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Dolphin Feature - Fraser's Dolphin

© Carma Haley Shoemaker

The Fraser's dolphin was named in 1956 by a British cetologist F.C. Fraser of the Natural History Museum of London. The scientific name of Fraser's dolphin, Lagenodelphis hosei, is taken from the Greek word lagenos, meaning "a flagon" and dolphins, meaning "the dolphin." A skeleton of a then unidentified Fraser's dolphin had been found and kept by Dr. Charles Hose, a naturalist who lived in Sarawak and Malaysia from 1884 to 1907. The skeleton was the only one known record of this species until the early 1970s when a pod of Fraser's dolphins were spotted in the Indian Ocean. Within weeks, the species began to become apparent widely throughout the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

Fraser's dolphin is considered an "oceanic" species, meaning that it will avoid shallow inshore waters. These dolphins can be seen throughout the temperate waters of the world and with numbers estimated as high as 142,000, the Fraser's dolphin is no longer considered rare.

The average length of a Fraser's is approximately 6.5 to 7.0 feet and can weigh in at up to 400 pounds. However, the largest of the species on record were found in the Indian Ocean. One male and one female measured in at 8 feet 7 inches in length and weighed over 460 pounds. According to research data, variations in size and weight of the Fraser's dolphin may be due to the region of habitat.

The Fraser's dolphin has a large, robust body with a short snout, small fins and complicated markings. The color pattern tends to be a bluish-gray on the back, white on the underbelly, with stripes of black and white along the lateral sides. The upper lip, dorsal fin, flippers and flukes are all darker in color then the rest of the body offering a distinctive look that aids in identification.

Pods of Fraser's dolphins can contain as many as 1,000 members. The average pod contains between 100 and 200 but can be as small as four.

The Fraser's dolphin may have taken it's time letting us know of their existence, but now that we know about them, we can continue to learn whatever it is they want to teach us.

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