Lesson's Little Dolphin, Delphinus minimus, is an unusually small species of dolphin reportedly seen in the Solomon Islands in 1825 by R. P. Lesson and officially described in 1827. The dolphin does not exceed 2 feet in length, and was spotted swimming in a pod containing thousands of individuals.
Description[]
In the warm seas of the fabulous Solomon Islands, in the middle of those lands which approach the constitution of the Moluccas, we were toured (August 2 and 10, 1825) by thousands of slender-beaked dolphins, whose size among the tallest, it did not exceed two feet. Their general color was brown, and we noticed a white spot only at the end of the muzzle. They jump out of the water like sombres, and follow a constant direction, all forming two lines arranged like a chessboard.
- Original description, translated from French, Compliments de Buffon, 1838, page 616
This supposed dolphin species has not been sighted since 1825, although the species was additionally listed in Philip Hershkovitz's 1966 book Catalog of Living Whales (p. 198) and Tom Jefferson's 2021 paper Nomenclature of the dolphins (p. 63).
Speculation[]
If this dolphin does exist, it would be the smallest cetacean, significantly smaller than the Vaquita (5ft), currently the smallest known cetacean. The size of the dolphin pod would also be remarkable, as very few species congregate in such large groups.
The most likely explanation is that Lesson and Garnot actually observed a school of fish, but it is unusual that R. P. Lesson, who was fairly familiar with cetacean biology (he discovered and named the Rough-Toothed Dolphin) would mistake fish for dolphins. Not much other speculation has been put forward.
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