Heaviside's dolphin

Heaviside's dolphin (Cephalorhynchus heavisidii), called the Benguela dolphin in Namibia, is a small and stocky dolphin endemic to the Benguela ecosystem along the southwest coast of Africa. Its range runs almost continuously for about 2,500 kilometres along the South African coast, through Namibia and into southern Angola, and the real southern limit is near Hout Bay. Walvis Bay, Lüderitz, Table Bay and Britannia Bay are popular places to watch it. Adults reach a maximum of about 1.7 metres and 75 kilograms, with a cone shaped head and blunt beak, a triangular dorsal fin, a dark grey cape, a white belly with bands that extend onto the lower rear body, and small white patches behind the flippers. Groups are usually of two or three animals, though gatherings of around 100 form where the dolphins are dense, and killer whales are known predators. The oldest recorded individual was 26 years old. The common name honours a Captain Haviside of the British East India Company, who brought the first specimen to Britain, although the zoologist who described it mistook him for the surgeon John Heaviside.