de la contribución: Primer avistamiento de una ballena jorobada (Megaptera novaeangliae) con leucismo en el Pacífico sur colombiano

Colombo Estupiñán-Montaño, Pablo Andrés Ramos Baron

Departamento de Desarrollo Rural y Regional

Producción: Contribución a una revista › Artículo › revisión exhaustiva

Resumen

El mundo animal manifiesta diferentes tipos de anormalidades dérmicas (p. ej., albinismo, leucismo y xantismo), las cuales son resultado de deficiencias en la piel debido a diferentes factores genéticos, tróficos, ambientales y antropogénicos que pueden tener consecuencias en el ciclo de vida de las especies. El objetivo fue documentar un caso de leucismo en una ballena jorobada (Megaptera novaeangliae) en el Pacífico Sur colombiano. Una M. novaeangliae fue observada en aguas de la costa pacífica de Nariño, específicamente frente al barrio Bocagrande en el municipio de Tumaco, el 4 de agosto de 2024, durante una excursión de avistamiento de ballenas. El individuo exhibió una pigmentación blanca atípica a lo largo de su pedúnculo y aleta caudal. Con base en estas observaciones, se puede considerar que este individuo tiene leucismo, siendo el primer avistamiento registrado de una ballena jorobada con leucismo en el área. La presencia de leucismo en M. novaeangliae sugiere que esta ballena presenta desventajas biológicas y ecológicas causadas por anomalías genéticas. Este encuentro casual con una ballena jorobada con una pigmentación inusual destaca una zona geográfica y una especie que se beneficiarían de un mayor monitoreo para evaluar la supervivencia de esta ballena y abordar las lagunas de información sobre esta especie en esta región.

Título traducido de la contribución	Primer avistamiento de una ballena jorobada (Megaptera novaeangliae) con leucismo en el Pacífico sur colombiano
Idioma original	Inglés
Número de artículo	84
Páginas (desde-hasta)	1-6
Número de páginas	6
Publicación	Thalassas
Volumen	41
N.º	2
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1007/s41208-025-00836-0
Estado	Publicada - 25 abr. 2025

Palabras clave

Pigmentación atípica
Hipopigmentación
Albinismo parcial

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abstract = "The animal world manifests different types of dermal abnormalities (e.g., albinism, leucism, and xanthism), which are the result of deficiencies in the skin due to different genetic, trophic, environmental, and anthropogenic factors that may have consequences on the life cycle of the species. The aim was to document a case of leucism in a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the Colombian South Pacific. A M. novaeangliae was observed in the waters off the Pacific coast of Nari{\~n}o, specifically in front of the Bocagrande neighborhood in the municipality of Tumaco, on August 4, 2024, during a whale-watching excursion. The individual exhibited an atypical white pigmentation along its peduncle and fluke. Based on these observations, this individual may be considered to have leucism, being the first recorded sighting of a humpback whale with leucism in the area. The presence of leucism in M. novaeangliae suggests that this whale has biological and ecological disadvantages caused by genetic abnormalities. This chance encounter of an unusually pigmented humpback whale highlights a geographical area and a species that would benefit from increased monitoring to assess the survival of this individual whale and address information gaps about this species in this region.",

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First Sighting of a Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) with Leucism in the Colombian South Pacific

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