Life history told by a whale-louse: a possible interaction of a southern right whale Eubalaena australis calf with humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae

Abstract

Southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) are known to host three species of whale-lice, Cyamus gracilis, Cyamus ovalis and Cyamus erraticus. Such cyamids usually are generalists in toothed whales (Cetacea: Odontoceti) and host-specific in baleen whales (Cetacea: Mysticeti), and because they have no free-swimming stage, transmission only occurs by contact between whales. One southern right whale stranded at the southeastern coast of Brazil was found parasitized by a different species of cyamid. Over 300 specimens were collected and the only species identified based on morphological and molecular data was Cyamus boopis, a typical ectoparasite of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). This finding is the first record of C. boopis on the southern right whale. Both E. australis and M. novaeangliae are found in Brazilian waters and the presence of humpback’s whale-louse together with the lack of the three specific parasites of right whales suggest an interspecific interaction between these whales based on the parasite’s biology.