Lagenorhynchus

White Striped dolphins

The short -beaked dolphins ( Lagenorhynchus ) are a genus of dolphins, which are characterized by a not so clearly separated from the head beak. They tend to have small ranges, and indeed may be regionally quite frequently, but are globally seen less important than, for example, common dolphin, bottlenose dolphin and spotted dolphins.

The species are:

• White-beaked dolphin ( Lagenorhynchus albirostris ), North Atlantic
• White-sided dolphin ( Lagenorhynchus acutus ), North Atlantic
• White -sided dolphin ( Lagenorhynchus obliquidens ), North Pacific
• Dusky Dolphin ( Lagenorhynchus obscurus ), temperate waters of the southern hemisphere
• Peale 's dolphin ( Lagenorhynchus australis ) moderate seas off South America
• Hourglass dolphin ( Lagenorhynchus cruciger ), Antarctic Ocean

Depending on the type are short -beaked dolphins 150-310 cm long. The coloring is mostly striped upper side dark gray or black, underside lighter and on the side.

While bringing dolphins usually in conjunction with tropics, these species are found in cold and temperate waters most often. Three species live on the north, three on the southern hemisphere. With the White Stripes and the Black Dolphin include two species in the genus, which perform well under natural conditions acrobatic jumps; but this is not true for all species, so jump white muzzles and white-sided dolphins at all.

The diet of the short -beaked dolphins consists mainly of fish ( especially herring, mackerel, anchovies, hake ), besides also cephalopods, crustaceans and mollusks. All species live in schools that are very different in size: most include six or something more individuals, some may also be composed of more than a thousand animals.

Short -beaked dolphins are frequent, of any sort is a sharp decline in populations known.