Indo-Pacific humpbacked dolphin (Marine Biodiversity in the Gulf of Thailand)

Indo-Pacific humpbacked dolphin

Sousa chinensis

Summary ⁵

The Chinese white dolphin (Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin, Sousa chinensis chinensis; Chinese: 中華白海豚; pinyin: Zhōnghuá bái hǎitún) is a humpback dolphin species, one of 80 cetacean species. An adult is white or pink and may appear as an albino dolphin to some. Uniquely, the population along the Chinese coast has pink skin, and the pink colour originates not from a pigment, but from blood vessels which were overdeveloped for thermoregulation. The body length is 2 to 3.5 m (6 ft 7 in...

Biology ⁶

Little is known about the behaviour of the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin, but small groups of around three to seven individuals are most commonly seen (5). These are slow-swimming dolphins, typically travelling at around 4.8 kilometres per hour (5). Despite this sluggishness, many aerial displays are seen; including breaching, when the dolphin leaps out of the water, lob tailing (slapping the surface of the water with the tail) and spyhopping, when the dolphin raises its head vertically out of the water and then sinks below the surface quietly (6). These dolphins feed primarily on reef-associated and estuarine fish (9). Individuals may be aggressive and this appears to affect dominance rank within the group (5).