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Southern
right whale dolphins, along with their Northern Hemisphere
counterparts, are the most slender of all cetaceans.
The body shape is essentially the same as in the northern
right whale dolphin, with a short, well-demarcated snout,
small recurved flippers, extremely shallow (top to bottom)
tail stock, small flukes with a concave trailing edge,
and no hint of a dorsal fin or ridge.
The white coloration of the ventral area extends
well up the sides, the sharp line demarcating black
above and white below runs from the tail stock forward,
dips down to the flipper insertion, and then sweeps
back up to cross the melon between the blowhole and
snout crease. The flippers are generally white, but
the trailing edge has a black band. The flukes are
white below, and dark gray, fading to white, on the
leading edge.
The mouth is lined with 44-49 sharp, pointed teeth
in each row. |
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