? Commerson's Dolphin Conservation status: Unknown
A Commerson's Dolphin in an aquarium. Photo by Kirsten Wahlquist.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Subclass: Eutheria Order: Cetacea Suborder: Odontoceti Family: Delphinidae Genus: Cephalorhynchus Species: C. commersonii
Binomial name
Cephalorhynchus commersonii Lacépède, 1804
Commerson's Dolphin range

Commerson's Dolphin (Cephalorhynchus commersonii) is one of four dolphins in the Cephalorhynchus genus. The species has also the common names Skunk Dolphin and Piebald Dolphin. The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive. ... Image File history File links Commdolph01. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Phyla Porifera (sponges) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria Placozoa Subregnum Bilateria  Acoelomorpha  Orthonectida  Rhombozoa  Myxozoa  Superphylum Deuterostomia     Chordata (vertebrates, etc. ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicates Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... Orders Subclass Embrithopoda (extinct) Subclass Creodonta (extinct) Hyaenodontidae Oxyaenidae Subclass Multituberculata (extinct) Plagiaulacida Cimolodonta Subclass Palaeoryctoides (extinct) Subclass Triconodonta (extinct) Subclass Placentalia Afrosoricida Artiodactyla Carnivora Cetacea Chiroptera Dermoptera Desmostylia (extinct) Hyracoidea Insectivora Lagomorpha Macroscelidea Perissodactyla Pholidota Primates Proboscidea Rodentia Scandentia Sirenia Tubulidentata Xenarthra Subclass Marsupialia Dasyuromorphia Didelphimorphia Diprotodontia Microbiotheria Notoryctemorphia... Eutheria is a taxon (specifically, an infraclass) nearly synonymous with Placentalia, containing the placental mammals and the nearest ancestors of placental mammals (which are known only from the fossil record). ... Suborders Mysticeti Odontoceti (see text for families) The order Cetacea includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. ... Families See text The toothed whales (systematic name Odontoceti) form a suborder of the cetaceans. ... Genera See text Oceanic dolphins are the members of the Delphinidae family of cetaceans. ... Species Cephalorhyncus commersonii Cephalorhyncus eutropia Cephalorhyncus heavisidii Cephalorhyncus hectori Cephalorhynchus is a genus in the Delphinidae (dolphin) family. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is a standard convention used for naming species. ... Bernard Germain tienne de la Ville, Comte de Lac de (December 26, 1756 - October 6, 1825) was a French naturalist. ... 1804 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1357x628, 33 KB) , User:Pcb21 after User:Vardion, See Wikipedia:WikiProject Cetaceans File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Genera See article below. ...

The dolphin is found in two geographically distinct areas:

• around the southern tip of South America around Tierra del Fuego and the Falkland Islands, and
• near the Kerguelen Islands in the southern part of the Indian Ocean.

The dolphin is named for Philibert Commerson, who first described them in 1767 after he sighted them in the Strait of Magellan. South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... Tierra del Fuego (Spanish: land of Fire) is an archipelago at the southernmost tip of South America. ... Kerguelen Islands Orthographic projection centred over Kerguelen Island The Kerguelen Archipelago is in the southern Indian Ocean at 49°20′ S 70°20′ E. The main island, Grande Terre, originally called Desolation Island, is 6,675 km2 and it is surrounded by another 300 smaller islands and islets, forming an... Dr. Philibert Commerçon (also sometimes spelled Commerson) (1727 - 1773) was a French naturalist, best known for accompanying Louis Antoine de Bougainville on his voyage of circumnavigation in 1766 - 1769. ... 1767 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The Strait of Magellan, near Punta Arenas The Strait of Magellan is a navigable route immediately south of mainland South America. ...

Physical description

Commerson's Dolphin has a very distinctive patterning. It has a black head, dorsal fin, and fluke, with a white throat and body. The demarcation between the two colours is very clear-cut. In shape and size—the creature is stocky and grows to around 1.5 m—resembles that of that a porpoise, but its conspicious behaviour (see behaviour below) is typical of a dolphin. The dorsal fin has a long, straight leading edge which ends in a curved tip. The trailing is typically concave but not falcate. The fluke has a notch in the middle. This dolphin has no beak. Dorsal Fin of the Orca A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of fishes, whales, dolphins and porpoises. ... (A) Fluke is another name for trematodes, a kind of flatworm (for example, the Liver Fluke). ... Genera Neophocaena Phocoena - Harbor porpoises Phocoenoides - Dalls porpoises The porpoises are small cetaceans of the family Phocoenidae; they are related to whales and dolphins. ... Binomial name Cephalorhynchus commersonii Lacépède, 1804 Commersons Dolphin range Commersons Dolphin (Cephalorhynchus commersonii) is one of four dolphins in the Cephalorhynchus genus. ...

Females reach breeding age at six to nine years. Males reach sexual maturation at about the same age. Mating occurs in the spring and summer and calving occurs after a gestation period of 11 months. The oldest known Commerson's Dolphin died at age 18.

Population and distribution

The species is distributed in two locations. The larger population is found inshore in various inlets in Argentina, in the Strait of Magellan and near the Falkland Islands. The second population (discovered in the 1950s) resides near the Kerguelen Islands, 8,000 km to the east of their nearest special cousins. They prefer shallow waters. Global populations are unknown, but the species is accepted to be locally common. A survey in 1984 estimated there to be 3,400 individuals in the Strait of Magellan. // Events and trends The 1950s in Western society was marked with a sharp rise in the economy for the first time in almost 30 years and return to the 1920s-type consumer society built on credit and boom-times, as well as the height of the baby-boom from returning... 1984 is a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Behaviour

Commerson's Dolphin is very active. It is often seen swimming rapidly on the surface and leaping from it. It also spins and twists as it swims and may surf on breaking waves when very close to the shore. It will bow-ride and swim behind fast-moving boats.

This dolphin feeds on a mix of coastal and pelagic fish and squid. Those in the South American sub-population supplement their diet with crustaceans. Suborders Myopsina Oegopsina Squids are the large, diverse group of marine mollusks, popular as food in cuisines as widely separated as the Korean and the Italian. ... Classes Class Branchiopoda Subclass Phyllopoda Subclass Sarsostraca Class Remipedia Order Enantiopoda Order Nectiopoda Class Cephalocarida Order Brachypoda Class Maxillopoda Subclass Mystacocarida Subclass Copepoda Subclass Branchiura Subclass Pentastomida Subclass Tantulocarida Subclass Thecostraca Infraclass Cirripedia Class Ostracoda Order Metacopina Subclass Myodocopa Subclass Podocopa Class Malacostraca Subclass Eumalacostraca Subclass Hoplocarida Subclass Phyllocarida The...

Conservation

The IUCN lists Commerson's Dolphin as data deficient in its Red List of Threatened Species. The proximity of the dolphin to the shore makes accidental killing in gillnets a common occurrence. The dolphin was killed for use as crab bait by some Argentianian and Chilean fishermen in the 1970s and 80s. This practice has been reduced. The World Conservation Union or International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. ... The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List and Red Data List), created in 1963, is the worlds most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species. ... This article provides extensive lists of events and significant personalities of the 1970s. ... // Events and trends The 1980s marked an abrupt shift towards more conservative lifestyles after the momentous cultural revolutions which took place in the 60s and 70s and the definition of the AIDS virus in 1981. ...

References

• National Audubon Society: Guide to Marine Mammals of the World ISBN 0375411410
• Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals ISBN 0125513402