Phocoena phocoena killed by Halichoerus grypus

Descrission:

Description: English: Harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) attcked by grey seal (Halichoerus grypus): Macroscopic photographs of the harbour porpoises with grey seal DNA-positive wounds. (a) Pp 3, left side shows absence of large pieces of skin, blubber and musculature. (b) Pp 3, right side of the maxilla showing repetitive puncture lesions on the head (‘head mark’). (c) Pp 1, absence of large amounts of skin and blubber in the mandible and throat area, leaving the fractured mandibular bone bare. (d) Pp 1, two lines of parallel running puncture lesions on the tailstock, the lesions were bilateral symmetrical (not visible in picture) (‘tailstock mark’). (e) Pp 2, large skin and blubber defects on the body wall leaving ribs and musculature bare. (f) Pp 2, repetitive bite marks on the tailstock similar to Pp 1, figure 1d. (g) Pp 2, flipper with repetitive punctures on the dorsal surface that were mirrored on the palmar surface (not visible in picture) (‘flipper punctures’). (h) Pp 2, five parallel running scratches on the left lateral body wall (‘scratches’). Polski: Morświny zwyczajne (Phocoena phocoena) po ataku szarytki morskiej [foki szarej] (Halichoerus grypus). Date: 2014. Source: Mardik F. Leopold, Lineke Begeman, Judith D. L. van Bleijswijk, Lonneke L. I Jsseldijk, Harry J. Witte, Andrea Gröne. Exposing the grey seal as a major predator of harbour porpoises. „Proceedings B”. 282 (1798), s. 1-7, 2014. The Royal Society Publishing. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2014.2429. Author: Arnold Gronert, Kees Kooimans and Jaap van der Hiele.