Iranian Journal of Fisheries Sciences

en Short Communication: Encounters out of the blue: Strandings of dwarf sperm whale, Kogia sima (Owen, 1866) in Iranian waters of the Persian Gulf Biology & physiology Biology & physiology پژوهشي Orginal research papers The present study documents the first records of the dwarf sperm whale Kogia sima, Owen, 1866 (Cetacea: Kogiidae) from the Persian Gulf, based on the stranding of two specimens occurring in November 2023 and 2024. The specimens were registered, respectively, on Larak and Qeshm Islands, Hormozgan Province, Iran. This report provides morphological characteristics confirming species identification. The recorded strandings occurred approximately one year apart, at sites, within a 50 km range in the northern Strait of Hormuz, Persian Gulf. They provide novel insights into this elusive species' potential seasonal and spatial movements at their presumed westernmost range in the shallow Persian Gulf, restricted by habitat limits considering its normal deep-water distribution.   Marine mammals, Cetaceans, Kogiidae, Strait of Hormuz, Distribution, Persian Gulf, Iran 367 374 http://jifro.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-5523-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 H. Ali Abedi halehabedi@midaf-ncs.org 100319475328460058810 100319475328460058810 Yes Midaf Nature Conservation Society, Bandar Abbas, Iran S. Asoudeh s.asoudeh@midaf-ncs.org 100319475328460058811 100319475328460058811 No Midaf Nature Conservation Society, Bandar Abbas, Iran A.R. Rastgoo rastgoo.alireza@yahoo.com 100319475328460058812 100319475328460058812 No Midaf Nature Conservation Society, Bandar Abbas, Iran M.A. Samiei m.amin.samiei@gmail.com 100319475328460058813 100319475328460058813 No Midaf Nature Conservation Society, Bandar Abbas, Iran K. Van Waerebeek albedo100@yandex.com 100319475328460058814 100319475328460058814 No Centro Peruano de Estudios Cetológicos/Peruvian Centre for Cetacean Research (CEPEC), Museo de Delfines, Pucusana, Lima 20, Peru