Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin
Scientific Name : Tursiops Aduncus
- IUCN: Near Threatened
- Other names: Black dolphin (name used in Zanzibar)
- Swahili name: Pombooo pua ya chupa
- Length: 2-2.7m
- Weight: 110-170kg
- Life expectancy: approx. 45 years
- Abundance: Tropical and subtropical coastal waters in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific
- Occurance: Year-round
- Primary prey: Fish and squid
- Conservation status: Bycatch dangers due to fisheries.
- Quick key identification: Bottlenose beak separated from melon by a crease, mid gray fading to lighter gray then white with darker spots on the belly, large and broad curved dorsal fin, less falcate than T.truncatus Teeth can number 21-29 in each upper and lower jaw.
Were hunted in many areas in the past and caught illegally in some areas in western Indian Ocean region. Used for human consumption as well as line fishery bait. Considered by fisherman prime bait for sharks. Recently, tourism has started to noticeably replace the larger numbered hunts or catches from before.
Sometimes confused with the common bottlenose dolphin and pan-tropical spotted dolphin.
