Atlantic White-sided Dolphin (Lagenorhynchus acutus)

Atlantic White-sided Dolphin.
Photograph by Gale McCullough. Some rights reserved. (view image details)

ATLANTIC WHITE-SIDED DOLPHIN FACTS

Description
The Atlantic White-sided Dolphin has black back and gray sides. The underside is white from the lower jaw to just past the anus. There are distinctive yellow-white patches on the sides within the gray area. The eyes are surrounded by black rings. The dorsal fin is tall, sharply curved and pointed at the tip The body is stocky with sickle shaped fins and a thick tail stock. The jaw has 30 to 40 pairs of pointed teeth.

Size
Length: males 2.3m - 3.0m; females 1.9m - 2.4m. Weight: 180-230 kg

Environment
cool open ocean

Food
fish, squid, shrimp.

Breeding
A single calf is born after a gestation period of about 10 months. The calf is about 1.1m long at birth and weighs about 25kg. The calf is weaned after about 18 months.

Range
north Atlantic Ocean from southern Greenland to Massachusetts, and from the British Isles to western Norway

Classification

Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Cetacea
Family:	Delphinidae
Genus:	Lagenorhynchus
Species:	acutus
Common Name:	Atlantic White-sided Dolphin

Relatives in same Genus
White-beaked Dolphin (L. albirostris)
Pacific White-sided Dolphin (L. obliquidens)

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