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Lagenorhynchus

Mammalia - Cetacea - Delphinidae

Taxonomy
Lagenorhynchus was named by Gray (1846) [Sepkoski's age data: T Plio Q Plei Sepkoski's reference number: 507]. It is extant. Its type is Lagenorhynchus albirostris. It was considered monophyletic by Weber (1928).

It was reranked as Delphinus (Lagenorhynchus) by Owen (1866).

It was assigned to Delphinina by Gray (1846); to Delphinina by Gray (1864); to Delphinus by Owen (1866); to Lagenorhynchina by Gray (1868), Gray (1871); to Lagenorhynchini by Winge (1921); to Cetacea by Sepkoski (2002); to Delphininae by Flower (1867), Gill (1871), Gill (1872), Weber (1928), Scheffer and Rice (1963), Kasuya (1973), de Muizon (1988), Vidal (1991), McKenna and Bell (1997), Buchholtz and Schur (2004); to Lissodelphininae by Marx et al. (2016); and to Delphinidae by Gray (1846), Gray (1850), Gray (1863), Gray (1866), Gray (1870), Scott (1873), Cope (1890), Palmer (1904), Turner (1912), Simpson (1945), Ellerman and Morrisson-Scott (1951), Fraser and Purves (1960), Rice (1998), LeDuc et al. (1999), Fordyce and de Muizon (2001), Mead and Brownell (2005), Agnarsson and May-Collado (2008), Whitmore and Kaltenbach (2008), Uhen et al. (2008), Perrin et al. (2013), Murakami et al. (2014), Berta (2017), Vollmer et al. (2019).

Synonyms
Synonymy list
YearName and author
1826Delphinus superciliosus Lesson and Garnot
1829Delphinus superciliosus Fischer p. 510
1846Lagenorhynchus Gray p. 34
1850Lagenorhynchus Gray p. 97
1863Lagenorhynchus Gray p. 200
1864Lagenorhynchus nilssonii Gray
1864Lagenorhynchus Gray p. 237
1866Lagenorhynchus (Leucopleurus) Gray p. 216
1866Lagenorhynchus Gray p. 267
1866Lagenorhynchus (Electra) Gray p. 268
1866Delphinus (Lagenorhynchus) Owen
1867Lagenorhynchus Flower p. 115
1868Electra Gray p. 7
1868Lagenorhynchus Gray p. 7
1868Leucopleurus Gray p. 7
1870Electra Gray p. 772
1870Lagenorhynchus Gray p. 772
1870Leucopleurus Gray p. 772
1871Lagenorhynchus Gill p. 125
1871Electra Gray p. 76
1871Lagenorhynchus Gray p. 78
1871Leucopleurus Gray p. 78
1872Lagenorhynchus Gill p. 95
1873Lagenorhynchus Scott p. 83
1890Lagenorhynchus Cope p. 609
1904Lagenorhynchus (Electra) Palmer p. 254
1904Lagenorhynchus Palmer p. 360
1904Leucopleurus Palmer p. 374
1904Lagenorhynchus supercilliosus Trouessart p. 767
1912Lagenorhynchus Turner p. 125
1921Lagenorhynchus Winge p. 36
1928Lagenorhynchus Weber p. 389
1945Lagenorhynchus Simpson p. 104
1951Lagenorhynchus Ellerman and Morrisson-Scott p. 736
1960Lagenorhynchus Fraser and Purves p. 112 figs. FIgure 26
1963Lagenorhynchus Scheffer and Rice p. 5
1973Lagenorhynchus Kasuya p. 61
1988Lagenorhynchus de Muizon p. 162
1991Lagenorhynchus Vidal p. 5
1997Lagenorhynchus McKenna and Bell p. 385
1998Lagenorhynchus Rice p. 113
1999Lagenorhynchus LeDuc et al. p. 639 figs. Figure 2
1999Leucopleurus LeDuc et al. p. 639 figs. Figure 2
2001Lagenorhynchus Fordyce and de Muizon p. 179
2001Leucopleurus Fordyce and de Muizon p. 179
2002Lagenorhynchus Sepkoski
2004Lagenorhynchus Buchholtz and Schur p. 384 figs. Figure 1
2005Lagenorhynchus Mead and Brownell p. 729
2008Lagenorhynchus Agnarsson and May-Collado p. 981 figs. Fig. 4.3
2008Lagenorhynchus Uhen et al. p. 593
2008Lagenorhynchus Whitmore and Kaltenbach p. 218
2011Leucopleurus Geisler et al. p. 6 figs. Table 1
2013Lagenorhynchus Perrin et al. p. 571
2013Leucopleurus Perrin et al. p. 571 figs. Table 1
2014Lagenorhynchus Murakami et al. p. 492 figs. Table 1
2014Leucopleurus Murakami et al. p. 507 figs. Figure 10
2016Lagenorhynchus Marx et al. p. 141
2017Lagenorhynchus Berta p. 164
2019Lagenorhynchus Vollmer et al.
2019Leucopleurus Vollmer et al.

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
—Bilateria
—EubilateriaAx 1987
—Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
—Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
—Tetrapoda
—Reptiliomorpha
—Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
—Cotylosauria()
—Amniota
subclassSynapsida
—Therapsida()
infraorderCynodontia()
—Mammaliamorpha
—Mammaliaformes
RankNameAuthor
classMammalia
—Cladotheria
—Zatheria
subclassTribosphenida()
subclassTheria
—Eutheria()
—Placentalia
—Boreoeutheria
—Laurasiatheria
—Scrotifera
—Euungulata
—Artiodactylamorpha
—Artiodactyla()
—Whippomorpha
orderCetacea
—Pelagiceti
—Neoceti
suborderOdontoceti
infraorderDelphinida
superfamilyDelphinoidea
familyDelphinidae
genusLagenorhynchus

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

G. Lagenorhynchus Gray 1846
show all | hide all
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Invalid names: Delphinus eschrichtii Schlegel 1841 [synonym], Delphinus leucopleurus Rasch 1843 [synonym], Lagenorhynchus gubernator Cope 1876 [synonym], Lagenorhynchus perspicillatus Cope 1876 [synonym], Leucopleurus arcticus Gray 1868 [synonym]
Lagenorhynchus albirostris Gray 1846 [white-beaked dolphin]
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Invalid names: Delphinus ibsenii Eschricht 1846 [synonym], Delphinus pseudotursio Reichenbach 1846 [synonym], Delphinus tursio Brightwell 1846 [replaced]
+
Invalid names: Sagmatias amblodon Cope 1866 [synonym], Tursio chiloensis Philippi 1900 [synonym]
Lagenorhynchus cruciger Quoy and Gaimard 1824
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Invalid names: Delphinus albigena Quoy and Gaimard 1824 [synonym], Delphinus bivittatus Lesson and Garnot 1826 [synonym], Delphinus obscurus Gray 1850 [synonym], Lagenorhynchus clanculus Gray 1846 [synonym], Lagenorhynchus wilsoni Lillie 1915 [synonym], Phocaena dorbignyi Philippi 1893 [synonym], Phocaena homeii Smith 1828 [synonym]
†Lagenorhynchus harmatuki Whitmore and Kaltenbach 2008
+
Invalid names: Clymenia similis Gray 1868 [synonym], Delphinus breviceps Wiegmann 1840 [synonym], Delphinus breviceps Jacquinot and Pucheran 1853 [synonym], Delphinus fitzroyi Waterhouse 1838 [synonym], Lagenorhynchus similis Gray 1868 [synonym], Prodelphinus petersii Reinhardt 1889 [synonym], Tursio panope Canto 1896 [synonym]
Invalid names: Delphinus superciliosus Lesson and Garnot 1826 [nomen dubium], Electra Gray 1866 [synonym], Lagenorhynchus nilssonii Gray 1864 [nomen dubium], Leucopleurus Gray 1866 [synonym]
Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
N. L. Vollmer et al. 2019Occurring across the North Atlantic, L. albirostris largely overlaps in distribution with L. acutus but can be differentiated based on its light gray or white beak, the presence of a grayish-white saddle behind the dorsal fin, the lack of a yellow/tan blaze along the flank, and a gradually tapering tail stock. Compared to L. acutus, L. albirostris has a shorter (<240 mm) and wider at the base rostrum (>125 mm) and fewer, but larger, teeth (see Meristics and osteology below for tooth count; Reeves et al. 1999a, Galatius and Kinze 2016). Additionally, L. albirostris can be distinguished from all Sagmatias and Leucopleurus species based on cranial characteristics, including having the largest condylobasal length, width of external nares, braincase length, and preorbital width, and by having a greater vertebral count (Miyazaki and Shikano 1997b).
Numerous molecular phylogenies, using nuclear and/or mitochon- drial markers, have shown that L. albirostris is differentiated from Leucopleurus acutus and all Sagmatias, Cephalorhynchus, and Lisso- delphis species with high statistical support based on phylogenetic bootstrap and Bayesian posterior probability (PP) values (Fig. 2, 3; Table 4). These studies reveal that L. albirostris has no close genetic affinity to any other species in these genera, supporting the monotypic status of this genus.
N. L. Vollmer et al. 2019 (Leucopleurus)Leucopleurus acutus partially overlaps in distribution with L. albirostris across the North Atlantic and can be differentiated based on the presence of a sharply defined color pattern, in part consisting of a dark gray to black upper jaw and entire dorsal surface, a white lateral patch starting below the dorsal fin and extending posteriorly, a white belly and lower jaw, black flippers, and a yellow or tan blaze along the flank. From a lat- eral view, the tail stock abruptly tapers prior to the flukes. Compared to L. albirostris, L. acutus has a longer and narrower skull (Reeves et al. 1999b). Additionally, L. acutus can be distinguished from all Sagmatias species based on having the largest lachrymal length and greatest preorbi- tal width (Miyazaki and Shikano 1997b).
Molecular evidence based on both nuclear and mitochondrial DNA data supports that L. acutus is differentiated from Lagenorhynchus albirostris and all species of Sagmatias, Cephalorhynchus, and Lissodel- phis with high statistical support based on phylogenetic bootstrap and PP values (Fig. 2, 3; Table 4). These studies reveal that L. acutus has no close genetic affinity to any other species, supporting the monotypic sta- tus of this genus.
Measurements
partNmean

Composition: hydroxyapatitesubo
Form: roller-shapedo
Ontogeny: modification of partso
Environment: marine, freshwatersubo
Locomotion: actively mobileo
Life habit: aquatico
Depth habitat: surfaceo
Diet: piscivoref
Diet 2: carnivoref
Reproduction: viviparoussubo
Created: 2005-06-08 10:11:09
Modified: 2005-06-08 12:11:09
Source: f = family, subo = suborder, o = order
References: Uhen 2004, Nowak 1991

Age range

Maximum range based only on fossils: base of the Messinian to the top of the Holocene or 7.24600 to 0.00000 Ma
Minimum age of oldest fossil (stem group age): 5.333 Ma

Collections (18 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Tortonian - Messinian11.63 - 5.333New Zealand L. sp. (87865)
Messinian7.246 - 5.333Libya L. sp. (52580)
Zanclean5.333 - 3.6USA (North Carolina) L. sp., L. harmatuki (52582)
Gelasian2.58 - 1.8United Kingdom (England) L. acutus (48093)
Rancholabrean (glacial)0.21 - 0.014USA (California) L. sp. (20624)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0New Zealand L. cruciger (168131)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Antarctica L. australis (168128)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0United Kingdom (England) Delphinus tursio (86894)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Netherlands Leucopleurus acutus (125083)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Argentina L. australis (168126)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Denmark L. albirostris (159727 186598)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Chile L. australis (168127)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Svalbard and Jan Mayen L. albirostris (168125)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Greenland L. albirostris (168123)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Iceland L. albirostris (168124)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0South Africa L. cruciger (168133) Sagmatias obscurus (86897)