Mammals of the WorldPacific White-sided Dolphin
Aethalodelphis obliquidens
- Order
- Artiodactyla
- Family
- Delphinidae
- Genus
- Aethalodelphis
- IUCN status
- LC (as Lagenorhynchus obliquidens)
- Distribution
- Canada|China|Japan|North Korea|South Korea|Mexico|Russia|Taiwan|United States
- Realm
- Marine
Other names: Hook-finned Porpoise|Pacific Striped Porpoise|Pacific White-striped Dolphin
About this species
- Size
- About 1.7–2.5m
- Weight
- Up to about 180kg
- Diet
- Squid and schooling fish
- Habitat
- Temperate North Pacific waters
The Pacific white-sided dolphin is a compact, strongly patterned oceanic dolphin. It has a dark back, pale belly, grey flanks and a light stripe that sweeps from the eye toward the tail. The tall hooked dorsal fin is dark in front and paler behind. Adults measure approximately 1.7–2.5m and can weigh around 180kg (Wikipedia, general species account). The narrow tail stock leads to pointed flukes.
Across the temperate North Pacific, these dolphins feed on squid and schooling fish such as anchovies, herring and hake. They are fast, acrobatic swimmers that often bow-ride, leap clear of the water and travel in groups ranging from a few animals to several hundred. Mixed groups with northern right-whale dolphins and other cetaceans are regularly reported (Wikipedia, general species account).
Description: Wildlife of Japan guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)