Fraser's Dolphin
| Scientific Name | Lagenodelphis hosei |  | |
| English Common Name | Fraser’s Dolphin | ||
| Taxonomy | Class: Mammalia Order: Cetacea Sub-order: Odontoceti Family: Delphinidae Genus: Lagenodelphis Species: hosei | ||
| Behaviour | Fraser’s dolphins are often seen in mixed schools with a variety of other species of cetacean. They are deep divers and known to hunt at depths of between 250 – 500m. Usually shy of vessels although they have been known to bow-ride in some of their range. Although not very acrobatic, they have a very aggressive swimming style and make a lot of disturbance when breaking the water. Found in large groups of several hundred individuals. | ||
| World Distribution | The distribution of the Fraser’s dolphin is not very well known due to their only being recognised by the scientific community in 1956 and first sightings at sea in the 1970’s. They are however mainly seen in deep, tropical waters. They seem relatively rare in the Atlantic Ocean and may range across the Indian Ocean, although sightings have only been confirmed in waters off South Africa, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. They also occur as far north as Taiwan and Japan and in small numbers, as far south as Australia | ||
| Morphology | Fraser’s dolphin calves are born with dull coloration, but as they mature into adult animals they develop a more striking appearance. The adult dolphins have blue-grey upper sides, and are creamy white or pink on their belly and throat. Some of them, especially the males, have a vivid dark black lateral body stripe; the width and intensity of the stripe is thought to increase with age. They also have a dark blue/grey line (or lines) running from their beak to their flippers. These dolphins have small pointed flippers and a small dorsal fin in relation to their body size. They have a well-defined but short beak. Newborn Fraser’s Dolphins are about 1 m long and weigh approximately 19 kg. Adults are between 2 and 2.6 meters long and weigh between 160 and 210 kg. Fraser’s dolphins live on fish, crustaceans and squid. | ||
| Threats | The primary threat is entanglement in fishing nets (mainly pelagic drift-net fishery operations) where unknown numbers are drowned each year. There is also a directed hunt for Fraser’s dolphins within their range. | ||
| Status | No abundance estimate is available for this species. | ||
| Conservation Activities | CMS Appendix II IUCN – Data Deficient | ||
