Critically Endangered
Atlantic humpback dolphin
Sousa teuszii
Atlantic humpback dolphin is a mammal in the family Delphinidae (order Cetacea) — Sousa teuszii, recorded as Critically Endangered.
Appearance
Apart from its geographical range, it can be distinguishable from the Indo-Pacific humpback because of their distinct skin coloration and other morphological characteristics. Atlantic humpbacks have a gray or white color, unlike the Indo-Pacific humpbacks that have pink mottling. Males, in particular, can have distinct humps under their dorsal fins.
At birth, this species is 14 kg (31 lb) in weight and 100 cm (39 in) long. A fully grown male can weigh up to 280 kg (620 lb) and is around 2.8 m (9 ft 2 in) long.
Range and habitat
This species is native to the tropical to subtropical west coast of Africa in the southeastern Atlantic Ocean, from western Sahara to Angola. The species is not commonly observed and is found sporadically across these waters. It is mainly found in shallow coastal and estuarine waters in the marine Neritic zone, usually less than 20 m (66 ft) deep.
Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.
Diet
Atlantic humpback dolphins prefer to keep a distance from boat engines, and when they are seen in the water, they are most likely traveling and foraging. Groups generally forage close to shore in shallow waters and often within the surf zone.
Their specific prey species depends on what geographic location they occupy and what is available.
In crisis
It is regarded as critically endangered by the IUCN. Habitat loss and degradation are the measured causes of declines in the Atlantic humpback dolphin population. Humans are continuously expanding coastal communities and polluting the oceans, that cause a threat to marine life.
Toxins from the bacteria in the water can easily wipe out a critically endangered species, like the Atlantic Humpback dolphin. The current conservation status of the Atlantic Humpback is critically endangered, according to the IUCN.
CITES lists this taxon on Appendix I. Confirm the current appendix on the CITES checklist.
Atlantic humpback dolphin is Critically Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.
Sources
Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Atlantic humpback dolphin, Wikidata item Q1192406. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.
