and have rather small
flippers and dorsal fin relative to body size. The dorsal fin is
slender, falcate, and pointed on the tip. The body is gray on the back
and white on the belly. The color of the side is dominated by the
striping pattern. A cream-white band beginning high on the rostrum
extends above and past the eye, continues towards the tail, and finally
dissipates in the body color above the anus. Just below and parallel to
this cream-white band is a black one extending from the area of the eye
to the anus. A second cream-white band below and parallel to this dark
strip separates the darker gray coloration of the side from the white
coloration of the belly. The flippers are dark above and below.

Natural History Notes

The little that is known of the natural history and behavior of the
species may be summarized as follows: Fraser's dolphins occur in groups
of up to at least 500 animals and in the Pacific are occasionally seen
with spotted dolphins (_Stenella attenuata_). From all accounts, they
are not uncommon in certain areas of the tropical Pacific and off South
Africa.

Fraser's dolphins appear to be deep divers. They are aggressive swimmers
and, when they surface to breathe, often charge to the surface, creating
a spray from their heads. They have also been reported leaping clear of
the water.

May Be Confused With

Fraser's dolphin is intermediate in form between _Lagenorhynchus_ and
_Delphinus delphis_ (thus the composite name _Lagenodelphis_). Because
the species is apparently limited to tropical waters, however, and
because of the prominent stripe on the side of the body, Fraser's
dolphins are more likely to be confused with the striped dolphins (p.
113). The two species can be distinguished at sea by several
characteristics:

FRASER'S DOLPHIN STRIPED DOLPHIN

COLORATION

Single broad black stripe Color dominated by series of
from beak and eye back to stripes from: 1) eye to anus;
area of anus. 2) eye to flipper, and 3)
black behind dorsal fin
forward, towards but not
reaching the head.

BEAK

Extremely short and indistinct. Longer, much more distinctive.

BODY SHAPE

Robust, particularly in front Slenderer.
of dorsal f