Fraser's dolphin
Lagenodelphis hosei
Valid name.
- English
- Fraser's dolphin
- Scientific
- Lagenodelphis hosei
- Dhivehi
- No recorded Dhivehi name
- Group
- Dolphins
- Maximum size
- Up to about 2.7 m
- Depth and habitat
- Deep oceanic waters
- IUCN status
- LC · Least ConcernLeast Concern (LC), assessed 2018
Description
A stocky dolphin with a very short beak, small flippers and a small, triangular dorsal fin. A broad dark stripe runs from the face to the anus along each side, most obvious in adult males. It lives in tightly packed schools of hundreds that move fast and splashily at the surface. It feeds on deep-water fish, squid and crustaceans. It was only described from a skull in 1956 and not seen alive until the 1970s.
In the Maldives
First recorded in the Maldives in the 1990s (Anderson 1996). Seen in large, fast-moving schools, which accounted for about 5% of individuals counted in Anderson's surveys despite few encounters.
Sources
- sealifebase.se /summary/Lagenodelphis-hosei.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:Lagenodelphis_hosei_372791442.jpg
Dhivehi name source: No Dhivehi name found in the cetacean literature reviewed (Anderson 2005; Anderson et al. 2012), FishBase/SeaLifeBase or Dhivehi Wikipedia.