5 Amazing Facts About Hour Glass Dolphins

Unless you’re a huge oceanic nerd like I am, chances are you’ve never seen or possibly even heard of the beautiful Hourglass Dolphin.

Here are 5 AMAZING facts about these little known but extremely distinctive hourglass dolphins!

1. The scientific name for the hourglass dolphin is, “Lagenorhynchus cruciger”. Lagenorhyncus means ‘jar-beaked’ referring to their small, jar shaped rostrums and ‘cruciger’ means cross carrier which references their unique cross like color scheme on their flank.
2. Besides the largest member of the dolphin family, the Killer Whale, the Hourglass Dolphin is the southern-most dolphin. They’re only found in Antarctic and sub-Antarctic waters.
3. They are commonly found in waters ranging from 32 – 55 degrees F.
4. The only potential natural predators of the hourglass dolphin is a pack of killer whales.
5. As of 2010, only six complete specimens had ever been studied by science, making them one of the least understood animals on Earth. Despite this fact, they are not considered endangered.