Risso's dolphin
Grampus griseus
Valid name.
- English
- Risso's dolphin
- Scientific
- Grampus griseus
- Dhivehi
- No recorded Dhivehi name
- Group
- Dolphins
- Maximum size
- Up to about 3.8-4 m
- Depth and habitat
- Deep water, especially over the steep atoll slopes
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2018
Description
A large, stocky dolphin with a blunt, beakless, rounded head with a vertical crease down the forehead, and a tall dorsal fin. Calves are grey, but adults become heavily scarred with white scratches from the teeth of other Risso's dolphins and the suckers of squid, until older animals can look almost white. It feeds mainly on squid, usually at night. Groups are often seen resting or travelling slowly at the surface.
In the Maldives
One of the more frequently encountered cetaceans in the Maldives (about 11% of encounters in Anderson's surveys), usually along the outer atoll slopes.
Sources
- sealifebase.se /summary/Grampus-griseus.html
- mammalwatching.com /wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Maldives-cetaceans-review-2012.pdf
- mrc.gov.mv /assets/Uploads/2005-Observations-of-cetaceans-in-the-Maldives-1990-20
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Grampo.jpg
Dhivehi name source: No Dhivehi name found in the cetacean literature reviewed (Anderson 2005; Anderson et al. 2012), FishBase/SeaLifeBase or Dhivehi Wikipedia.