Researchers from the Jonian Dolphin Conservation have spotted a specimen of 'Pulcinella di Mare' in the Northern Ionian Sea, about eight miles from the coast of Taranto, documenting its presence.
It is a black and white seabird with a relatively large head and an unmistakable large colored beak, a species typical of the cliffs of the North Atlantic Ocean, in particular of the countries of Northern Europe, such as Iceland.
The importance of the sighting was confirmed by the ornithological experts of the Centro Studi de Romita, an important scientific research institute that for four years has started a collaboration with the Jonian Dolphin Conservation for the monitoring of seabirds in the Gulf of Taranto, with particular with regard to predominantly pelagic species. "The sightings in the Mediterranean of the Pulcinella di Mare - explained the ornithologist Cristiano Liuzzi - are very rare, almost exclusively limited to the northern Tyrrhenian Sea: the last report previously recorded in the Gulf of Taranto dates back to the end of the 19th century".
Roberto Carlucci, professor of Ecology at the Department of Biology of the University of Bari, specified that "the qualitative and quantitative analysis of biodiversity, through the scientific monitoring campaigns of the Jonian Dolphin Conservation, once again highlights the importance of the Gulf of Taranto as a habitat for numerous marine species ".