ARKive - Dusky dolphin video - Lagenorhynchus obscurus - 00

Originally named ‘Fitzroy’s dolphin’ by Charles Darwin after the Captain of the Beagle (5), the dusky dolphin is a relatively small, compact dolphin, easily recognised by the evenly sloping head from the blowhole to the tip of the snout, which lacks a beak. As the common name suggests, the back and tail of this species are a dusky bluish-black, with a dark band running diagonally across the flanks to the tail. The underside is white and the tips of the snout and lower jaw are dark. A grey area runs from the eye to the flipper, and two cream stripes extend from the tail to the blunt dorsal fin (2) (6).