Atlantic Humpback Dolphin
| Scientific Name | Sousa teuszii |  | |
| English Common Name | Atlantic humpback or Cameroon Dolphin | ||
| Taxonomy | Class: Mammalia Order: Cetacea Sub-order: Odontoceti Family: Delphinidae Genus: Sousa Species : teuszii The taxonomy and systematic relationships of humpback dolphins are highly confused due to a lack of data and samples from large portions of the range of the genus. The current view is of two species (S. teuszii in West Africa and S. chinensis in the Indo-Pacific). | ||
| Behaviour | Tends to actively avoid vessels and is not known to bow-ride. Usually a slow swimmer and not one of the most acrobatic of the cetacean species. Usually found in small groups although larger groups may congregate to socialise | ||
| World Distribution | There have been very few sightings and strandings to give evidence of the distribution of this species of dolphin, so their ranges may be wider than the few records suggest. Their known range tends to be along the coast of West Africa, from Mauritania to Cameroon and possible as far as Angola. They are particularly frequently seen in southern Senegal and north-western Mauritania. They prefer shallow coastal waters, and have been sighted in estuaries and mangrove habitats, in depths of less than 20m. On open coasts they tend to be found in areas where there is surf, and they are also known to enter the Niger and Bandiala rivers, though they rarely travel too far upstream as they prefer areas affected by the tide. | ||
| Morphology | Atlantic humpback dolphins have an elongated hump in the middle of their backs, and small dorsal fins. This hump can be up to at least one third of the dolphins’ body length. An adults’ body colour can be mid to dark grey (sometimes speckled), with a paler coloured belly – young dolphins tend darken in colour as they grow older. The dorsal fin may be small, curved or triangular in shape and may lighten with age. The flukes have a distinctive middle notch with concave trailing edges. Atlantic Humpback Dolphins are about 1 metre long when they are born. Their birth weight is not known. By the time they are fully grown they double the length measuring between 2 and 2.5 metres weighing between 100 and 150 kg. Atlantic Humpback Dolphins feed mainly on fish. | ||
| Threats | Habitat loss, chemical pollution, entanglement in fishing nets and directed hunts. | ||
| Status | No abundance estimate for the species is available. | ||
| Conservation Activities | CMS: Appendix II | ||
