Dusky Dolphin
| Scientific Name | Lagenorhynchus obscurus |  | |
| English Common Name | Dusky Dolphin | ||
| Taxonomy | Class: Mammalia Order: Cetacea Sub-order: Odontoceti Family: Delphinidae Genus: Lagenorhynchus Species: obscurus | ||
| Behaviour | A very curious species that appears to enjoy interaction with both boats and people. Highly active and like other oceanic species, breaches in 3 main ways; head-first, body slams and lob-tails. Generally found in small group sizes although larger schools are found associating in the summer. | ||
| World Distribution | Dusky dolphins are widespread in the southern hemisphere although their distribution is not continuous. There are three main populations; New Zealand, South Africa, and South America, including Falkland Islands. Dusky dolphins are mainly a coastal species, or found over the continental shelf. Some of the populations are resident all year round and others exhibit daily and seasonal off-shore – inshore movements. | ||
| Morphology | Dusky dolphins have a short, dark beak and gently sloping forehead. Their upper sides are predominantly dark or blue-black with white or pale-grey blazes along their sides. They have a white underside and long pointed flippers – darker than the surrounding body area. Their dorsal fins are very tall with an area of light grey on the rear half. New born Dusky dolphins are between 55 and 70 cm and weigh between 3 and 5 kg. Adult Dusky dolphins are between 1.6 and 2.1 metres in length and weigh between 50 and 90 kg. Their diet consists of fish and squid. | ||
| Threats | The primary threat is incidental entanglement in gill-nets and other fishing gear. As with the Black (or Chilean) and Commerson’s dolphin, there is also an illegal hunt for Dusky dolphins for use as bait in the Chilean king crab fishery. | ||
| Status | No abundance estimate is available for this species – they are however thought to be locally common. | ||
| Conservation Activities | CMS Appendix II | ||
