Chinese white dolphin
| Chinese white dolphin | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Infraorder: | Cetacea |
| Family: | Delphinidae |
| Genus: | Sousa |
| Species: | S. chinensis |
| Binomial name | |
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Sousa chinensis (Osbeck, 1765) |
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| Chinese white dolphin range (blue area) | |
The Chinese white dolphin is a variety of Indo-Pacific humpbacked dolphin (Sousa chinensis; Chinese: 中華白海豚; pinyin: Zhōnghuá bái hǎitún). This variety inhabits the eastern portion of the species range, in Southeast Asia and Australia. Some biologists regard the Chinese white dolphin as a separate subspecies, Sousa chinensis chinensis, from the Plumbea-type Indo-Pacific humbacked dolphin, which lives in the western part of the species range, from east Africa to India. However, DNA testing has indicated that the Chinensis-type dolphins from Southeast Asia are more closely related to the Plumbea-type dolphins than they are to the Chinensis-type dolphins from Australia.
An adult Chinese white dolphin is white or pink and may appear as an albino dolphin to some. Uniquely, the population along the Chinese coast has pink skin, and the pink colour originates not from a pigment, but from blood vessels which were overdeveloped for thermoregulation. The body length is 2 to 3.5 m (6 ft 7 in to 11 ft 6 in) for adults 1 m (3 ft 3 in) for infants. An adult weighs 150 to 230 kg (330 to 510 lb). Chinese white dolphins live up to 40 years, as determined by the analysis of their teeth.
At birth, the dolphins are black. They change to grey, then pinkish with spots when young. Adults are white.
Chinese white dolphins rise to the water surface to breathe for 20 to 30 seconds and after that, they will dive into deep water again. A calf dolphin surfaces from the water twice as much as an adult, because calves have smaller lung capacities than adults. Adult dolphins can stay underwater for about two to eight minutes, but a calf can only stay underwater for one to three minutes. Adult dolphins rarely stay under water for more than four minutes. They sometimes leap completely out of the water. They may also rise up vertically from the water, exposing the dorsal half of their bodies. A pair of protruding eyes allows them to see clearly in both air and water.
Chinese white dolphins are sociable creatures and live in groups of three to four. Female white dolphins become mature at 10 years old, while the males become mature at 13 years old. They usually mate from the end of summer to autumn. Infant dolphins are usually born 11 months after the mating. Mature females can give birth every three years, and the parental care will last until their offspring can find food themselves.
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Wikipedia