Classification: 

Although it is called the white-beaked dolphin, many individuals may have grey or black beaks.

Beak colour is highly variable, though the very tip of the beak is always white.

The white-beaked dolphin ranges further north than any other Lagenorhynchus species, and may be found at the edges of the Arctic pack ice. 

 

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Appearance: 

This species has a stubby beak and sloping melon.

The dorsal fin is tall and slightly falcate with a pointed tip and both the dorsal fin and flukes get proportionally larger as the animal ages.

The flippers are pointed, broad and almost 20% of the total body length. It has a black or dark grey cape extending to below the dorsal fin. There is a band of white or pale grey along the flanks from above the flippers to below the dorsal fin, as well as a pale grey or white saddle behind the dorsal fin covering the majority of the tailstock.

The belly, cheeks and throat are white, and some individuals have a dark gape to flipper line.

The dark melon is set off by a greyish collar in front of the blowhole. 

 

 

Behaviour: 

White-beaked dolphins are fast, powerful swimmers.

Although the species can be elusive, they are also known to be highly active, breaching and porpoising frequently, and also avid bow-riders in many parts of their range.

They generally travel in pods of between 5 and 50 individuals, but it is not unusual to see herds of several hundred, or even thousands, of animals.

White-beaked dolphins can sometimes be seen associating with rorquals, such as fin and humpback whales, and often form mixed schools with Atlantic white-sided dolphins and bottlenose dolphins when feeding.