page_title: Heaviside's dolphin
section_title: Morphology
hierarchical_section_title: Heaviside's dolphin / Description / Morphology
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Heaviside-Delfine vor der Küste von Walvis Bay/ Namibia
context_page_description: Heaviside's dolphin, is one of four dolphins in the genus Cephalorhynchus. The small cetacean is endemic to the Benguela ecosystem along the southwest coast of Africa.
context_section_description: Heaviside’s are small and stocky with adults reaching a maximum length and weight of 1.8m and 75kg respectively. The dolphin has a distinct black, grey and white body pattern, and is not easily confused with any other species in its range. The head and thorax are coloured light grey with darker patches around the eye. The dorsal fin, fluke and dorsal cape are a darker grey to bluish black colour with a band that extends from the dorsal fin to the blowhole. The underbelly is white, with bands that extend onto the lower rear of the body. Small white patches are located just behind the pectoral fins and a single white patch extends between these fins on the chest. Sexual dimorphism is minimal, however variation in the shape of the white patch covering the genital slit is distinct between genders. In males, the patch ends in a point, but in females widens out to cover the mammary slits. The head is cone shaped with a blunt beak. The dorsal fin is triangular in shape and centred in the middle of the back.
caption: Heaviside's dolphins off Walvis Bay, Namibia
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