Hector's dolphin
Cephalorhynchus hectori (P.-J. van Bénéden, 1881)
ENEndangeredwhales and dolphins
Hector's dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori) is a toothed whale of the suborder Odontoceti and the family Delphinidae, in the whales and dolphins subgroup of mammals. It is a large, marine, diurnal animal with an adult body mass of 50 kg and a piscivore diet, placing it at the carnivore trophic level.
Quick facts about the hector's dolphin
The IUCN Red List classes Hector's dolphin as Endangered (EN), a threatened category, and its lifespan is given as 20 years.
- Weight
- 50 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 20 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Piscivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- coastalsrc for Habitat
- Gestation
- 335 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 7.67 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 0.42src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Marinesrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the hector's dolphin
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the hector's dolphin live?
Not recorded
What is the hector's dolphin?
Hector's dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori) is one of six dolphin species belonging to the genus Cephalorhynchus. Hector's dolphin is the only cetacean endemic to New Zealand, and comprises two subspecies: C. h. hectori, the more numerous subspecies, also referred to as South Island Hector's dolphin, and C. h. maui, the critically endangered Māui dolphin that is found off the West Coast of New Zealand's North Island.
Distinctive features of the species include a rounded dorsal fin, grey, white, and black coloration, and a stocky body shape. Their lifespan is typically around 20 years, and the species favours shallow coastal waters around the South Island, where they live in small groups and use echolocation clicks to communicate.
Threats to the species include bycatch in gillnets and trawls, disease, genetic issues, and additional anthropogenic hazards. Action to conserve the species has been taken through the establishment of marine protected areas and other recent protections.
From the Wikipedia article “Hector's dolphin” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hector%27s_dolphin&oldid=1381256829), 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 hector's dolphin endangered?
The hector's dolphin is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
- 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 Endangered species.
How is the hector's dolphin classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderCetacea
- familyDelphinidae
- genusCephalorhynchus
- SpeciesCephalorhynchus hectori (P.-J. van Bénéden, 1881)
Synonyms Electra clancula, Electra hectori
Other names and names in other languages (36)
- Hector s dolphinEnglish
- Hector’s dolphinEnglish
- New Zealand dolphinEnglish
- New Zealand dolphinEnglish
- New Zealand white-front dolphinEnglish
- White-headed dolphinEnglish
- White-headed dolphinEnglish
- دلفين هيكتورArabic
- plískavice novozélandskáCzech
- Hectors delfinDanish
- Hector-DelfinGerman
- Hector-DelphinGerman
- HectordelphinGerman
- Δελφίνι της Νέας ΖηλανδίαςGreek
- delfín de HectorSpanish
- Tunina De HéctorSpanish
- UudenseelannindelfiiniFinnish
- uuden-seelannindelfiiniFinnish
- Dauphin D'HectorFrench
- dauphin de HectorFrench
- Cefalorinco di HectorItalian
- セッパリイルカJapanese
- AhoahoMāori
- PehipehiMāori
- tūpoupouMāori
- tutumairekuraiMāori
- UpokohueMāori
- WaiauaMāori
- HektordelfinNorwegian Bokmål
- Hectors DolfijnDutch
- Delfin HektoraPolish
- tonin nowozelandzkiPolish
- Golfinho-de-hectorPortuguese
- Дельфин ГектораRussian
- beyaz başlı yunusTurkish
- 賀氏矮海豚Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the hector's dolphin
Other species in the same genus Cephalorhynchus.
Commerson's dolphin
Cephalorhynchus commersonii
Heaviside's dolphin
Cephalorhynchus heavisidii
Black dolphin
Cephalorhynchus eutropia
CompareHector's dolphin vs Commerson's dolphinHector's dolphin vs Heaviside's dolphinHector's dolphin vs Black dolphin
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
Is Hector's dolphin endangered?
Yes. Hector's dolphin is listed as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List, which is a threatened category.
How heavy is Hector's dolphin?
An adult Hector's dolphin has a body mass of 50 kg, which places it in the large size class (25 to 250 kg).
What does Hector's dolphin eat?
Hector's dolphin is a piscivore, and its trophic level is carnivore.
How long does Hector's dolphin live?
Hector's dolphin has a lifespan of 20 years.
How many young does Hector's dolphin have?
Hector's dolphin has 1 young per litter, after a gestation period of 334.8 days (11 months).
What kind of animal is Hector's dolphin?
Hector's dolphin is a marine mammal in the order Cetacea, suborder Odontoceti and family Delphinidae.
What are other names for Hector's dolphin?
Other English names include New Zealand dolphin, White-headed dolphin and New Zealand white-front dolphin.
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). Hector's dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/hector-s-dolphin
“Hector's dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/hector-s-dolphin.
@misc{hector_s_dolphin_2026,
title = {Hector's dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/hector-s-dolphin},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}