Cephalorhynchus

Hector 's dolphin ( Cephalorynchus hectori )

The black and white dolphins ( Cephalorhynchus ) are small dolphins in the cold seas of the southern hemisphere; here are the smallest whales at all - the body length is 110-180 cm, weight 26-86 kg. Common to all is the color pattern of black and white areas that are clearly separated from each other. With all kinds head, fins and tail are black, and the belly white colored; elsewhere on the body varies the color distribution from species to species, the snout is blunt, a "beak " is missing.

Like all dolphins live black and white dolphins in schools. These consist of two to eight, sometimes over twenty animals. They live near the coast and like to swim in the wake of boats, but jump like never before. Unlike other dolphins to black and white dolphins feed to a large extent of ground-dwelling invertebrates, but also typical of dolphin fish.

The species are:

• Commerson's dolphin ( Cephalorhynchus commersonii ), cold and temperate seas of South America and the adjacent sub-Antarctic
• White-bellied dolphin ( Cephalorhynchus Eutropia ), Chilean coastal waters
• Heaviside 's dolphin ( Cephalorhynchus heavisidii ), coastal waters of south-western Africa
• Hector 's dolphin ( Cephalorhynchus hectori ), coastal waters of New Zealand