Identified fish remains regurgitated by a solitary indian ocean bottlenose dolphin, tursiops aduncus, in the gulf of aqaba (mammalia: delphinidae)

A total of 210 fish bones was collected between August 1998 and April 2001, after having been regurgitated by a solitary social Indian Ocean Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops aduncus (Ehrenberg, 1833)), off Nuweiba M'zeina on the east coast of the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt. Of these, 143 bones were identified, representing nine different fish families (in descending order of prevalence): Fistulariidae, Sparidae, Lethrinidae, Scaridae, Serranidae, Congridae, Muraenidae, Belonidae and Balistidae. Six genera (Fistularia, Lethrinus, Epinephelus, Lithognatus, Tylosurus and Scarus) and three species (F. commersonii, E. chlorostigma and T. choram) were further identified. Identified prey items varied in form (elongated, eel-like or fusiform), behaviour (solitary/schooling, diurnal/nocturnal), and belonged to species habiting diverse areas (open water, near corals and caves). Prey identified also showed diverse diets ranging from coral feeding species, to piscivorous species and those feeding on invertebrates. Although very limited in scope, the accessibility of this dolphin within a small radius and over a long period constituted a unique opportunity for investigating the diet of the species in this region.