Reviewing of the distribution of the genus Delphinus and documented records of Delphinus capensis in Chile

Abstract

The updated record list of common dolphins (genus Delphinus) for Chilean waters includes three sightings of Delphinus delphis (for a total of 650 individuals), two sightings of Delphinus capensis (310 individuals), 14 sightings of Delphinus sp. (593 individuals) and three individual strandings of Delphinus delphis, two from the mainland IV Region of Chile, and one from the Juan Fernandez islands, V Region of Chile. The specimens were identified based on diagnostic cranial characteristics. The distribution area of the genus Delphinus, is maintained at 40º S, as the southernmost range, for both neritic and pelagic waters. The southernmost range of D. capensis is here extended to 28º S but, as in Peru, occurrence is limited to the continental shelf and typically related to the presence of dusky dolphins Lagenorhynchus obscurus. Groups of two or three dolphins of the genus Delphinus can inhabit the coastal border for a variable period of time.