Whales
| Common and
Samoan names |
Scientific
name |
| Spinner
dolphin (mumua)(5) |
Stenella
longirostris |
| Bottlenose
dolphin (mumua)(2) |
Tursiops
truncatus |
| Rough-toothed
dolphin (mumua)(2) |
Steno
bredanensis |
Sea
snakes
| Banded
sea snake(9) |
Laticauda
columbrina |
| Bryde’s
whale(6) |
Balaenoptera
edeni |
| Dwarf sperm
whale(6) |
Kogia simus |
| Pygmy sperm
whale(6) |
Kogia breviceps |
| Melon-headed
whale(6) |
Peponocephala
electra |
| Risso’s
dolphin(6) |
Grampus
griseus |
| Striped dolphin(6)
|
Stenella
coeruleoalba |
| Pantropical
spotted dolphin(6) |
Stenella
attenuata |
| Fraser’s
dolphin(6) |
Lagenodelphis
hosei |
(1)
Seasonally present (primarily Aug-Oct).
(2) Identifications by D. Mattila (NOAA) and/or J. Naughton
(NOAA). Also identified from skulls that washed ashore: several pilot whales
(near Sita Bay about 1993) and one sperm whale skull (Maloata 1994).
(3) Reeves et al. 1999. Marine mammals in the area served
by South Pacific Regional Environ. Prog.
SPREP (Samoa).
(4) Visitor to Pago Pago Harbor in 2002; identified from
photograph by J. Mead (Smithsonian
Museum Natural History) and W. Perrin (NOAA).
| Humpback whale
(tafola, ia maanu)(1) |
Megaptera
novaeangliae |
| Sperm whale(2) |
Physeter
macrocephalus |
| Short-finned
pilot whale(2) |
Globicephala
macrorhynchus |
| False killer
whale(2) |
Pseudorca
crassidens |
| Minke whale(3) |
Balaenoptera
acutorostrata |
| Killer whale(3) |
Orcinus
orca |
| Cuvier’s
beaked whale(4) |
Ziphius
cavirostris |
Potentially
present
| Hawksbill
sea turtle (laumei uga) |
Eretmochelys
imbricata |
| Green
sea turtle (laumei ena’ena, fonu) |
Chelonia
mydas |
| Olive
ridley sea turtle(7) |
Lepidochelys
olivacea |
| Leatherback
sea turtle(8) |
Dermochelys
coriacea |
(5)
Probably present year-round.
(6) Probably present in region but not yet confirmed in
American Samoa (Reeves et al. 1999 – see reference above).
(7) Rare: only three recorded occurrences (DMWR).
(8) Rare: a single juvenile was caught on longline gear
near Swains in 1993 (DMWR).
(9)
Rare: one verified occurrence in 2000 (NPS).
Sea
turtles
MARINE
MAMMALS
MARINE
REPTILES
20. Marine mammal
& reptile checklist for American Samoa
