The Commerson’s dolphin’s black and white markings may be a form of distracting camouflage, helping to increase its hunting ability.
Nature has its own way of creating interesting combinations, for example the Commerson dolphin. Different from the usual colors of dolphins, this animal has black and white patterns like a panda and a strange habit of swimming on its back.
Commerson’s dolphin, also known as panda dolphin, includes two subspecies: Cephalorhynchus commersonii live in South America and Cephalorhynchus commersonii kerguelenensis lives in the waters near the Kerguelen Islands, Indian Ocean. This means they are about 8,500 km apart, but scientists are not sure exactly what prompted this separation.
Dolphins in the Kerguelen Islands are larger with a length of about 1.8 m and a weight of 86 kg, while their South American relatives weigh only 45 kg. Both subspecies have black-and-white patterns, giving them many nicknames such as raccoon dolphin, skunk dolphin or cavity dolphin.
The world has many other marine animals, characterized by irregular patches of color, usually black and white. The genetic cause behind this type of pattern is closely related to the phenomenon of leucism. Leukocytic animals experience a loss of all pigmentation, instead of just melanin like albino animals. In mammals, only certain parts of the body are hypopigmented.
Commerson’s dolphin swimming around a boat in Argentina.Video: Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC)
Experts believe that the black and white pattern may help increase the ability to hunt as a form of camouflage, hiding the appearance of Commerson’s dolphins. But the black and white “outfit” isn’t the only special thing about them. To easily detect and observe prey, they also learn to swim proficiently on their back.
This may come as a surprise to those who know about killer whale hunting tactics. These intelligent hunters will flip large prey onto their backs to induce temporary immobility, for example, flipping onto their backs will cause sharks to fall into a sleep-like state. But Commerson’s dolphins do not experience such a situation. They still comfortably swim with their bellies facing up.
The Commerson dolphin’s prey is diverse, including school-based fish, squid, sea worms, shrimp, and sometimes seaweed. They are not picky eaters and take advantage of seasonally available prey in their habitat.
“Commerson’s dolphins show typical dolphin curiosity towards humans and readily approach boats to ride the waves at the bow and stern. They are active and energetic, frequently performing figure-shaped swimming patterns 8 below boats, spinning underwater and jumping out of the water. Commerson’s dolphins also seem to like to surf close to shore,” the UK Whale and Dolphin Conservation said.