Sousa chinensis (Osbeck, 1765) - Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin

Subspecies in India

Also known as Chinese White Dolphin.

Once this species was considered as a widespread but highly variable species in Indian as well as Pacific Ocean. Many recent morphological and molecular studies have confirmed that the species is infact a species complex and some of its distinct populations are now treated as separate species.  Genus Sousa (Humpback Dolphins) now contains 4 species viz. S. chinensis (Indo-Pacific), plumbea (Indian Ocean), sahulensis (Australian) and teuszii (Atlantic).

This species is listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List of threatened Species (https://www.iucnredlist.org/).


Photo Gallery and Species Biology


Conservation Status:

This species is listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List of threatened Species (https://www.iucnredlist.org/).


According to IUCN Red List assessment, the population of ths species is decreasing. There are no accurate estimates of its global population available, but it is estimated to be between 2500 and 10,000 mature individuals inclusive of all subpopulations. The major threats to its survival come from various anthropogenic activities such as marine resourece extraction, oceanic transport, overfishing, hunting, occassional trapping into fishing nets and marine water pollution. 
StateJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecNo date
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Andhra Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Assam
Bihar
Chandigarh
Chhattisgarh
Dadra & Nagar Haveli
Daman & Diu
Delhi
Goa
Gujarat
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu and Kashmir UT
Jharkhand
Karnataka
Kerala
Ladakh UT
Lakshadweep
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra
Manipur
Meghalaya
Mizoram
Nagaland
Odisha
Paschimbanga
Pondicherry
Punjab
Rajasthan
Sikkim
Tamil Nadu
Tripura
Uttar Pradesh
Uttarakhand
West Bengal
Total

Page citation

Anonymous 2025. Sousa chinensis (Osbeck, 1765) – Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin. In Bayani, A., R. Chakravarty, and K. Kunte (Editors) (Chief Editors). Butterflies of India, v. 1.13. Published by the Indian Foundation for Butterflies. URL: https://mammalsofindia.org/sousa-chinensis, accessed 2025/04/24.