Descriptions

Rounded snout, curved dorsal fin.

Common bottlenose dolphin

2 grey stripes coming from the eye, whitish stripes on the sides.

Striped dolphin

Light yellow hourglass on the flanks, dorsal fin with sharp ending + white patch on the sides of the fin.

Short-beaked common dolphin

Tall and curved dorsal fin, no prominent beak, white scars all around the body (social interactions).

Risso’s dolphin

Rounded head, low triangular dorsal fin.

Black Sea Harbour Porpoise

Large, trunk-shaped square head, blowhole on the left side of the front of the head, small dorsal fin (triangular shape).

Sperm Whale

S-shaped smile, small dorsal fin on the posterior third of the body, males have 2 teeth protrude out of the mouth.

Cuvier’s beaked whale

Long pectoral fins, round head, black coloured with grey/white ventral.

Long-finned pilot whale

Small dorsal fin on the posterior third of the body, central blowhole with 2 exit orifices, lower mandible with asymmetric coloration (white on the right, dark on the left).

Fin whale

Dark brown on the dorsal side and paler on the ventral side.

Mediterranean monk seal

Brown coloration, darker on the central section of the shell + 2 nails on each fin + 5 scales on the side.

Loggerhead turtle

Shell and skin coloration from beige to almost black. Distinguishable by having a serrated mandible + 1 nail on each fin + 4 scales on the side of the shell.

Green turtle

Black coloration with white spots, no nails on the fins

Leatherback turtle

How to tell apart odontocetes and mysticetes

Like that

Dark brown on upperparts, white on underparts + dark beak + typically shearing flight (flying close to water surface and touching slightly the waves) + often observed in flocks + mostly pelagic.

Yelkouan shearwater

Light grey/brown upperparts, white underparts, pale yellow beak with dark hook-shaped tip, shearing flight, small group.

Scopoli’s shearwater

Yellow legs, yellow beak with red spot on upper mandible, red ring around the eye, wing grey with black tips + white spot + white band around the wings (slim on the front, broad on the back), rest of body white, flying > 20m above sea level, solitary or small groups (except scavenging fishing boat).

Yellow legged gull

Red beak with black circle, dark legs, no white band around the wings, flying > 20m above sea level, smaller than Lm, solitary.

Audouin’s gull

Long hooked beak, thick long neck, white patches during breeding season April-May (cheeks, throat, feathers, …), on coastline

Great cormorant

Beak thinner and not hooked, all black plumage, dark green gloss and crest on the forehead during breeding season (Dec-Jun), found on (rocky) coasts, small groups

Mediterranean shag

All black plumage except for white underwings and white on the base of the tail, fluttering flight.

Storm petrel