Dolphins and Other Small Cetaceans
A wide variety of cetaceans belong to the dolphin family. These toothed whales tend to be much smaller than the great whales. However, most species of dolphins and other small cetaceans face threats from commercial fishing. An estimated 300,000 cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) are killed every year, mostly as bycatch. Like whales, some small cetaceans are hunted for their meat, particularly in Japan and the Faroe Islands, and endangered river dolphins are also threatened by poaching. Marine pollution is often revealed by the accumulation of toxic chemicals and metals in the meat of dolphins leading doctors in several countries to caution against consuming dolphin meat.
The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) continues to monitor and evaluate the status of cetaceans. Many species are listed as Data Deficient due to a lack of complete and comprehensive information on population totals.
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Image
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Name
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2008 IUCN Red List Status
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Arnoux' beaked whale
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Data Deficient (DD)
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Baird's beaked whale
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Data Deficient (DD)
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Commerson's dolphin
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Data Deficient (DD)
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Chilean dolphin
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Near Threatened (NT)
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Heaviside's dolphin
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Data Deficient (DD)
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Hector's dolphin
Maui's dolphin
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Endangered (EN)
Critically Endangered (CR)
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Beluga whale
Cook Inlet beluga whale
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Near Threatened (NT)
Critically Endangered (CR)
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Long-beaked common dolphin
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Data Deficient (DD)
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Short-beaked common dolphin
Black Sea common dolphin
Mediterranean common dolphin
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Least Concern (LC)
Vulnerable (VU)
Endangered (EN)
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Pygmy killer whale
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Data Deficient (DD)
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Short-finned pilot whale
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Data Deficient (DD)
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Long-finned pilot whale
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Data Deficient (DD)
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Risso's dolphin
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Least Concern (LC)
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Northern bottlenose whale
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Data Deficient (DD)
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Sothern bottlenose whale
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Least Concern (LC)
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Tropical bottlenose whale (Longman's beaked whale)
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Data Deficient (DD)
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Boto (Amazon River dolphin)
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Data Deficient (DD)
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Pygmy sperm whale
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Data Deficient (DD)
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Dwarf sperm whale
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Data Deficient (DD)
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Fraser's dolphin
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Least Concern (LC)
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Atlantic white-sided dolphin
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Least Concern (LC)
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White-beaked dolphin
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Least Concern (LC)
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Peale's dolphin
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Data Deficient (DD)
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Hourglass dolphin
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Least Concern (LC)
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Pacific white-sided dolphin
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Least Concern (LC)
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Dusky dolphin
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Data Deficient (DD)
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Baiji (Yangtze River dolphin)
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Critically Endangered (CR)
Possibly Extinct (PE)
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Northern right whale dolphin
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Least Concern (LC)
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Southern right whale dolphin
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Data Deficient (DD)
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Sowerby's beaked whale
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Data Deficient (DD)
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Andrews's beaked whale
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Data Deficient (DD)
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Hubb's beaked whale
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Data Deficient (DD)
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Blainville's beaked whale
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Data Deficient (DD)
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Gervais' beaked whale
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Data Deficient (DD)
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Ginko-toothed beaked whale
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Data Deficient (DD)
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Gray's beaked whale
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Data Deficient (DD)
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Hector's beaked whale
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Data Deficient (DD)
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Strap-toothed whale
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Data Deficient (DD)
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True's beaked whale
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Data Deficient (DD)
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Perrin's beaked whale
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Data Deficient (DD)
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Pygmy beaked whale
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Data Deficient (DD)
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Stejneger's beaked whale
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Data Deficient (DD)
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Narwhal
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Near Threatened (NT)
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Finless porpoise
Yangtze finless porpoise
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Vulnerable (VU)
Endangered (EN)
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Irrawaddy dolphin
Ayeyarwady River Irrawaddy dolphin
Mahakam River Irrawaddy dolphin
Malampaya Sound Irrawaddy dolphin
Mekong River Irrawaddy dolphin
Songkhla Lake Irrawaddy dolphin
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Vulnerable (VU)
Critically Endangered (CR)
Critically Endangered (CR)
Critically Endangered (CR)
Critically Endangered (CR)
Critically Endangered (CR)
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Australian snubfin dolphin
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Near Threatened (NT)
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Killer Whale
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Data Deficient (DD)
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Melon-headed whale
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Least Concern (LC)
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Spectacled porpoise
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Data Deficient (DD)
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Harbour porpoise
Baltic Sea harbour porpoise
Black Sea harbour porpoise
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Least Concern (LC)
Critically Endangered (CR)
Endangered (EN)
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Vaquita
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Critically Endangered (CR)
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Burmeister's porpoise
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Data Deficient (DD)
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Dall's porpoise
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Least Concern (LC)
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South Asian river dolphin
Ganges dolphin
Indus River dolphin
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Endangered (EN)
Endangered (EN)
Endangered (EN)
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Franciscana
Rio Grande do Sul/Uruguay franciscana
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Vulnerable (VU)
Vulnerable (VU)
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False killer whale
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Data Deficient (DD)
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Tucuxi
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Data Deficient (DD)
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Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin
Eastern Taiwan Strait humpback dolphin
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Near Threatened (NT)
Critically Endangered (CR)
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Atlantic humpback dolphin
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Vulnerable (VU)
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Pantropical spotted dolphin
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Least Concern (LC)
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Clymene dolphin
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Data Deficient (DD)
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Striped dolphin
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Least Concern (LC)
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Atlantic spotted dolphin
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Data Deficient (DD)
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Spinner dolphin
Eastern spinner dolphin
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Data Deficient (DD)
Vulnerable (VU)
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Rough-toothed dolphin
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Least Concern (LC)
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Shepherd's beaked whale
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Data Deficient (DD)
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Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin
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Data Deficient (DD)
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Common bottlenose dolphin
Black Sea bottlenose dolphin
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Least Concern (LC)
Endangered (EN)
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Cuvier's beaked whale
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Least Concern (LC)
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For a complete list of threatened Cetaceans, including Dolphins, refer to the IUCN Red List.
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