Right whale dolphin

Right whale dolphins
Northern species, Lissodelphis borealis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Infraorder: Cetacea
Family: Delphinidae
Subfamily: Lissodelphininae
Genus: Lissodelphis
Gloger, 1841
Type species
Delphinus peronii [1]
Lacépède, 1804
Species

L. borealis Peale, 1848
L. peronii Lacépède, 1804

Northern and southern right whale dolphin ranges

Right whale dolphins are cetaceans belonging to the genus Lissodelphis. It contains the northern right whale dolphin (Lissodelphis borealis) and the southern right whale dolphin (Lissodelphis peronii). These cetaceans are predominantly black, white beneath, and some of the few without a dorsal fin or ridge. They are smaller members of the delphinid family, oceanic dolphins, and very slender. Despite scientists being long acquainted with the species (the Northern species was identified by Titian Peale in 1848 and the Southern by Bernard Germain de la Cépède in 1804), little is known about them in terms of life history and behaviour.

  1. ^ Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M., eds. (2005). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.