Leucopleurus is a genus of oceanic dolphins that currently holds a single species, the Atlantic white-sided dolphin (Leucopleurus acutus). The species was traditionally placed in the genus Lagenorhynchus, but consistent molecular evidence supported the Atlantic white-sided dolphin and the white-beaked dolphin as basal members of the family Delphinidae that are not closely related to each other. In 2025 the Atlantic white-sided dolphin was therefore moved to its own genus, Leucopleurus. The species was named by John Edward Gray in 1828 and is a distinctively coloured dolphin of the cool to temperate waters of the North Atlantic Ocean, and its specific name acutus comes from the Latin for pointed and refers to its sharply pointed dorsal fin.
Facts
Taxonomic Rank Member Count Band Classification
Living or Extinct Connections
Child Taxon Of
Source Atlantic white-sided dolphin (Wikipedia)
Parent Taxon Of
Source Atlantic white-sided dolphin (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
Found In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Source Atlantic white-sided dolphin (Wikipedia)Geographic range and distributionQuote, Geographic range and distribution
The species is endemic to the northern Atlantic Ocean.
Sources
1. Atlantic white-sided dolphin (Wikipedia)
Taxonomy
In 2025 the Atlantic white-sided dolphin was therefore moved to its own genus, Leucopleurus.
Lead
is a distinctively coloured dolphin found in the cool to temperate waters of the North Atlantic Ocean
Taxonomy, member count band
moved to its own genus, Leucopleurus
Child Taxon Of: Delphinidae, Taxonomy, family
basal members of the family Delphinidae
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