Indian Ocean humpback dolphin

The Indian Ocean humpback dolphin (Sousa plumbea) is a member of the Delphinidae family occupying coastal areas ranging from the warm waters of the Oman Sea (Indian Ocean).

S. plumbea off Khasab in Musandam.

Distribution and habitat

Sousa plumbea ranges from Southern Africa to Western Indochina, including coastal areas along East Africa, the Middle East and India (Arabian Sea). This species does not exhibit large migratory behavior. This species has been reported to inhabit a variety of different coastal habitats, including both soft sediment (e.g. sand and sea grass) and hard sediment (e.g. rock and coral) marine habitats as well as estuarine habitats (e.g. lagoons, bays, rivers, and mangrove channels). Preference and prominence of any given habitat type is highly dependent on the geographical location of any given Indian Ocean humpbacked dolphin population.

Sociality

There is very little scientific evidence to support significant inter-species interactions and groupings, although rare observations have noted interactions (both friendly and aggressive) with the sympatric Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, snubfin dolphin, long-snouted spinner dolphin and Black finless porpoise.