Pacific white-sided dolphin • Lagenorhynchus obliquidens • Heiltsuk/Haíɫzaqv - cdúḷkv • Nuxalk - stulkw (dolphin)
{Lageno = bottle, rhynchus = nose; obliquidens = slanting teeth}
Pacific white-sided dolphins often ride bow or stern waves from boats. Photo by Alison Ogilvie. Scroll down for more photos.
Identification
The Pacific white-sided dolphin is a sleek, playful cetacean that helpfully jumps right out of the water often, making it fairly easy to identify. Its upper body is dark with light grey side streaks and patches between the eyes and dorsal fin. The underside is white, and the back portion of the dorsal fin is grey. The dorsal fin strongly curves into a hook shape, and the flippers are long and curved. Despite its genus name indicating "bottlenose," the Pacific white-sided dolphin's beak is small and indistinct. It reaches 2.5 m long.
This species can be recognized by its behaviour as well. Pacific white-sided dolphins create a lot of splashing, especially as they travel in groups of 20 or more. They often approach stationary boats and bow-ride moving ones, and will leap right out of the water. When they leave the water, the water forms a V-shaped 'rooster-tail' splash. They are very playful and social, and will swim with other dolphin and whale species as well as seals and sea lions.
Habitat & Range
Pacific white-sided dolphins live mostly in offshore waters of the North Pacific; near the west coast of North America their range stretches from the waters off Alaska to Baja California. They are sometimes found in nearshore protected waters like the Johnstone and Queen Charlotte Straits in BC; their distribution has changed since the mid 1800's. They are present year-round in some areas of their range. Estimates put the numbers of Pacific white-sided dolphins in BC waters at 25,000.
Similar Species
The Pacific white-sided dolphin may be mistaken for the Dall's porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli), another common bow-riding species that also creates a 'rooster-tail' splash. The former leaps right out of the water, while the latter does not. The dolphin is generally found in much larger groups (20 or more), while the porpoise most commonly travels in groups of 5 or less, and no more than 20. The two have somewhat similar colouring, but the Dall's porpoise has a more robust build compared to the sleek body of the Pacific white-sided dolphin. At a distance the dolphin may also look like a juvenile killer whale (the photo shows both species swimming together, and allows for a comparison). Scroll down for a video showing killer whales, Dall's porpoises, and Pacific white-sided dolphins.
The Pacific white-sided dolphin is a sleek, playful cetacean that helpfully jumps right out of the water often, making it fairly easy to identify. Its upper body is dark with light grey side streaks and patches between the eyes and dorsal fin. The underside is white, and the back portion of the dorsal fin is grey. The dorsal fin strongly curves into a hook shape, and the flippers are long and curved. Despite its genus name indicating "bottlenose," the Pacific white-sided dolphin's beak is small and indistinct. It reaches 2.5 m long.
This species can be recognized by its behaviour as well. Pacific white-sided dolphins create a lot of splashing, especially as they travel in groups of 20 or more. They often approach stationary boats and bow-ride moving ones, and will leap right out of the water. When they leave the water, the water forms a V-shaped 'rooster-tail' splash. They are very playful and social, and will swim with other dolphin and whale species as well as seals and sea lions.
Habitat & Range
Pacific white-sided dolphins live mostly in offshore waters of the North Pacific; near the west coast of North America their range stretches from the waters off Alaska to Baja California. They are sometimes found in nearshore protected waters like the Johnstone and Queen Charlotte Straits in BC; their distribution has changed since the mid 1800's. They are present year-round in some areas of their range. Estimates put the numbers of Pacific white-sided dolphins in BC waters at 25,000.
Similar Species
The Pacific white-sided dolphin may be mistaken for the Dall's porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli), another common bow-riding species that also creates a 'rooster-tail' splash. The former leaps right out of the water, while the latter does not. The dolphin is generally found in much larger groups (20 or more), while the porpoise most commonly travels in groups of 5 or less, and no more than 20. The two have somewhat similar colouring, but the Dall's porpoise has a more robust build compared to the sleek body of the Pacific white-sided dolphin. At a distance the dolphin may also look like a juvenile killer whale (the photo shows both species swimming together, and allows for a comparison). Scroll down for a video showing killer whales, Dall's porpoises, and Pacific white-sided dolphins.
Human Uses
These dolphins are a draw for whale watching boats because of their playful, energetic nature. They must be allowed to approach boats, however, rather than the other way around. Canada's whale watching guidelines advise boaters to avoid sudden changes in course when dolphins or porpoises are bow-riding, and not to drive through groups of dolphins or porpoises in the hopes that they will start bow-riding.
Intriguing Info
While they usually travel in groups of 20-50, Pacific white-sided dolphins have been found in larger groups numbering in the hundreds and even up to 100. One recorded sighting estimated there were around 6000 individuals in one group.
Dolphin teeth found in 2000 year old middens in the Queen Charlotte Strait indicates that they were historically present in nearshore BC waters, but the kept to offshore waters for most of the 20th century. This changed in the 1980's, when they began to return to nearshore areas such as Johnstone and Queen Charlotte Straits, and in recent years in the Strait of Georgia.
Pacific white-sided dolphins are preyed upon by transient killer whales and sharks.
More interesting facts about Pacific white-sided dolphins can be found on the Vancouver Aquarium's AquaFacts and Wild Whales B.C. Cetacean Sightings Network sites.
iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/41510-Lagenorhynchus-obliquidens
These dolphins are a draw for whale watching boats because of their playful, energetic nature. They must be allowed to approach boats, however, rather than the other way around. Canada's whale watching guidelines advise boaters to avoid sudden changes in course when dolphins or porpoises are bow-riding, and not to drive through groups of dolphins or porpoises in the hopes that they will start bow-riding.
Intriguing Info
While they usually travel in groups of 20-50, Pacific white-sided dolphins have been found in larger groups numbering in the hundreds and even up to 100. One recorded sighting estimated there were around 6000 individuals in one group.
Dolphin teeth found in 2000 year old middens in the Queen Charlotte Strait indicates that they were historically present in nearshore BC waters, but the kept to offshore waters for most of the 20th century. This changed in the 1980's, when they began to return to nearshore areas such as Johnstone and Queen Charlotte Straits, and in recent years in the Strait of Georgia.
Pacific white-sided dolphins are preyed upon by transient killer whales and sharks.
More interesting facts about Pacific white-sided dolphins can be found on the Vancouver Aquarium's AquaFacts and Wild Whales B.C. Cetacean Sightings Network sites.
iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/41510-Lagenorhynchus-obliquidens
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More Pacific white-sided dolphin photos:
References
Pacific White-Sided Dolphin (Lagenorhychus obliquidens). Wild Whales B.C. Cetacean Sightings Network. Vancouver Aquarium. Accessed 04/09/2013.
Lamb, A., and Hanby, B. (2005). Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest. Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing. P. 185.
Shore, V. Lagenorhynchus obliquidens (Gill, 1865). In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Ed.). E-Fauna BC: Electronic Atlas of the Fauna of British Columbia. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Accessed 04/09/2013.
Authors and editors of page
Kelly Fretwell and Brian Starzomski (2013).
Pacific White-Sided Dolphin (Lagenorhychus obliquidens). Wild Whales B.C. Cetacean Sightings Network. Vancouver Aquarium. Accessed 04/09/2013.
Lamb, A., and Hanby, B. (2005). Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest. Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing. P. 185.
Shore, V. Lagenorhynchus obliquidens (Gill, 1865). In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Ed.). E-Fauna BC: Electronic Atlas of the Fauna of British Columbia. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Accessed 04/09/2013.
Authors and editors of page
Kelly Fretwell and Brian Starzomski (2013).