Taxon name
Sousa chinensis
(Osbeck, 1765)
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Sousa chinensis
(Osbeck, 1765)
Common name(s)
Indo-pacific Humpback Dolphin, Chinese White Dolphin, Golapi Dolphin
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Vertebrates
Mammals
Species authority
(Osbeck, 1765)
Taxonomic notes and synonyms listed
Humpback Dolphins in the IndoPacific are considered as of two species by some biologists: S. plumbea in the western Indian Ocean, from South Africa to the east coast of India and S. chinensis, from the east coast of India to China and Australia (Reeves e
Location and scope
Specific locality or subnational name or regional name
Bangladesh
Scope (of the Assessment)
National
Countries included within the scope of the assessment
Does the assessment cover a marine EEZ area(s)?
Not_assigned
Conservation Status
Assessed as
Least Concern
Criteria system used
IUCN
(see Assessment details)
Assessment rationale/justification
In 2002, a single group of Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins (Sousa chinensis) was reported by Smith et al. (2006) in a relatively high salinity channel of the southwest portion of the Sundarbans Mangrove Forest of Bangladesh. A total of six sightings of Sousa chinensis (mean group size 16.2, range 2 - 55) in the nearshore water of the Bay of Bengal was documented in 2004 (Smith et al. 2008). A single sighting of two individuals was made in the outer mouth of Naaf river in the southeast of Bangladesh in 2007. The Extent of Occurrence and Area of Occupancy are greater than threshold level of threatened categories. There was no information on habitat decline. Thus, this species has been categorized as Least Concern.
Assessment details
Assessors/contributors/reviewers listed
Md. Zahangir Alom
Criteria system used
IUCN
Reference for methods given
IUCN (2012) IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3.1. Second edition. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. iv + 32pp; IUCN (2012) Guidelines for Application of IUCN Red List Criteria at Regional and National Levels: Version 4.0. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. iii + 41pp.
URL (link) of redlist assessment or publication
http://iucnredlistbd.org/
Further information
Endemism (according to assessment)
Taxon distribution as listed in assessment
Discontinuously distributed throughout the shallow coastal waters of Indian and Pacific Oceans (Culik 2011, Reeves et al. 2008). Coastal and pelagic waters of the Bay of Bengal and waterways of the Sundarbans Mangrove Forest.
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes, in the publication/on website
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins prefer areas strongly influenced by freshwater inputs. It is occurring further offshore in still shallow flats but where the water is more saline, warmer and turns from brown to green and the waterways of the Sundarbans Mangrove Forest containing high salinity. They are mostly social, makes group of 2 to 55 animals, avoids boats by diving toward different directions, splits into small groups or single animal. It breeds throughout the year (Culik 2011).
History
Not assessed yet (IUCN Bangladesh 2000).
Publication
IUCN Bangladesh. 2015. Red List of Bangladesh Volume 2: Mammals. IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Bangladesh Country Office, Dhaka, Bangladesh, pp. xvi+232
