The Chilean dolphin (Cephalorhynchus eutropia), also called the black dolphin or tonina, is a small and thickset dolphin found only off the coast of Chile. It ranges from Valparaíso at 33 degrees south to Cape Horn at 55 degrees south, favouring shallow water usually less than 20 metres deep and within about 500 metres of shore. In the north it lives in bays and estuaries on more exposed coast, in the south in fjords and channels, and it is often found near river mouths and where the tide changes strongly. Adults are about 1.7 metres long and weigh up to 60 kilograms, with a short beak, a rounded dorsal fin and rounded flippers, a white throat and underside and an otherwise grey body marked by a black line joining the blowhole, eyes and dorsal fin. It feeds on sardines, anchovies, salmon, squid and crustaceans. The population is poorly known but is estimated at fewer than 5,000 animals, and people take it for food and as bait in long-line swordfish and crab fisheries.
Facts
Classification
Population Trend System (Realm) ThreatsAgriculture and Aquaculture 1 ThreatsBiological Resource Use 1 Relationship to People Living or Extinct Conservation Status Body Size Band Comparison
CITES Appendix Connections
Child Taxon Of
Source Chilean dolphin (Wikipedia)
Source Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Cephalorhynchus eutropia (Animal Diversity Web)
In Biome
In the Other Atlases
Found In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Source Chilean dolphin (Wikipedia)Population and distributionQuote, Population and distribution
the Chilean dolphin is endemic to the coast of Chile
Sources
1. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Cephalorhynchus eutropia (Animal Diversity Web)
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyHabitat Regions
saltwater or marine
Habitat
Chilean dolphins prefer to live near areas of particularly strong tidal flow above a steep dropping shelf.
Conservation Status
Chilean dolphins are listed as near threatened by the IUCN.
Conservation Status, trend
Exact populations are difficult to measure but populations are considered in decline.
Food Habits
Chilean dolphins commonly feed on small schooling fish, such as sardines
Conservation Status, CITES
CITES Appendix II
Conservation Status, threats
Chilean dolphins have been hunted for food and as crab bait for generations.
Conservation Status, salmon farming
They also suffer from habitat encroachment by coastal salmon farming.
Economic Importance for Humans
Chilean dolphins have been hunted in the past for food and as bait for lucrative crab farming.
Physical Description
generally described as small and chunky with lengths of about 1.65 m
Child Taxon Of: Delphinidae, Classification, family
Delphinidae dolphins, killer whales, pilot whales, and relatives
In Group: Cetaceans (Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises), Classification, order
Cetacea dolphins, porpoises, and whales
View the Source Chilean dolphin (Wikipedia)
Child Taxon Of: Cephalorhynchus, Lead
is one of six dolphins in the genus Cephalorhynchus
In Biome: Marine, Habitat
Most Chilean dolphins reside in salt water
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