Species: Lagenorhynchus obliquidens

Pacific White-sided Dolphin
Species

    Articles:

    Pacific white-sided dolphins in the Salish Sea

    Pacific white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens) are found in the colder offshore waters of the North Pacific, but they also occasionally occur in inshore waters of the Salish Sea, and more rarely, Puget Sound. They make use of cooperative foraging techniques, and feeding at night in dark conditions means their finely tuned sonar or echolocation serves them well.

    A pair of dolphins leaping out of water side by side.
    Kingdom
    Animalia
    Phylum
    Craniata
    Class

    Mammalia

    Order

    Cetacea

    Family

    Delphinidae

    Genus

    Lagenorhynchus

    Classification
    Other Global Common Names
    dauphin à flancs blancs du Pacifique
    Informal Taxonomy
    Animals, Vertebrates - Mammals - Whales and Dolphins
    Formal Taxonomy
    Animalia - Craniata - Mammalia - Cetacea - Delphinidae - Lagenorhynchus - >
    Habitat Type Description
    Marine
    Migration
    false - false - false - Seasonal movements not well understood in most areas. Off southern and central California and northwestern Baja California, apparently resident pods are augmented during fall through spring by influxes of animals possibly from north and offshore (Leatherwood and Reeves 1983).
    Non-migrant
    false
    Locally Migrant
    false
    Food Comments
    Eats various fishes (anchovies, hake, sauries) and squid. Apparently feeds primarily at night. Has been seen at dawn and dusk feeding with gulls on small surfacing balls of unidentified bait fishes. (Leatherwood and Reeves 1983).
    Reproduction Comments
    Calving season has been reported to be summer, but in recent studies calves have been found primarily in early fall (Leatherwood and Reeves 1983). <br><br>High seas drift net samples in Central North Pacific (Ferrero and Walker 1996): a calving period preceded sampling during late winter and spring; estimated gestation period 11-12 months; males sexually mature in 10-11 years, females in 8-11 years.
    Ecology Comments
    Gregarious. Forms herds of a thousand or more, though usually groups are of several hundred or less; herds generally are of all age classes and both sexes.
    Length
    2700
    Weight
    150000
    NatureServe Global Status Rank
    G5
    Global Status Last Reviewed
    1996-11-15
    Global Status Last Changed
    1996-11-15
    Conservation Status Map
    <img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?CA.BC=S4&US.AK=S4&US.CA=SNR&US.OR=__&US.WA=SNR" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
    Global Range
    Kamchatka Peninsula, Amchitka Island, and Kodiak Island south into Sea of Japan and along entire Pacific coast of Japan, and south to tip of Baja California in the eastern Pacific.
    ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.101274