White Beaked Dolphin

Latin:            Lagenorhynchus albirostris
English:       White Beaked Dolphin
Norwegian: Kvitnos

The white-beaked dolphin shares most of its North Atlantic range with the Atlantic white-sided dolphin. But it ventures farther north into sub-arctic waters, making the most northerly occurring of all dolphins.

In spite of the common name "albirostris", meaning " white beak," the beak, when it can be seen in the wild, is often not white, bur gray or even black in parts of its range.

The best way to distinguish this species from the Atlantic white-sided dolphins is by checking the rest of the flanks. White-beaked dolphins have a grayish patch; a bright yellowish patch indicates an Atlantic white-sided dolphin.

  

© North Atlantic Society 2012