There are no recorded sounds describing southern right whale dolphin vocalizations. The closely related northern right whale dolphins vocalize in clicks at high repetitious rates, also using a few whistles. Southern right whale dolphins use echolocation to help them perceive their environment if other individuals are nearby.
Communication Channels: acoustic
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; ultrasound ; echolocation ; chemical
Currently, the southern right whale dolphin is not at the center of conservation efforts. Although they are deemed abundant, research about them is still lacking and they are listed as "Data Deficient" on the IUCN Red List.
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
State of Michigan List: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: data deficient
There are no known negative economic influences of the southern right whale dolphins.
Southern right whale dolphins are occasionally caught for food or crab bait off the coasts of Peru and Chile.
Positive Impacts: food
While effects of most parasites are largely unknown, a few are known to cause harm to the southern right whale dolphin. The trematode fluke (Nasitrema) can cause major damage to the air sinuses, inner ears, and brain. This is so severe that it has been stated as an influence in the stranding and death of some southern right whale dolphins. A Rhabditea parasite (Stenurus) damages the lungs of the dolphins, while the parasite (Anisakis simplex) causes deleterious effects on the stomach.
Commensal/Parasitic Species:
Southern right whale dolphins primarily feed on mesopelagic fishes, describing fish that swim at depths between 200 and 1000 meters. These include laternfish, bigeye tuna, and squids.
Animal Foods: fish; mollusks
Primary Diet: carnivore (Piscivore )
Southern right whale dolphins (Lissodelphis peronii) have a circumpolar distribution near the sub-Antarctic Polar Front, which is the location where Antarctic surface waters that are moving northward sink below sub-Antarctic waters. It has also been commonly seen year-round around Chatham Island and the Falkland Islands. Their range reaches as far south as the Antarctic Convergence around 58 to 61 degrees south latitude and as far north as the Subtropical Convergence off the shores of Peru and Chile.
Biogeographic Regions: neotropical (Native ); antarctica (Native )
Southern right whale dolphins are pelagic, occupying cool waters that are deep offshore and are 8 to 19 degrees Celsius. They often dive to depths of 200 meters in search of food.
Average depth: 200 m.
Habitat Regions: polar ; saltwater or marine
Aquatic Biomes: pelagic
No published data report on the lifespan of the southern right whale dolphin in the wild. However, in a closely-related species, the northern right whale dolphin, the lifespan is listed as 42 years. It is expected that the southern relative's lifespan is similar. In captivity, southern right whale dolphins do not survive long. The average dolphin lives just 3 weeks, but one has been recorded living up to 15 months.
Range lifespan
Status: captivity: 1 to 15 months.
Adult southern right whale dolphins are predominantly white on their ventral side and black dorsally. On the posterior flank, the two colors meet and curve downward to the flipper insertion, then swing upward to the melon, which is the swollen portion of a dolphin's head that produces vocalizations, in front of the blowhole. The beak, the anterior melon, and the flippers are white. The dorsal side of the flukes are grey. Variations have been reported, including white spots on the head and the amount of the black and white coloration. Calves are born with brown or grey areas instead of black and white, but develop adult coloration within their first year. The southern right whale dolphin is characterized by a lack of a dorsal fin or ridge. The genus name, Lissodelphis, describes this characteristic. It is derived from the Greek words lisso, meaning smooth, and delphis meaning dolphin. Some additional body shape characteristics include: a slender, compressed body, a short but well-defined beak, small, recurved flippers, and slightly concave flukes with a deep notch in the median. These dolphins are normally 2 to 3 m long, rarely exceeding 3.1 m. Adult weights can reach 59 to 100 kg, with males being larger.
Average mass: 59 to 100 kg.
Range length: 3.1 (high) m.
Average length: 2 to 3 m.
Sexual Dimorphism: male larger
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry
There are no records of predation for southern right whale dolphins, but killer whales, Patagonian toothfish, and sleeper sharks are likely predators.
There is no published information on the mating systems of southern right whale dolphins. Even though the exact calving season is not known, most sightings of calves are in winter or early spring. Research suggests that males reach sexual maturity at lengths between 212 and 220 cm and females between 206 and 212 cm.
Little is known about the reproduction cycles of the southern right whale dolphins. Only six pregnant female dolphins have been seen stranded, and the reproductive behavior of these individuals were not investigated.
Key Reproductive Features: gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; viviparous
Nothing is known regarding parental investment strategies of southern right whale dolphins.
