Sousa chinensis chinensis

(Osbeck, 1765)

Vernacular names
English : Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin
French : Dauphin à bosse du Pacifique

Classification
Class : Mammalia
Order : Cetartiodactyla
Family : Delphinidae
Notes : 1 other subspecies known.

Identification
The species grows to 280 cm in total length for a weight up to 280 kg. Robust body, bulbous forehead and distinct hump on back. Coloration speckled light grey when juvenile, becoming more and more pink when adult.

Range and habitat
This species is found in the Indo-Pacific area, from Indian coasts and Sri Lanka to east China, Java and Borneo. Other subspecies endemic to western Taiwan coasts. Lives in tropical warm coastal waters, near mangroves and estuaries, to 20 m.

Conservation
IUCN RED LIST : VULNERABLE
CITES : Appendix II
Status : The species is declining because of disturbance and habitat loss. The current main threat is being caught as bycatch by fisheries.
Ex-Situ Programs : None known

Observation

 

Back to “Other odd-toed ungulates and Cetaceans” page