Chinese white dolphin

-------------------------------------------------
Chinese white dolphin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with the Baiji (Chinese River Dolphin).
| This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2007) |

Chinese whitedolphin |
|
Conservation status |

Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1)[1] |
Scientific classification |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Cetacea |
Family: | Delphinidae |
Genus: | Sousa |
Species: | S. chinensis |
Subspecies: | S. c. chinensis |
Trinomial name |
Sousa chinensis chinensis
(Osbeck, 1765) |
|
Chinese white dolphin range(blue area) |

Tail with visible grey and pink colours
The Chinese white dolphin (Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin, Sousa chinensis chinensis;Chinese: 中華白海豚; pinyin: Zhōnghuá bái hǎitún) is a humpback dolphin species, one of eighty cetacean species. An adult is white or pink and may appear as an albino dolphin to some. Uniquely, the population along the Chinese coast has pink skin,[2] and the pinkcolor originates not from a pigment, but from blood vessels which were overdeveloped forthermoregulation. 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.
These dolphins inhabit the waters of Southeast Asia andbreed from South Africa to Australia. There are two subspecies, with Sumatra, one of the Indonesian islands, as the dividing line between the Chinese and the Western subspecies, Sousa chinensis plumbea. The two subspecies differ in color and dorsal fin size. The subspecies found in Southeast Asia has pinkish white skin and a larger dorsal fin but lacks the fatty hump of South African and Australianrelations.
At birth, the dolphins are black. They change to grey, then pinkish with spots when young. Adults are white.
Contents  [hide]  * 1 Behavior * 2 Reproductive cycle * 3 Dolphin watching * 4 Origin of a Cantonese slang expression * 5 Conservation * 6 Timeline of main events * 7 See also * 8 References * 9 External links |-------------------------------------------------
[edit]Behavior
Chinese white dolphins dive to the water surface to breathe every twenty to thirty seconds and after that, they will dive into deep water again. A calf dolphin surfaces from the water twice as much as an adult. This is because calves have a smaller lung capacity than an adult dolphin. Adult dolphins can stay underwater for about two to eight minutes but a calf can only stayunderwater for one to three minutes. Adult dolphins rarely stay under water for more than four minutes. They sometimes jump out of water,exposing their whole body. Besides jumping out of water, white dolphins also come up vertically out of the water, exposing the front half of their body. They have a pair of protruding eyes and they can see clearly in both air and water.-------------------------------------------------
[edit]Reproductive cycle
Chinese white dolphins are sociable creatures and live in groups of three to four. Female white dolphins become mature at ten years old while the males become mature at thirteen years old. The Chinese white dolphins usually mate from the end of summer to autumn. Infant dolphins are usually born eleven months after the mating. Mature femalewhite dolphins can give birth every three years and the parental care will last until their offspring can find food themselves.
-------------------------------------------------
[edit]Dolphin watching
Hong Kong Dolphinwatch has been running boat trips to visit the Chinese white dolphins for the past twelve years. The dolphins mainly live in the waters of Lantau North, Southeast Lantau, theSoko...