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| Hourglass Dolphin Lower Risk | ||||||||||||||
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| Lagenorhynchus cruciger ( Quoy & Gaimard, 1824) | ||||||||||||||
The Hourglass Dolphin (Lagenorynchus cruciger) is a small dolphin found in Antarctic and sub-Antarctic waters.
The dolphin was for a long time rarely seen. It was first identified as a new species by Qouy and Galmard in 1824 from a drawing made in the South Pacific in 1820. It is only the cetacean to have been widely accepted as a species on eye accounts alone 1. Indeed by 1960, despite decades of whalingAlbert I of Monaco) pose while flensing a catch Whaling is the hunting and killing of whales. Historically, poor conservation management by many nations led to far more whales being killed than could be sustained and to near extinction of several species. in the Southern OceanThe Southern Ocean is the body of water encircling the continent of Antarctica. It is the world's fourth-largest body of water, and the latest to be defined as an Ocean, having been accepted by a decision of the International Hydrographic Organization in, only three specimens had been brought to the attention of scientistA scientist is a person who is expert in an area of science and who uses scientific methods in research. Traditionally mathematics has been grouped with the sciences, but in modern times people tend not to regard mathematicians as scientists. Mathematicals. Even now only 6 complete and 14 partial specimens have been examined. Further information has been obtained from 4 strandings and boats which have deliberately set out to observe the dolphins in areas rarely otherwise visited by ships.
The Hourglass Dolphin is coloured black and white and for this reason was colloquially known by whalers as the "sea skunkMephitis Spilogale Conepatus The skunks or Mephitidae are a family of medium-sized mammals, typically black-and-white-furred, belonging to the order Carnivora. They are found throughout both North and South America, being absent only from the far north of". On each flank there is a white patch at the front of the dolphin, above the beak, eye and flipper and a second patch at the rear. These two patches are connected by a thin strip of white, creating, loosely speaking, an hourglass shape and hence the common name of the dolphin. The scientific name cruciger is from the LatinAlternative meanings: See Latin (disambiguation Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. It gained great importance as the formal language of the Roman Empire. All Romance languages are descended from Latin, and ma for "cross-carrier". That the white patches are supposed to resemble both an hourglass and a cross is perhaps indicative of how inexact these descriptions are! The remainder of the body is black.
In its usual range the dolphin is easily identifiable. Only the Southern Right Whale Dolphin is of comparable size and found so far south. The Right Whale Dolphin doesn't have a dorsal finDorsal 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 fu and so the two species are trivially distinguished from one another. The fin varies from one individual to another quite considerably. Broadly speaking it is tall and curved, and the curve may be particularly pronounced in older animals.
A fully grown adult is about 1.8m in length and weighs 90-120kg. Females are probably slightly smaller and lighter than males (from a sample size of nine specimens).