Species: Grampus griseus
Risso's Dolphin
Species
Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
Articles:
The reasons for the surprise visits are unknown, but changes in environmental conditions here or elsewhere are one possibility.
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class
Mammalia
Order
Cetacea
Family
Delphinidae
Genus
Grampus
NatureServe
Classification
Other Global Common Names
Delfín de Risso, Delfín Gris - dauphin de Risso - dauphin gris - marsouin gris
Informal Taxonomy
Animals, Vertebrates - Mammals - Whales and Dolphins
Formal Taxonomy
Animalia - Craniata - Mammalia - Cetacea - Delphinidae - Grampus
Ecology and Life History
Habitat Type Description
Marine
Migration
false - false - false
Non-migrant
false
Locally Migrant
false
Food Comments
Diet mainly squid, occasionally small fishes.
Ecology Comments
Usually occurs in groups; off California, groups averaged usually between 30-50, sometimes over 200; in the eastern tropical Pacific, groups averaged 15-26; in the northeastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, average group size was 6-7, with maximum of 20-30 (Leatherwood et al. 1980, IUCN 1991). Commonly associates with pilot whales.
Length
400
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G5
Global Status Last Reviewed
1996-11-15
Global Status Last Changed
1996-11-15
Distribution
Conservation Status Map
<img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?CA.BC=S4&US.FL=SNR&US.HI=__&US.MD=__&US.MA=S3&US.NY=__&US.NC=__&US.OR=__&US.SC=SNR" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
Global Range
Not uncommon worldwide in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate oceans. In the North Atlantic: Newfoundland to Lesser Antilles in the west, Sweden to the Mediterranean in the east. South to Argentina and South Africa in the south Atlantic. In the Pacific Ocean: Alaska and the Kuiles south to central Chile, Australia, and New Zealand. Occurs also in the Indian Ocean and Red Sea. May wander into cooler waters in summer. See Leatherwood et al. (1980) for information on distribution in the eastern Pacific Ocean.