Southern right whale dolphin

The southern right whale dolphin (Lissodelphis peronii) is a small and slender dolphin of the cool waters of the Southern Hemisphere and one of the two species of right whale dolphin, a genus defined by the lack of a dorsal fin. Bernard Germain de Lacépède published the species in 1804, and the epithet peronii honours the French naturalist François Péron, who saw it near Tasmania in 1802. It is the only dolphin without a dorsal fin in the Southern Hemisphere, with a streamlined body, a single blowhole, a short but defined beak and between 39 and 50 teeth per row. A sharp line separates the black back from the white underside, and the beak, the flippers and the underside of the flukes are white. Newborn calves measure about 86 centimetres and weigh about 5 kilograms, and young animals are grey or brownish above until they gain adult colouring within their first year. Its other common names include the whitebellied right whale dolphin and the mealy-mouthed porpoise.