The Zoochat Photographic Guide To Cetaceans

LIPOTIDAE
Yangtze River Dolphin

One recently-extinct species.

The last known individual died in captivity in 2002. There are no photos in the Zoochat galleries of living animals but there are a number of photos of taxidermy specimens.



Lipotes
One recently-extinct species.


Yangtze River Dolphin or Baiji Lipotes vexillifer
Monotypic.


Photo by @Ding Lingwei at Shanghai Zoo (China) (taxidermy specimen)

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Baiji (Lipotes vexillifer), the second to last wild specimen - ZooChat


Photo by @Chlidonias at the National Zoological Museum of China (Beijing, China) (taxidermy specimen)

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Baiji (Lipotes vexillifer) - ZooChat


Photo by @Lucas Lang at the Wuhan University Wanlin Museum (China) (taxidermy specimen)

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Baiji/ Lipotes vexillifer from Wuhan University Wanlin Museum - ZooChat
 
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DELPHINIDAE
Oceanic Dolphins

About thirty-five to forty species, in nineteen genera.



When this thread was first created the taxonomy used for Delphinidae was one from the 1980s. I'll put that arrangement below and the current arrangement afterwards so they can be compared. The main differences are that Stenoninae no longer exists (Steno is now known to be related to the melon-headed whales in Globicephalinae, and the other two genera - Sotalia and Sousa - have been placed in Delphininae); Grampus has been moved from Delphininae to Globicephalinae; Orcaella has been moved from its own monotypic subfamily into Globicephalinae; and Orca has been moved out of Globicephalinae into its own subfamily Orcininae.

Because incorporating these changes would mean re-organising almost the entire rest of the thread, the following posts will be left in their original order.


However one major generic change which has been made is that Lagenorhynchus has been discovered to be paraphyletic. This genus has traditionally had six species contained within it, of which all but one have been split off to other genera as listed here:

White-beaked Dolphin Lagenorhynchus albirostris
Atlantic White-sided Dolphin Leucopleurus acutus (new genus)
Pacific White-sided Dolphin Aethalodelphis obliquidens (new genus)
Dusky Dolphin Aethalodelphis obscurus
Peale's Dolphin Cephalorhynchus australis (existing genus)
Hourglass Dolphin Cephalorhynchus cruciger

Alternatively, the last four species there may be placed together in a genus Sagmatias.




ARRANGEMENT OF GENERA IN DELPHINIDAE AS USED IN THIS THREAD:


Subfamily Stenoninae

Steno
Sousa
Sotalia

Subfamily Delphininae

Lagenorhynchus
Leucopleurus (split from Lagenorhynchus)
Grampus
Tursiops
Stenella
Delphinus
Lagenodelphis

Subfamily Lissodelphininae

Lissodelphis

Subfamily Cephalorhynchinae

Cephalorhynchus
Aethalodelphis (split from Lagenorhynchus)

Subfamily Globicephalinae

Peponocephala
Feresa
Pseudorca
Orcinus
Globicephala

Subfamily Orcaellinae

Orcaella




CURRENT ARRANGEMENT OF GENERA IN DELPHINIDAE:


Subfamily Delphininae

Delphinus
Lagenodelphis
Sotalia
Sousa
Stenella
Tursiops

Subfamily Globicephalinae

Feresa
Globicephala
Grampus
Orcaella
Peponocephala
Pseudorca
Steno

Subfamily Lissodelphininae

Cephalorhynchus
Aethalodelphis (split from Lagenorhynchus)
Lissodelphis

Subfamily Orcininae

Orcinus

incertae sedis

Lagenorhynchus
Leucopleurus (split from Lagenorhynchus)
 
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Sousa
One to four species, of which three are represented in the Zoochat galleries.

Traditionally has been treated as a single species (Sousa chinensis) but the different taxa are genetically distinct and it is now standard to split them as four full species.



Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin Sousa chinensis
Two subspecies: chinensis and taiwanensis.


Photo by @FunkyGibbon at Chimelong Ocean Kingdom (China) (probably subspecies chinensis)

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Chinese White Dolphin - ZooChat


Both photos below by @devilfish at Pattaya Ocean World (Thailand) (subspecies chinensis) - not ideal surroundings, but the clearest photos for showing the appearance of the species.

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Humpback dolphin wearing glasses, June 2013 - ZooChat


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Humpback dolphin with ball, June 2013 - ZooChat


Indian Ocean Humpback Dolphin Sousa plumbea
Monotypic.


Both photos below by @YANG Zhuofan at SeaWorld Abu Dhabi (UAE)

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Indian Humpback Dolphin - ZooChat


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Indian Humpback Dolphin - ZooChat


Australian Humpback Dolphin Sousa sahulensis
Monotypic.


Both photos below by @LaughingDove at Gold Coast Sea World (Australia)

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Australian Humpback Dolphin - ZooChat


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Australian Humpback Dolphin - ZooChat


Atlantic Humpback Dolphin Sousa teuszii
Monotypic.

There are no photos of this species in the Zoochat galleries.
 
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Sotalia
Two species, of which one is represented in the Zoochat galleries.

Traditionally has been treated as a single species (Sotalia fluviatilis) with freshwater and marine populations but the two forms are genetically distinct and it is now standard to split them as distinct species.



Tucuxi Sotalia fluviatilis
Monotypic.

There are no photos of this species in the Zoochat galleries.



Costero or Guiana Dolphin Sotalia guianensis
Monotypic.


Both photos below by @Giant Eland at Acuario Rodadero (Colombia)

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Guiana dolphin (Sotalia guianensis) - ZooChat


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Guiana dolphin (Sotalia guianensis) - ZooChat
 
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Lagenorhynchus
Formerly six species, now just one.


This genus has traditionally had six species contained within it but genetic studies have shown it to be paraphyletic. All but one have been split off to other genera as listed here:

*White-beaked Dolphin Lagenorhynchus albirostris

*Atlantic White-sided Dolphin Leucopleurus acutus (new genus)

*Pacific White-sided Dolphin Aethalodelphis obliquidens (new genus)
*Dusky Dolphin Aethalodelphis obscurus

*Peale's Dolphin Cephalorhynchus australis (existing genus)
*Hourglass Dolphin Cephalorhynchus cruciger


The first two genera (Lagenorhynchus and Leucopleurus) will be covered in this post, while the other four species will appear later in the thread under the Cephalorhynchus post.



White-beaked Dolphin Lagenorhynchus albirostris
Monotypic.


Photo by @Merintia at Dolfinarium Harderwijk (Netherlands)

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Lagenorhynchus albirostris - ZooChat


Photo by @Giant Eland in the wild, Iceland

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White-beaked Dolphin (Lagenorhynchus albirostris) - ZooChat



Atlantic White-sided Dolphin Leucopleurus acutus
Monotypic.


Photo by @Giant Eland in the wild, USA

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Atlantic white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus acutus) - ZooChat
 
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Tursiops
Three or more species.


Traditionally just a single species was recognised in this genus - the Common Bottlenose Dolphin Tursiops truncatus - until the largely-inshore Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin Tursiops aduncus was split in 1998.

More recent splits included the Burrunan Dolphin Tursiops australis of the southeast coast of Victoria (Australia), which was split from T. aduncus in 2011. The validity of this taxa has been questioned and it is not fully accepted as being distinct, however it has been kept separate in this thread.

Tamanend's Bottlenose Dolphin Tursiops erebennus, of the Atlantic coast of North America, was split from T. truncatus in 2022 (see https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article/196/4/1608/6585199?login=false).

The inshore Lahille's Bottlenose Dolphin T. truncatus gephyreus, which is restricted to the Atlantic coast of South America, is also likely to be a distinct species.

There are likely to be further splits from T. truncatus in the future.




Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin Tursiops aduncus
No subspecies currently named (other than australis if it is not split), although there are Indian Ocean and Australasian populations which are probably distinct.


Photo by @Camparso at Hangzhou Polar Ocean World (China)

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(Indian Ocean bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) - 16.04.2018 - ZooChat


Photo by @WhistlingKite24 at Sea World Gold Coast (Australia) (of the Australasian population)

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Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin - ZooChat


Photo by @aardvark250 in the wild, South Africa (of the Indian Ocean population)

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Indo-pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) - ZooChat



Burrunan Dolphin Tursiops australis
Monotypic.

Described in 2011. May not be distinct from T. aduncus.


Both photos below by @ThylacineAlive in the wild, USA

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Burrunan Dolphin - ZooChat


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Burrunan Dolphin - ZooChat



Tamanend's Bottlenose Dolphin Tursiops erebennus
Monotypic.

Described in 2022, as a split from T. truncatus.


Both photos below by @Giant Eland in the wild, USA

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Tamanend's bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops erebennus) - ZooChat


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Tamanend's bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops erebennus) - ZooChat



Common Bottlenose Dolphin Tursiops truncatus
Four subspecies currently recognised: gephyreus, nuuanu, ponticus, truncatus.

Taxonomic notes: The subspecies gillii of the eastern Pacific has been merged with truncatus as a synonym. The inshore Lahille's Bottlenose Dolphin T. t. gephyreus, which is restricted to the Atlantic coast of South America, is likely to be a distinct species.



Both photos below by @Maguari at L'Oceanografic Valencia (Spain) (the Black Sea Bottlenose Dolphin, subspecies ponticus - the second photo, where the animal is second from the right, shows the appearance in contrast to Atlantic T. t. truncatus)

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Black Sea Bottle-nosed Dolphin at Oceanografic, 29/05/11 - ZooChat


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Atlantic and Black Sea Bottle-nosed Dolphins at Oceanografic, 29/05/11 - ZooChat


Photo by @Javan Rhino at Zoo Duisburg (Germany) (subspecies truncatus)

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Common bottlenose dolphin - ZooChat


Photo by @Mantrize at Selwo Marina Benalmadena (Spain) (subspecies truncatus)

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Bottlenose dolphin - ZooChat


Photo by @Zoological Point at SeaWorld San Diego (USA) (an animal of the Pacific subspecies gillii, which has been merged into T. t. truncatus)

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Tursiops truncatus gillii - ZooChat
 
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Kakapo said:
Pacific bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus gillii
Taxonomic note: Sometimes elevated to species level (Tursiops gillii), this is not widely accepted.
No photos of this subspecies have been uploaded to the Gallery yet.
Click to expand...

I know of a few Zoochatters who photographed this species at Knowsley Safari Park but have yet to upload images - so this gap may be filled in future.
 
Stenella
Five species, of which four are represented in the Zoochat galleries.



Pantropical Spotted Dolphin Stenella attenuata
Two named subspecies: attenuata (oceanic) and graffmani (coastal East Pacific). The Hawaiian population may be an undescribed subspecies.


Photo by @RatioTile at Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium (Japan) (probably subspecies attenuata)

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Pantropical Spotted Dolphin (Stenella attenuata) - ZooChat


Photo by @ralph in the wild, Costa Rica (probably subspecies graffmani)

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Pantropical Spotted Dolphin - ZooChat



Clymene Dolphin Stenella clymene
Monotypic.

Taxonomic note: a species derived from ancient hybridisation between the Spinner Dolphin and Striped Dolphin.


There are no photos of this species in the Zoochat galleries.



Striped Dolphin Stenella coeruleoalba
Monotypic.


Photo by @Jakub at Taiji Whale Museum (Japan)

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Striped dolphin - Taiji Whale Museum - ZooChat


Photo by @Giant Eland in the wild, the Azores (Portugal)

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Striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) - ZooChat



Atlantic Spotted Dolphin Stenella frontalis
Monotypic.


Photo by @Giant Eland in the wild, the Azores (Portugal) - there are some technically better photos in the Portugal Wildlife gallery but this one illustrates the full adult patterning best.

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Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis) - ZooChat


Photo by @Giant Eland at Dolphin Research Center (USA) - the animal in the foreground is the Atlantic Spotted Dolphin: this is a juvenile specimen, which lacks the spotting of adults.

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IMG_9998 - ZooChat



Spinner Dolphin Stenella longirostris
At least four subspecies: centroamericana, longirostris, orientalis, roseiventris


Photo by @Giant Eland in the wild, Hawaii (USA) (subspecies longirostris)

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Dolphin Watch, Maui, Hawaii 2008 - ZooChat


Photo by @Hix in the wild, Christmas Island (Australia) (perhaps subspecies roseiventris)

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Spinner Dolphin - ZooChat
 
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Delphinus
At least two species.


This genus traditionally contained a single species (the Common Dolphin Delphinus delphis) which was later split into two species, the Short-beaked Common Dolphin Delphinus delphis and Long-beaked Common Dolphin Delphinus capensis, which could be distinguished by the length of the rostrum. In recent years genetic studies have shown that this is a false distinction, and the genus was returned to containing just a single species.

In 2024 a population found along the western coast of North America, until then treated as a subspecies of D. delphis (and prior to that as D. capensis), was split as a full species (Delphinus bairdii) based on genetic and morphological evidence, and the recognition that the population was sympatric with "Short-beaked" Common Dolphins, the two existing in discreet pods without hybridisation. (See https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/mms.13133).

This paper also notes that there is a similar population along the western coast of South America which may be separable, and that the Common Dolphin may still hold further "hidden" species.




Common Dolphin Delphinus delphis
Three subspecies currently recognised: delphis, ponticus, tropicalis.


Photo by @Hix in the wild, Australia (subspecies delphis)

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Common Dolphin - ZooChat


Photo by @Sicarius at Oita Marine Palace Aquarium (Japan) (based on appearance probably the subspecies tropicalis, which is a very long-beaked form)

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Indo-Pacific common dolphin (Delphinus delphis cf. tropicalis) - ZooChat



Eastern North Pacific Common Dolphin Delphinus bairdii
Monotypic.


Photo by @GiornoPizza in the wild, USA

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Common Dolphin - ZooChat
 
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Lagenodelphis
One species.


Fraser's or Sarawak Dolphin Lagenodelphis hosei
Monotypic.

There are no photos of this species in the Zoochat galleries.
 
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Cephalorhynchus
Six species, of which five are represented in the Zoochat galleries.


Typically there are four species contained within Cephalorhynchus. However the genus Lagenorhynchus was found to be paraphyletic and two of the species have been moved to Cephalorhynchus (the Peale's Dolphin C. australis and the Hourglass Dolphin C. cruciger). Two further species from Lagenorhynchus were also moved to a new genus, Aethalodelphis (the Pacific White-sided Dolphin A. obliquidens and the Dusky Dolphin A. obscurus), which is related to Cephalorhynchus.

Alternatively all four of these species may be placed together into a separate genus Sagmatias.

In this thread I have placed the Peale's Dolphin and Hourglass Dolphin under Cephalorhynchus, and the Pacific White-sided Dolphin and Dusky Dolphin under Aethalodelphis (in the next post, after the Cephalorhynchus species).



Peale's Dolphin Cephalorhynchus australis
Monotypic.


Both photos below by @Therabu in the wild, Chile

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Peale's dolphin (Lagenorhynchus australis) - ZooChat


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Peale's dolphin (Lagenorhynchus australis) - ZooChat



Commerson's Dolphin Cephalorhynchus commersonii
Two subspecies: commersonii and kerguelenensis.


Photo by @Veno at Sendai Umino-Mori Aquarium (Japan) (subspecies commersonii)

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Commerson's Dolphin (Cephalorhynchus commersonii) - ZooChat



Hourglass Dolphin Cephalorhynchus cruciger
Monotypic.

There are no photos of this species in the Zoochat galleries.



Chilean Dolphin Cephalorhynchus eutropia
Monotypic.


Photo by @Giant Eland in the wild, USA

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Chilean dolphin (Cephalorhynchus eutropia) - ZooChat



Heaviside's Dolphin Cephalorhynchus heavisidii
Monotypic.


Photo by @Giant Eland in the wild, South Africa

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Heaviside's dolphin (Cephalorhynchus heavisidii) - ZooChat



Hector's Dolphin Cephalorhynchus hectori
Two subspecies: hectori and maui.


Photo by @Najade in the wild, New Zealand (South Island subspecies hectori)

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Hector's Dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori) - ZooChat


Photo by @Chlidonias in the wild, New Zealand (South Island subspecies hectori)

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Hectors dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori) - ZooChat
 
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Aethalodelphis
Two species, both of which are represented in the Zoochat galleries.

Otherwise placed in Sagmatias (see discussion under the Cephalorhynchus header in the previous post).



Pacific White-sided Dolphin Aethalodelphis obliquidens
Monotypic.


Photo by @bubblywums at Miami Seaquarium (USA)

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Ohana & Li'i, Pacific white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens) - ZooChat



Dusky Dolphin Aethalodelphis obscurus
Three or four subspecies: fitzroyi, obscurus, posidonia. The New Zealand population is considered distinct but is unnamed (a proposed name superciliosus appears not to have been accepted).


Photo by @Giant Eland in the wild, South Africa (subspecies obscurus)

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dusky dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obscurus) - ZooChat


Photo by @Najade in the wild, New Zealand (unnamed subspecies)

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Dusky Dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obscurus) - ZooChat


Photo by @lintworm in the wild, New Zealand (unnamed subspecies)

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Dusky dolphin - ZooChat
 
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Orcinus
One or more species.



Killer Whale or Orca Orcinus orca

The taxonomy of Killer Whales is complex and debatable. There are multiple regional forms (ecotypes) around the world, including coastal, pelagic, and migratory or wandering forms, which often have specialised diets and which differ in size, colour, and in details of their patterning. It is likely to be a species-complex.

A 2024 paper (https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.231368) formally proposed the American North Pacific populations as two distinct species, Orcinus rectipinnis for the mammal-eating "transient" form (Bigg's Killer Whale) and Orcinus ater for the fish-eating "resident" form. This was not taken up although the names have been accepted as subspecies.


Ten ecotypes have been detailed around the world, which include potential subspecies or full species. They are listed below, but there are several other discreet populations around the world which do not fall into these groupings, such as those resident around coastal New Zealand which feed mostly on rays and sharks.

Northern Hemisphere:

"Resident" (a fish-eating coastal form found on both sides of the North Pacific, recently named Orcinus ater as above)
"Transient" (Bigg's Killer Whale, a mammal-eating migratory form found on both sides of the North Pacific, recently named Orcinus rectipinnis as above)
"Off-shore" (a pelagic form of the North Pacific)
"Eastern North Atlantic type 1" (a fish-eating coastal form)
"Eastern North Atlantic type 2" (a very large whale-eating pelagic form)

Southern Hemisphere:

"Antarctic Killer Whale (type A)" (a very large whale-eating pelagic form)
"Pack Ice Killer Whale (large type B)" (a seal-eating form of the Antarctic pack ice)
"Gerlache Killer Whale (small type B)" (a coastal Antarctic form, possibly penguin-eaters)
"Ross Sea Killer Whale (type C)" (from the pack ice of eastern Antarctica, possibly fish-eaters)
"Subantarctic Killer Whale (type D)" (a little-known subantarctic form, possibly fish-eaters)

Types B and C are distinctively coloured - grey-and-white rather than black-and-white, and often appearing yellow-brown due to diatoms on the skin - and are smaller than other types, extremely so in type C which only grows to a length of about six metres in males.




Photo by @Pleistohorse in the wild, Alaska (USA) (resident ecotype "Orcinus ater")

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Orca bull - Alaska - ZooChat


Photo by @gentle lemur in the wild, USA's Pacific Northwest (transient Bigg's Killer Whale "Orcinus rectipinnis")

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Orca bull breaching - ZooChat


Photo by @Toki in the wild, Japan (transient Bigg's Killer Whale "Orcinus rectipinnis" or a similar form)

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Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) - ZooChat


Photo by @BlobfishBoy at SeaWorld San Diego (USA) (North Atlantic type 1)

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Orca (Ulises) - ZooChat


Photo by @ocean_boy at Mundo Marino (Argentina) (a locally-rescued animal, possibly Antarctic Killer Whale type A)

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Kshamenk - ZooChat


Photo by @ZooGirl101 in the wild, New Zealand (resident coastal animals which feed primarily on rays and sharks)

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Killer Whale/Orca - ZooChat
 
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Globicephala
Two species, both of which are represented in the Zoochat galleries.



Short-finned Pilot Whale Globicephala macrorhynchus
No subspecies have been described, although there are genetically discreet populations.


Photo by @Flyer.Nick at SeaWorld San Diego (USA)

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Short-Finned Pilot Whale (globicephala macrorhynchus) 06/22 - ZooChat


Photo by @RatioTile at SeaWorld San Diego (USA)

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Short-Finned Pilot Whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) - ZooChat



Long-finned Pilot Whale Globicephala melas
Two subspecies: edwardii and melas.


Photo by @alexkant at Hangzhou Polar Ocean World (China). The photo is titled as being this species, but on a different photo in the gallery the identification was disputed.

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Long-finned pilot whale/ Globicephala melas - ZooChat


Photo by @ZooGirl101 in the wild, New Zealand. Likely to be Long-finned Pilot Whales (of the Southern Hemisphere subspecies edwardii) as this is the common species here.

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Pilot Whales - ZooChat


Photo by @Giant Eland in the wild, USA (North Atlantic subspecies melas).

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long-finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas) - ZooChat
 
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