Abstract Cetacean stranding events are an important source of information and biological samples, providing data on species occurrence, distribution and population dynamics as well as on mortality rate induced by human activities or natural causes. This is even truer for species such as Z. cavirostris, whose elusive behavior has made its field observation difficult in many Mediterranean areas. Although the occurrence of single or serial strandings of this species and the rise in survey effort have increased the knowledge on its presence, there are still gaps in some Mediterranean areas, especially in the Gulf of Taranto (North-western Ionian Sea, Italy), where a critical habitat suitable for different cetacean species has been identified. Despite no sightings of Z. cavirostris having been recorded so far, ACCOBAMS designates the Gulf of Taranto as an Area of Special Concern for Beaked Whales (ASC-BW) on the basis of atypical mass strandings of 12 individuals which occurred in the Ionian Sea in 2011. Moreover, the conservation status of the Z. cavirostris has recently passed from Data Deficient to Vulnerable, according the IUCN criteria adopted for the Mediterranean Sea, thus showing the urgent need for basic information on its bio-ecological features, suitable habitat and threats at local or wider scale. This study is the first attempt at application in the Mediterranean Sea of a Lagrangian prediction model simulating the carcass drift trajectories to investigate the at-site sea origin of an individual of Z. cavirostris stranded in the Gulf of Taranto. Moreover, a necropsy was carried out to detect the possible cause of death and the results of bacteriological, biomolecular and toxicological analysis are provided. Finally, a collection of osteological data as well as the process of turning and displaying the skeleton in a museum are detailed, highlighting the importance of these exhibits from a scientific and educational point of view.

中文翻译：

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探索在塔兰托湾（爱奥尼亚海北部、地中海中东部）单独搁浅居维叶喙鲸的数据

摘要 鲸类搁浅事件是信息和生物样本的重要来源，提供有关物种发生、分布和种群动态以及人类活动或自然原因引起的死亡率的数据。对于 Z. cavirostris 等物种来说更是如此，其难以捉摸的行为使其在许多地中海地区难以进行实地观察。尽管该物种单次或连续搁浅的发生以及调查工作的增加增加了对其存在的了解，但在一些地中海地区仍然存在差距，特别是在塔兰托湾（意大利爱奥尼亚海西北部），已确定适合不同鲸类物种的重要栖息地。尽管迄今为止没有记录到 Z. cavirostris，ACCOBAMS 根据 2011 年在爱奥尼亚海发生的 12 条非典型大规模搁浅事件，将塔兰托湾指定为喙鲸特别关注区 (ASC-BW)。此外，Z. cavirostris 的保护状况根据 IUCN 为地中海采用的标准，最近从数据缺乏变为易受攻击，因此表明迫切需要有关其生物生态特征、适宜栖息地和局部或更广泛威胁的基本信息。这项研究是首次尝试在地中海应用拉格朗日预测模型，模拟尸体漂移轨迹，以调查搁浅在塔兰托湾的 Z. cavirostris 个体的现场海洋起源。而且，进行了尸检以查明可能的死因，并提供了细菌学、生物分子和毒理学分析的结果。最后，详细介绍了一组骨学数据以及在博物馆中转动和展示骨骼的过程，从科学和教育的角度突出了这些展品的重要性。