Marine wildlife rescuers say a bottlenose dolphin has been found dead in waters off Sandy Hook.

Bob Schoelkopf of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine tells NJ.com that the dolphin is believed to be a pregnant female. It was first spotted around noon Friday in Sandy Hook Bay, about a mile from the entrance to Sandy Hook.

There was no outward sign of what may have caused the dolphin's death. It had a very large healed shark bite near its dorsal fin, but Schoelkopf says the wound appears to have occurred about a year or two ago.

Staffers will use that large scar to try to determine whether this dolphin is the same one spotted all summer in the Shrewsbury River.

A necropsy is scheduled for Tuesday.