Comment on Haviside's dolphin by namu-the-orca
Thank you! Glad to know I could introduce these lovelies to you 
Their markings indeed do seem to resemble those of Orcas on first glance, but the two species are not closely related at all. Killer whales belong to the small group of 'blackfish', generally large, dark dolphins with few teeth. The group includes, besides Killer whales, Long- and Short-finned pilot whales, Melon-headed whales, Pygmy killer whales and False killer whales (or Pseudorca). All these animals have what is known as the 'blackfish anchor'; basically a light grey to white anchor-shaped mark on their chest, between the flippers, which extends in a thin line down the belly, eventually terminating in a larger mark around the genitals. You can see it here in Pilot whales, where the mark is generally very clear: marinesciencetoday.com/wp-cont… www.divernet.com/siteimage/sca… i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/0… thefeaturedcreature.thefeature… 37.media.tumblr.com/30f4e9a072… Here on False killer whales, where it is a lot less bright: i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/0… www.emerald-vision.com/wp-cont… cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get… similar to what is seen on Melon-headed whales: www.cascadiaresearch.org/robin… www.cascadiaresearch.org/robin… Pygmy killer whales are a bit different from the norm though; they do have the anchor mark on their chest and it's vague like that of the False killer whale, but on top of it they often have pure white blotches. The light grey area around the genitals is also replaced by a pure white mark, often with irregular edges: www.scubazoo.com/wp-content/up… www.wildwhaleresearch.org/wp-c… sailhawaii.com/Images/Pygmy_ki… sailhawaii.com/Images/Pygmy_ki… www.cascadiaresearch.org/hawai… I'm not sure whether the white chest markings are true markings, scars, or a combination of both. Killer whales are the true unique oddities amongst the blackfish though; they have taken the blackfish anchor to an extreme, generating the bold black-and-white pattern we all know and love.
Back to our friend the Haviside's dolphin here, they are part of the Cephalorhynchus genus, a genus containing four small dolphins. They're a bit of a peculiar bunch, besides their small size they all have those short beaks like this species and they're all pretty rare and poorly known. That's probably due to the fact that almost all of these species have been (or are) hunted by locals and have thus become wary of people. Scientists used to have only access to dead animal, and because the markings darkened and became black as the animal died, for a long time these species were thought to be black-and-white, just like the killer whale. It's even inspired the name of one: the Chilean dolphin, which used to be known as the Black dolphin. All these four species have elaborate markings of black, grey and white. The commerson's dolphin is perhaps most distinct and rather unlike the rest: 3.bp.blogspot.com/-dZ5SlC4GNVM… cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get… Their black-and-white markings are unlike those of the other three species, which all share a grey base in several shade and a similar white belly pattern. There's of course the Haviside's dolphin: cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get… with it's trident belly marking, diamond chest marking and white 'armpits': media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736… Then there's the Hector's dolphin: cdn.3news.co.nz/3news/AM/2012/… with a very similar trident belly mark and white armpits, only difference being the completely white throat: www.gansbaai.com/userdocs/imag… Lastly there's the Chilean dolphin, who is darkest grey of all: www.iucn-csg.org/wp-content/up… Like the Hector's they have a mainly white throat, white armpits and a trident marking. The trident marking is very densely packed though, with the three white 'fingers' close to each other: www.yaqupacha.org/uploads/pics… In some animals the trident is so closed that it forms one, big, white belly patch. Left individual here: latin.wdcs.org/graphics_bin/bl… and this animal for example: filmatidimare.altervista.org/w…
So, there that, a little info on both the Killer whale and the Haviside's dolphin, and their relatives Hope that was helpful!
Their markings indeed do seem to resemble those of Orcas on first glance, but the two species are not closely related at all. Killer whales belong to the small group of 'blackfish', generally large, dark dolphins with few teeth. The group includes, besides Killer whales, Long- and Short-finned pilot whales, Melon-headed whales, Pygmy killer whales and False killer whales (or Pseudorca). All these animals have what is known as the 'blackfish anchor'; basically a light grey to white anchor-shaped mark on their chest, between the flippers, which extends in a thin line down the belly, eventually terminating in a larger mark around the genitals. You can see it here in Pilot whales, where the mark is generally very clear: marinesciencetoday.com/wp-cont… www.divernet.com/siteimage/sca… i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/0… thefeaturedcreature.thefeature… 37.media.tumblr.com/30f4e9a072… Here on False killer whales, where it is a lot less bright: i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/0… www.emerald-vision.com/wp-cont… cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get… similar to what is seen on Melon-headed whales: www.cascadiaresearch.org/robin… www.cascadiaresearch.org/robin… Pygmy killer whales are a bit different from the norm though; they do have the anchor mark on their chest and it's vague like that of the False killer whale, but on top of it they often have pure white blotches. The light grey area around the genitals is also replaced by a pure white mark, often with irregular edges: www.scubazoo.com/wp-content/up… www.wildwhaleresearch.org/wp-c… sailhawaii.com/Images/Pygmy_ki… sailhawaii.com/Images/Pygmy_ki… www.cascadiaresearch.org/hawai… I'm not sure whether the white chest markings are true markings, scars, or a combination of both. Killer whales are the true unique oddities amongst the blackfish though; they have taken the blackfish anchor to an extreme, generating the bold black-and-white pattern we all know and love.
Back to our friend the Haviside's dolphin here, they are part of the Cephalorhynchus genus, a genus containing four small dolphins. They're a bit of a peculiar bunch, besides their small size they all have those short beaks like this species and they're all pretty rare and poorly known. That's probably due to the fact that almost all of these species have been (or are) hunted by locals and have thus become wary of people. Scientists used to have only access to dead animal, and because the markings darkened and became black as the animal died, for a long time these species were thought to be black-and-white, just like the killer whale. It's even inspired the name of one: the Chilean dolphin, which used to be known as the Black dolphin. All these four species have elaborate markings of black, grey and white. The commerson's dolphin is perhaps most distinct and rather unlike the rest: 3.bp.blogspot.com/-dZ5SlC4GNVM… cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get… Their black-and-white markings are unlike those of the other three species, which all share a grey base in several shade and a similar white belly pattern. There's of course the Haviside's dolphin: cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get… with it's trident belly marking, diamond chest marking and white 'armpits': media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736… Then there's the Hector's dolphin: cdn.3news.co.nz/3news/AM/2012/… with a very similar trident belly mark and white armpits, only difference being the completely white throat: www.gansbaai.com/userdocs/imag… Lastly there's the Chilean dolphin, who is darkest grey of all: www.iucn-csg.org/wp-content/up… Like the Hector's they have a mainly white throat, white armpits and a trident marking. The trident marking is very densely packed though, with the three white 'fingers' close to each other: www.yaqupacha.org/uploads/pics… In some animals the trident is so closed that it forms one, big, white belly patch. Left individual here: latin.wdcs.org/graphics_bin/bl… and this animal for example: filmatidimare.altervista.org/w…
So, there that, a little info on both the Killer whale and the Haviside's dolphin, and their relatives
Hope that was helpful!
Oh, that was very helpful! I savour this kind of stuff, and I wasn't aware how little I knew about dolphins. I had had a hint a few years ago at the Vancouver Aquarium when I saw a very tiny rescued orphan dolphin of a species I cannot remember (it was literally about the size of a medium dog - super tiny) so now I know for certain that I shall have to do more looking into the world of these beautiful creatures. All those black and white dolphins are magnificent and I have to say that I am even more impressed by orcas now that I know how drab their close relatives are. (Cephalorhynchus right?) Thank you soo much for the information, I'm a biology nerd, so again, I love this kind of stuff.
Ah - I looked it up, and I believe that the animal I saw at the Vancouver Aquarium was a harbour porpoise wildwhales.org/harbour-porpois… - quite drab compared to Haviside's Dolphin!
Ah - I looked it up, and I believe that the animal I saw at the Vancouver Aquarium was a harbour porpoise wildwhales.org/harbour-porpois… - quite drab compared to Haviside's Dolphin!
Ohh there's so much to discover about this small but diverse group of animals - I learn new stuff on a regular basis! Ah yes, I was going to tell you you'd probably seen a Harbour porpoise at the Vancouver aquarium (I know they have rescued two over the years) but it seems you got to that conclusion yourself already They may be a bit drab, but you're lucky to have seen it; there's only very, very few places in the world where they keep Harbour porpies in captivity. I'm lucky to live only about an hour's drive away from one of the biggest - they've got some 5 or 6 of them there (not sure precisely). The blackfish indeed are an amazing bunch, and very impressive too in some cases because a couple of the species grow to be huge. The Killer whale is 'king' with its record near 10 metres, but the Pilot whale species at 5-7 metres and the Pseudorcas with roundabout 6-7 metres as well are very big dolphins indeed. Cephalorhynchus is the name for the four small species of dolphins to which the Haviside's belongs (Haviside's, Hector's, Chileand and Commerson's dolphin) - it's their genus. Taxonomically speaking the 'blackfish' don't really exist; it isn't a subfamily or particular genus or anything, just a group of species that are related and (sort of) look like each other. The closest thing to a 'blackfish formation' is the subfamily Globicephalinae which includes both pilot whale species, the false killer whale, pygmy killer whale and melon-headed whale, but which lacks the Killer whale and also has the Risso's dolphin, which isn't considered part of the blackfish.
Very welcome! As a fellow biology nerd I happen to love writing this stuff out so that goes well together
They may be a bit drab, but you're lucky to have seen it; there's only very, very few places in the world where they keep Harbour porpies in captivity. I'm lucky to live only about an hour's drive away from one of the biggest - they've got some 5 or 6 of them there (not sure precisely). The blackfish indeed are an amazing bunch, and very impressive too in some cases because a couple of the species grow to be huge. The Killer whale is 'king' with its record near 10 metres, but the Pilot whale species at 5-7 metres and the Pseudorcas with roundabout 6-7 metres as well are very big dolphins indeed. Cephalorhynchus is the name for the four small species of dolphins to which the Haviside's belongs (Haviside's, Hector's, Chileand and Commerson's dolphin) - it's their genus. Taxonomically speaking the 'blackfish' don't really exist; it isn't a subfamily or particular genus or anything, just a group of species that are related and (sort of) look like each other. The closest thing to a 'blackfish formation' is the subfamily Globicephalinae which includes both pilot whale species, the false killer whale, pygmy killer whale and melon-headed whale, but which lacks the Killer whale and also has the Risso's dolphin, which isn't considered part of the blackfish.Very welcome! As a fellow biology nerd I happen to love writing this stuff out so that goes well together
Oh, I didn't know that! I was quite astonished when I saw it, I had had no idea before that that a dolphin/porpoise could ever be that incredibly small. Guessing by their size, I suppose that they are difficult to spot in the wild? That's really awesome that you can go see them whenever you want! I have unfortunately moved away from the coast so my wildlife sightings are limited to four-leggeds and birds now but I really enjoyed the time that I spent there, though I did not get to spend nearly as much time as I wanted actually on the shoreline. I was lucky though one time and I happened to be at a park above Horseshoe Bay (by Vancouver) when over a hundred to two hundred Pacific White Sided Dolphins started jumping out of the water. Seeing as it was around sunset, I surmise that they were fishing and I was kicking myself at the time because I didn't have a proper camera. I'm still hoping one day to see a killer whale in the wild but that'll take some real luck now. Thank you again!!! Haviside's Dolphin is now my favourite small dolphin (non-orca-sized) species. 
I was quite astonished when I saw it, I had had no idea before that that a dolphin/porpoise could ever be that incredibly small. Guessing by their size, I suppose that they are difficult to spot in the wild? That's really awesome that you can go see them whenever you want! I have unfortunately moved away from the coast so my wildlife sightings are limited to four-leggeds and birds now but I really enjoyed the time that I spent there, though I did not get to spend nearly as much time as I wanted actually on the shoreline. I was lucky though one time and I happened to be at a park above Horseshoe Bay (by Vancouver) when over a hundred to two hundred Pacific White Sided Dolphins started jumping out of the water. Seeing as it was around sunset, I surmise that they were fishing and I was kicking myself at the time because I didn't have a proper camera. I'm still hoping one day to see a killer whale in the wild but that'll take some real luck now. Thank you again!!! Haviside's Dolphin is now my favourite small dolphin (non-orca-sized) species. Yeah, Harbour porpoises indeed are really tiny things (though there's some 'fat' ones out there as well). In our dolphinarium they'll sometimes lift them out of the water during demonstration sessions when the animals are into it. Offers a really nice chance for direct size comparisons; and apparently they're light enough to carry for a short while too! 
Here's a photo of the behaviour: sophie1990.deviantart.com/art/… As for spotting them in the wild, that indeed is tricky business. Sometimes, when the water is very calm, you can get lucky and spot them from the shore here. However, with the slightest of waves on the water their small triangular dorsal fins become hardly noticeable. They're also not exactly acrobatic so their fins are almost the only way to find them in the wild, so that can be tough.
Too bad you've moved away from the coast (though birdies are lots of fun to watch too!) but at least you have had an amazing experience there! Wow, what a sight that must've been, all those Pacific white-sides bursting past. Such gorgeous dolphins, too Aha, seeing a Killer in the wild, now there'd be a dream come true! I've seen some videos from north america though where they come swimming right past the shore, and people are watching them literally from their backyards or watch them after simply 'stumbling upon' them. Lucky people It's videos like these that make one jealous: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hi1Xrf…
Here's a photo of the behaviour: sophie1990.deviantart.com/art/… As for spotting them in the wild, that indeed is tricky business. Sometimes, when the water is very calm, you can get lucky and spot them from the shore here. However, with the slightest of waves on the water their small triangular dorsal fins become hardly noticeable. They're also not exactly acrobatic so their fins are almost the only way to find them in the wild, so that can be tough.Too bad you've moved away from the coast (though birdies are lots of fun to watch too!) but at least you have had an amazing experience there! Wow, what a sight that must've been, all those Pacific white-sides bursting past. Such gorgeous dolphins, too
Aha, seeing a Killer in the wild, now there'd be a dream come true! I've seen some videos from north america though where they come swimming right past the shore, and people are watching them literally from their backyards or watch them after simply 'stumbling upon' them. Lucky people It's videos like these that make one jealous: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hi1Xrf…Holy they're tiny, that's incredible that they can be held like that!
My first landlord said that she saw an orca right from a point at Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver and every time I went afterwards I would stay there for a while, hoping in vain that I would have the same experience. No luck though! My parents are about to go on vacation to Vancouver Island and I'm sure they're going to see one, just because I won't be there. If they do though, my dad has a nice camera, so I'm sure they will take photos for me if they get a chance! I'm really jealous haha!
My first landlord said that she saw an orca right from a point at Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver and every time I went afterwards I would stay there for a while, hoping in vain that I would have the same experience. No luck though! My parents are about to go on vacation to Vancouver Island and I'm sure they're going to see one, just because I won't be there. If they do though, my dad has a nice camera, so I'm sure they will take photos for me if they get a chance! I'm really jealous haha!
Yeahh they're mini beasts - people keep calling them baby dolphins, much to the chagrin of basically everyone in the park who's heard of a porpoise before XD
Whoa, now that's something to be jealous of indeed, how cool she had one swim right by! No wonder you kept checking back at the point, I'd have done the exact same thing
"I'm sure they're going to see one, just because I won't be there." <- bingbing, that's the golden rule when it comes to spotting an animal you really want to see. It never sticks its head out when you're there, and of course has to right after you leave. Inevitable. But one day you'll break your orca curse, I'm sure of it! Until then, I hope your parents will come back with awesome orca photos to ease the pain a bit
Whoa, now that's something to be jealous of indeed, how cool she had one swim right by! No wonder you kept checking back at the point, I'd have done the exact same thing
"I'm sure they're going to see one, just because I won't be there." <- bingbing, that's the golden rule when it comes to spotting an animal you really want to see. It never sticks its head out when you're there, and of course has to right after you leave. Inevitable. But one day you'll break your orca curse, I'm sure of it! Until then, I hope your parents will come back with awesome orca photos to ease the pain a bit Oh I hope so and thank you so much for the interesting conversation, I learned a lot!
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