Fraser's Dolphin (Lagenodelphis hosei) is a Suborders Mysticeti Odontoceti (see text) The order Cetacea includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. Cetus is Greek ketos (sea monster). Cetology is the branch of marine science accociated with the study of cetaceans. Cetaceans are the mammals most fully adapted to aquatic life. Their body is fusiform (spindle-shaped). The forelimbs... cetacean in the See genus (mathematics) for the use of the term in mathematics. See genus (music) for the use of the term in music. In biology, a genus (plural genera) is a grouping in the classification of living organisms having one or more related and morphologically similar species. In the common binomial... genus Genera See text Oceanic dolphins are the members of the Delphinidae family of cetaceans. These aquatic mammals are related to whales and porpoises. As the name implies, these dolphins tend to be found in the open seas, unlike the river dolphins, although a few species such as the Irrawaddy Dolphin... Delphinidae found in deep waters in the The Pacific Ocean (from the Latin name Mare Pacificum, peaceful sea, bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan) is the worlds largest body of water. It encompasses a third of the Earths surface, having an area of 179.7 million km² (69.4 million sq... Pacific Ocean and to a lesser extent in the The Indian Ocean is the third-largest body of water in the world, covering about 20% of the Earths water surface. It is bounded on the north by southern Asia (the Indian subcontinent); on the west by the Arabian Peninsula and Africa; on the east by the Malay Peninsula... Indian and The Atlantic Ocean is Earths second-largest ocean, covering approximately one-fifth of its surface. The oceans name, derived from Greek mythology, means the Sea of Atlas. This ocean occupies an elongated, S-shaped basin extending in a north-south direction and is divided into the North Atlantic... Atlantic Oceans.

Taxonomy

The earliest known interaction between mankind and a Fraser's Dolphin came on a beach in Map of Sarawak in East Malaysia Sarawak (Jawi:سراواك) is one of the two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Situated on the north-west of the island, Sarawak is the largest state of Malaysia, the second largest being its sister state, Sabah. The... Sarawak, Satellite photo of Borneo. Borneo (including the Kalimantan provinces of Indonesia, Sabah and Sarawak of Malaysia, and island, the third largest island in the world, located at the center of the Malay archipelago and of Indonesia. Borneo is considered part of the geographic region of Southeast Asia. Geography Borneo is... Borneo in 1895. Mr. E. Hose found a skull there and donated it to the The main entrance to the British Museum The British Museum is one of the worlds greatest and most famous museums. It was established in 1753 by Sir Hans Sloane, a physician and scientist who collected a great deal of literature and art at its present site at Montague House... British Museum. The scientific specific name is given in his honour. The skull remained unstudied until 1956 when Francis Fraser examined the skull and concluded that it was similar to species in both the Species Lagenorhynchus albirostris Lagenorhynchus acutus Lagenorhynchus obliquidens Lagenorhynchus obscurus Lagenorhynchus australis Lagenorhynchus cruciger Lagenorhynchus is a genus in the order cetacea containing six closely related species. These are the White-beaked Dolphin, Lagenorhynchus albirostris the Atlantic White-sided Dolphin, Lagenorhynchus acutus the Pacific White-sided Dolphin, Lagenorhynchus obliquidens the Dusky... Lagenorhynchus and Delphinus, being Latin for Dolphin, is a rather small (ranked 69th) northern constellation very close to the celestial equator. It was already included in Ptolemys list of 48 constellations and also forms part of the modern list of 88 constellations approved by the IAU. It looks remarkably like a... Delphinus genera but not the same as either. A new genus was created by simply merging these two names together.

It wasn't until 1971 that the whole body of a Fraser's Dolphin, as it was by then becoming known, was discovered. At that time washed-up specimens were found on For the Australian islands, see Cocos (Keeling) Islands Cocos Island is an offshore island of the Republic of Costa Rica, called Isla del Coco in Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Discoverers of the island: J. Lines (Diario de Costa Rica, May 12, 1940) cites Fernández de Oviedo who claims that the... Cocos Island in the eastern Pacific, in Motto: United for the Common Wealth Other Australian states and territories Capital Adelaide Governor Marjorie Jackson-Nelson Premier Mike Rann (ALP) Area 1,043,514 km² (4th)  - Land 983,482 km²  - Water 60,032 km² (5.75%) Population (2004)  - Population 1,534,300 (5th)  - Density 1... South Australia and in The Republic of South Africa (pronunciation) is a large republic in Southern Africa. It is located at the southern tip of the continent, and borders Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Swaziland. The small nation of Lesotho is entirely contained within South African territory. Its economy is the largest and most... South Africa.

Physical description

Fraser Dolphins' are about 1m long and 20kg weight at birth, growing to 2.75m and 200kg at adulthood. They have a stocky build, a small fin in relation to the size of the body, conspicously small flippers. The Dorsal Fin of the Orca A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of fishes, whales, dolphins and porpoises. Its main purpose is to stabilise the animal against rolling and assist in sudden turns. Some animals have developed dorsal fins with protective functions, such as spines or venom... dorsal fin and beak are also insubstantial. The upper side is a grey-blue to grey-brown. A dirty cream coloured line runs along the flanks from the beak, above the eye, to the anus. There is a dark stripe under this line. The belly and throat are usually white, sometimes tinged pink. The lack of a prominent is a distinguishing characteristic of the Dolphin. From a distance however it may be confused with the Binomial name Stenella coeruleoalba (Meyen, 1833) Striped Dolphin range The Striped Dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) is an extensively studied dolphin that is found in temperate and tropical waters of all the worlds oceans. Taxonomy The Striped Dolphin is one of five species in the genus Stenella. It was discovered by... Striped Dolphin which has a similar coloration and is found in the same areas of ocean.

Fraser Dolphins' swim quickly in large tightly-packed groups of about 100-1000 in number. Often porpoising, the group chop up the water tremendously. The sight of seeing a large group fleeing from a fishing vessels has been reported as "very dramatic".

The species feeds on pelagic Fish might refer to: Fish - vertebrates with gills which live in water Fish (sometimes FISH) - the British code-word for World War II German stream cipher teleprinter secure communications devices The FISH (FIbonacci SHrinking) stream cipher published in 1993 Fish - the former lead singer of progressive rock band Marillion fluorescent... fish, Suborders Myopsina Oegopsina Squids are the large, diverse group of marine mollusks, popular as food in cuisines as widely separated as the Japanese and the Italian. In fish markets and restaurants in English-speaking countries, it is often known by the name calamari, from the Italian word for these animals... squid and Suborders Not necessary complete list: Aristeidae Penaeidae Sergestidae Sicyoniidae Solenoceridae Nematocarcinidae Atyidae Pasiphaeoidae Rhynocinetidae Campylonotidae Palaemonidae Alpheidae Ogyrididae Hippolytidae Proussidae Pandalidae Crangonidae True shrimp are small, swimming, decapod crustaceans usually classified in the suborder Natantia, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Taxonomy A number of... shrimp found some distance below the surface of the water (200-500 metres). Virtually no sunlight penetrates this depth and so feeding is carried out using Animal echolocation is the ability of some animals to locate objects by emitting sound waves and listening for the echo. This is used to detect obstacles, predators and prey. It is used by bats, dolphins and some whales. Two bird groups also employ this system for navigating through caves, the... echolocation alone.

Population and distribution

Though only accounted for relatively recently, the number of reported sightings has become substantial - indicating that the species may not be as rare as thought as recently as the 1980s. However the species is still not nearly as well understood as its more coastal cousins. No global population estimates exist.

The Dolphin is normally sighted in deep tropical waters; between 30&deg S and 20&deg N. The Eastern Pacific is the most reliable site for viewings. Groups of stranded dolphins have been found as far afield as The French Republic or France ( French: République française or France) is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents. France is a democracy organised as a... France and The Republic Eastern of the Uruguay (Spanish: República Oriental del Uruguay), is a Spanish speaking country located in southern South America. The nation is triangular in shape and is bordered by Brazil to the north, the Uruguay River to the west, the estuary of the Rio de la Plata... Uruguay. However these are regarded as anomalous and possibly due to unusual Oceanography (from Ocean + Greek γράφειν = write), also called oceanology and marine science is the study of the earths oceans and their interlinked ecosystems and chemical and physical processes. There are five major divisions within the science: biological oceanography or marine biology, which is... oceanographic conditions, such as This article is about Pacific ocean temperature anomalies. El Niño is also the nickname of Sergio García. Chart of ocean surface temperature anomaly [°C] during the last strong El Niño in December 1997 El Niño and La Niña ( Spanish... El Niño.

The species is also relatively common in the The Gulf of Mexico is a major body of water bordered and nearly landlocked by North America. The gulfs eastern, north, and northwestern shores lie within the United States of America (specifically, the states of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas); its southwestern and southern shores lie within Mexico... Gulf of Mexico but less so in the rest of the Atlantic Ocean.

References

• Whales Dolphins and Porpoises, Mark Carwardine, Dorling Kindersley Handbooks, ISBN 0751327816
• National Audubon Society Guide to Marine Mammals of the World, Reeves, Stewart, Clapham and Powell, ISBN 0375411410