Causes of stranding in four Risso's dolphins (Grampus griseus) found beached along the North Adriatic Sea coast

The Risso’s dolphin (Grampus griseus) (Cuvier, 1812) is a medium-sized odontocete, between 2.8 and 3.5m in length, widely distributed in the Mediterranean Sea, mainly in deep waters. This species has rarely been sighted in the North Adriatic. There have been no recent sightings or strandings of this dolphin along the Slovenian coasts while episodic sightings and strandings, have occurred along Italian coasts since the beginning of the 1900’s until today (Lapini et al., 1995; Notarbartolo Di Sciara and Demma, 1994). This report describes the pathological data related to the strandings of this species along the North Adriatic Sea coasts, specifically those in the Friuli Venezia Giulia area.