White-beaked dolphin

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White-beaked dolphin
Size compared to an average human

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Infraorder: Cetacea
Family: Delphinidae
Genus: Lagenorhynchus
Species:
L. albirostris
Binomial name
Lagenorhynchus albirostris
(Gray, 1846)
  White-beaked dolphin range

The white-beaked dolphin (Lagenorhynchus albirostris) is a

Delphinidae (oceanic dolphins
) in the suborder Odontoceti (toothed whales).

Taxonomy

The species was first described by the British taxonomist John Edward Gray in 1846. Due to its relative abundance in European waters, it was among the first of the genus Lagenorhynchus (lagenos, Latin for "bottle" or "flask"; rhynchos, "beak" or "snout") to be known to science. Its specific name, albirostris, translates to "white beak", a reference to the color of the species' beak, a diagnostic (albeit variable) trait useful in identification.[3]

Description

Skeleton

The white-beaked dolphin is a robust species of dolphin with a short beak. Adults can reach 2.3 to 3.1 m (7 ft 7 in to 10 ft 2 in) long and weigh 180 to 354 kg (397 to 780 lb). Calves are 1.1 to 1.2 m (3 ft 7 in to 3 ft 11 in) long at birth and probably weigh about 40 kg (88 lb).[4] The upper body and flanks are dark grey with light grey patches, including a 'saddle' behind the dorsal fin, while the underside is light grey to almost white in color. The flippers, fluke, and the tall, falcate, dorsal fin are all a darker grey than the body. As the common name implies, the beak is usually white in color, but it may be a dark, ashy grey, in some older individuals.[5]

White-beaked dolphins have 25 to 28 teeth in each jaw, although the three teeth closest to the front of the mouth are often not visible, failing to erupt from the gums. They have up to 92

lateralized behavior.[7]

Distribution and habitat

Off the coast of Iceland

The white-beaked dolphin is

polar bears.[10] Within this wider region, white-beaked dolphins are most commonly found in four locales: on the Labrador Shelf close to southwestern Greenland, around Iceland, off the northern and eastern coasts of Britain, and off the coast of Norway.[6] In the Faroe Islands between Iceland and the United Kingdom the White-beaked dolphin is at risk of being hunted during drive catches of the long-finned pilot whales. They may also be incidentally trapped in the purse-sein and trawl nets of the area.[11]
There are no recognised subspecies.

The dolphin may easily be misidentified as the Atlantic white-sided dolphin, although the white-beaked is commonly found further north. The white-beaked dolphin is also typically larger, and does not have yellow streaks on its side.

Biology and behavior

Off the coast of Scotland

The population, breeding pattern, and life expectancy of the dolphin are all unknown, although most sources estimate several hundred thousand individuals, more densely populated in the eastern North Atlantic than the west.

White-beaked dolphins feed predominantly on

sonar clicks have a peak frequency of 115 kHz,[15] while their social whistles are at around 35 kHz, and can be audible to others of their species at distances of up to 10 km (6.2 mi).[16]

White-beaked dolphins are acrobatic; they will frequently ride on the

killer, fin, and humpback whales
, as well as other dolphin species.

Mating probably takes place in the summer,[17] with calves being born in the following year, between June and September.[13] Females reach their adult size at around five years of age, and are sexually mature at six to ten years, while males reach adult size at around ten years, and reach sexual maturity about two years later than females.[6]

Conservation

The North and Baltic Sea populations of the white-beaked dolphin are listed on Appendix II

CMS), since they have an unfavourable conservation status or would benefit significantly from international co-operation organised by tailored agreements.[19]

In addition, the white-beaked dolphin is covered by the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas (

ASCOBANS).[20]

See also

References

  1. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T11142A50361346.en
    . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  3. ISBN 0-375-41141-0
    .
  4. ISBN 9780691127569
    .
  5. doi:10.1111/mms.12312
    .
  6. ^
    doi:10.1093/mspecies/sew003
    .
  7. doi:10.1578/AM.32.2.2006.232
    .
  8. S2CID 84752148
    .
  9. ^ Polar bears eating dolhins as waters warm Bloomberg News, retrieved June 12, 2015
  10. doi:10.3402/polar.v34.26612
    .
  11. ^ Van Bressem, Marie-Françoise; Burville, Ben; Sharpe, Matt; Berggren, Per; Van Waerebeek, Koen (23 March 2018). "Visual health assessment of white-beaked dolphins off the coast of Northumberland, North Sea, using underwater photography". Wiley Online Library. Marine Mammal Science. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  12. S2CID 55878106
    .
  13. ^
    S2CID 85215744
    .
  14. S2CID 86542432
    .
  15. ^ Rasmussen, M.H. & Miller, L.A. (2002). "Whistles and clicks from white-beaked dolphins, Lagenorhynchus albirostris, recorded in Faxaflói Bay, Iceland" (PDF). Aquatic Mammals. 28 (1): 78–89.
  16. PMID 16875247
    .
  17. doi:10.1111/j.1748-7692.2012.00568.x
    .
  18. ^ "Appendix II Archived 11 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine" of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). As amended by the Conference of the Parties in 1985, 1988, 1991, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2005 and 2008. Effective: 5 March 2009.
  19. ^ Convention on Migratory Species page on the White-beaked dolphin
  20. ^ Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lagenorhynchus albirostris.
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