Plumbeous humpback dolphin

Sousa plumbea

Some biologists consider Humpback Dolphins in the Indo-Pacific to consist of two species: S. plumbea in the western Indian Ocean, from South Africa to at least the east coast of India, and S. chinensis, from the east coast of India to China and Australia. These two geographic forms differ markedly in their external morphology, and are moderately distinct in their skull morphometrics (see Jefferson and Van Waerebeek 2004 for a partial summary).
Plumbeous (Indian) humpback dolphin These dolphins are numerous around goa, and can be very playful! :) 5D mkIII,Fall,Geotagged,India,John rowell,Plumbeous humpback dolphin,Sousa plumbea,adhocphotographer

Naming

Synonym(s):
Delphinus plumbeus G. Cuvier, 1829
Steno plumbeus (G. Cuvier, 1829)

Common Name(s):
Plumbeous humpback dolphin
Indian humpback dolphin

Distribution

S. plumbea is found in a narrow strip of coastal waters from southwestern tip of South Africa eastward around the rim of the Indian Ocean to the southeastern coast of India (Jefferson and Karczmarski 2001; Ross 2002; IWC 2003). It occurs off Madagascar, Mayotte and the Comoro Islands and around the Arabian Peninsula from the Red Sea into the Arabian (Persian) Gulf and east to Pakistan. There is an extralimital record from Israel in the Mediterranean Sea (apparently a stray that moved through the Suez Canal from the Red Sea – Kerem et al. 2001). In the region between northeastern India and Myanmar (Burma) plumbea-type and chinensis-type dolphins are partially sympatric.

Habitat

S. plumbea are usually seen within a narrow strip of shallow near-shore waters and in estuarine areas (Ross et al. 1994, Jefferson and Karczmarski 2001), seldom in water deeper than 20-30 m (Karczmarski et al. 2000).

References:

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http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/20424/0
Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionChordata
ClassMammalia
OrderArtiodactyla
FamilyDelphinidae
GenusSousa
SpeciesSousa plumbea
Photographed in
India