
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/).
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).

Photo Gallery and Species Biology
Conservation Status:

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.
State | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | No date |
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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.