Atlantic white-sided dolphin
Lagenorhynchus acutus (Gray, 1828)
LCLeast Concernwhales and dolphins
The Atlantic white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus acutus) is a marine mammal in the whales and dolphins group, belonging to the family Delphinidae in the order Cetacea. It falls in the large size class, with a representative adult body mass of 182 kg and a highest reported value of 186.5 kg.
Quick facts about the Atlantic white-sided dolphin
It is a piscivore at the carnivore trophic level, with a cathemeral activity pattern. Gestation lasts 319.4 days, litters average 1.22 young, and the IUCN lists the species as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 182 kg – 186.5 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 27 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Piscivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 319 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1.22src for Young per litter or clutch
- Litters or clutches a year
- 0.4src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- Day and night (cathemeral)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Marinesrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the Atlantic white-sided dolphin
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the Atlantic white-sided dolphin live?
Not recorded
What is the Atlantic white-sided dolphin?
The Atlantic white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus acutus or Leucopleurus acutus) is a distinctively coloured dolphin found in the cool to temperate waters of the North Atlantic Ocean.
From the Wikipedia article “Atlantic white-sided dolphin” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantic_white-sided_dolphin&oldid=1371201073), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the Atlantic white-sided dolphin endangered?
The Atlantic white-sided dolphin is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the Atlantic white-sided dolphin classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderCetacea
- familyDelphinidae
- genusLagenorhynchus
- SpeciesLagenorhynchus acutus (Gray, 1828)
Synonyms Delphinus acutus, Delphinus eschrichtii, Delphinus leucoplaurus, Delphinus leucopleurus, Electra acuta, Lagenodelphis acutus, Lagenorhynchus acutus, Lagenorhynchus gubernator, Lagenorhynchus leucopleurus, Lagenorhynchus leucopleurus, Lagenorhynchus leucopleurus, Lagenorhynchus perspicillatus, Leicopleurus arcticus, Leucopleurus acutus, Leucopleurus arcticus, Leucopleurus arcticus
Other names and names in other languages (17)
- Atlantic white-sided dolphin, white-sided dolphinEnglish
- White-sided dolphinEnglish
- Dolffin YstlyswynWelsh
- Dolffiniaid YstlyswynWelsh
- HvidskævingDanish
- Delfín de Flancos BlancosSpanish
- Delfín de Costados BlancosSpanish
- Dauphin á flancs blancsFrench
- dauphin à flancs blancsFrench
- Lagénorhynque á flanc blanc de l'AtlantiqueFrench
- deilf chliathaich-ghilScottish Gaelic
- leumadair cliathaich-bhàinScottish Gaelic
- leumadair cliathaich-bhàn a' Chuain SiarScottish Gaelic
- leumadairean cliathaich-bhàinScottish Gaelic
- leumadairean cliathaich-bhàn a' Chuain SiarScottish Gaelic
- kvitskjevingNorwegian Bokmål
- vitsidingSwedish
Relatives of the Atlantic white-sided dolphin
Other species in the same genus Lagenorhynchus.
White-beaked dolphin
Lagenorhynchus albirostris
Dusky dolphin
Lagenorhynchus obscurus
Hourglass dolphin
Lagenorhynchus cruciger
Pacific white-sided dolphin
Lagenorhynchus obliquidens
Peale's dolphin
Lagenorhynchus australis
CompareAtlantic white-sided dolphin vs White-beaked dolphinAtlantic white-sided dolphin vs Dusky dolphinAtlantic white-sided dolphin vs Hourglass dolphinAtlantic white-sided dolphin vs Pacific white-sided dolphin
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
How heavy is the Atlantic white-sided dolphin?
Its representative adult body mass is 182 kg, and the highest value reported by our sources is 186.5 kg.
What does the Atlantic white-sided dolphin eat?
It is a piscivore, placed at the carnivore trophic level.
Is the Atlantic white-sided dolphin endangered?
No. The IUCN lists it as Least Concern (LC) in its global assessment, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the Atlantic white-sided dolphin live?
Its lifespan is given as 27 years.
What kind of animal is the Atlantic white-sided dolphin?
It is a marine mammal in the whales and dolphins group, in the family Delphinidae, suborder Odontoceti and order Cetacea.
How many young does the Atlantic white-sided dolphin have?
It has 1.22 young per litter on average and 0.4 litters per year, after a gestation period of 319.4 days.
When does the Atlantic white-sided dolphin reach sexual maturity?
It reaches sexual maturity at 3.4 years, with reported values from 274 days to 6.1 years.
Who named the Atlantic white-sided dolphin?
The scientific name Lagenorhynchus acutus is attributed to (Gray, 1828).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Atlantic white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus acutus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/atlantic-white-sided-dolphin
“Atlantic white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus acutus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/atlantic-white-sided-dolphin.
@misc{atlantic_white_sided_dolphin_2026,
title = {Atlantic white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus acutus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/atlantic-white-sided-dolphin},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}