Name : Fraser's Dolphin Scientific Name : Lagenodelphis hosei Class : Mammalia Family : Delphinidae
Order : Cetacea (suborder) - Odontoceti Shape : The body is fusiform and stocky; it has pronounced top and bottom careens at the base of the caudal fin. The snout is very short and rounded. There are 40 to 44 small cone-shaped teeth on each side of the upper jaw and 39 to 44 on each side of the lower jaw.
Fins : The dorsal fin is median, falcate, and small. The pectorals are small and thin, and the caudal, which is also small, has a median notch.
Length : It measures between 2.30 and 2.60 metres and newborns close to 110 cm. Weight : It weighs between 62 and 136 kg and newborns close to 19.3 kg.
Colour : The back is dark grey, and the stomach is white or a pinkish white. There are two parallel stripes on the flanks. The upper stripe, which is a creamy white, starts above and ahead of the eye and culminates by narrowing at the base of the tail. The lower stripe, which is black or dark grey, goes from the eye to the anus. There is also a black band between the mouth and the pectoral fins. The throat and chin are white, although the tip of the lower jaw is black. The upper jaw, the pectorals, the caudal, and the dorsal fin are black.
Diet : Mesopelagic fish, octopus and crabs. Population : It is common in the tropical and pelagic waters of the Pacific. Some have been captured in the Philippines for aquariums.
Habits : They have an aggressive way of swimming, and they surround themselves with foam when surfacing. They are quick and sometimes jump out of the water. Herd sizes vary from seven to eight individuals up to as many as 300 to 400. Mass strandings occur occasionally with these dolphins.
Distribution : Fraser's Dolphin is uniformly distributed throughout the open sea in the Indian and Pacific oceans.