MAMMALIA: CETACEA: ODONTOCETI: DELPHINIDAE: Grampus  

Grampus griseus (Cuvier, 1812)

Risso’s dolphin, Gray grampus

Text by Artha Smith.  

  Photo not yet available.

Range:  Widely distributed in tropics and temperate regions in both hemispheres, deeper than 180 meters.

Diagnosis:  Body lighter than fins, square head, no beak.  Crease present down center of melon. Many white scars cover the body.

Description:  Robust animals with long, pointed, recurved flippers. Tall and falcate dorsal fin. Vertical crease on melon and mouth lines slope upwards. Body dark gray to almost white fins and flippers usually darker. White scars resulting from other gray grampuses or squids typically cover the body.

Natural History:

Reproduction:  Birth occurs in warmer months.  Young are 1.2-1.5m/3.33-4.7 feet) long.

Taxonomy & Relationships:

Variation:

Additional Comments:

Type Specimen:

Literature:

Jefferson A., S. Lutherwood and M. A. Webber.  FAO Species Identification Guide Marine Mammals of the World.  Rome, U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization, 1994. ISBN 92-5-1032920.

Nowak, Ronald M. Walker’s Mammals of the World.  John Hopkins University Press. 1999.  ISBN 0-8018-5789-9.