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Atlantic White
Sided Dolphin
- Irish name: An deilf bhánchliathánach Atlantach
- Latin name: Lagenorhynchus acutus
- Size: 2.7 m
- Diet: Whiting, blue whiting & squid
DESCRIPTION:
They are a very stocky dolphin with a small beak, streamlined head, tall falcate dorsal fin and robust tail stock. They are dark on top and light coloured underneath but predominantly light grey along their sides with a white patch below the dorsal fin and a characteristic orange flare on the tail stock.
BEHAVIOUR:
They tend to move fast at the surface revealing the orange flare when diving. Breaching regularly occurs but bow riding is rare.
IN IRELAND:
This species occurs in offshore waters along the continental shelf mainly to the west and northwest. Inshore sightings along the south and southwest dolphin hotspots are extremely rare. A mass stranding involving 19 dolphins at Killala Bay, Co. Mayo in September 1994 became the first time in Europe that post-mortems for all animals involved in a mass stranding were carried out.
Atlantic White-sided Dolphin sightings 1993 – 2014:
