Editing Commerson's dolphin (section)

==Population and distribution==
Two disjunct subspecies of the dolphin are found in geographically disparate areas separated by 130° of longitude and about {{convert|8500|km|abbr=on}}; it is not known why they are thus distributed. Global populations are unknown, but the species is accepted to be locally common.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Pimper |first1=Lida E. |last2=Remis |first2=Maria I. |last3=Natalie |first3=R. |last4=Goodall |first4=P. |last5=Baker |first5=C. Scott |date=2009-09-01 |title=Teeth and Bones as Sources of DNA for Genetic Diversity and Sex Identification of Commerson's Dolphins (''Cephalorhynchus commersonii'') from Tierra del Fuego, Argentina |journal=Aquatic Mammals |volume=35 |issue=3 |pages=330–333 |doi=10.1578/am.35.3.2009.330 |issn=0167-5427}}</ref>

The main subspecies, ''C.c.commersonii'', is found inshore in various inlets in Argentina including [[Puerto Deseado]], in the [[Strait of Magellan]] and around [[Tierra del Fuego]], and near the [[Falkland Islands]] (Las Malvinas).<ref name=Righi>{{Cite journal |last1=Righi |first1=Carina F. |last2=Blanco |first2=Gabriela S. |last3=Frere |first3=Esteban |date=March 2013 |title=Abundance and Spatial Distribution of Commerson's Dolphin (Cephalorhynchus commersonii) at a Breeding Site: Ría Deseado, Patagonia, Argentina |journal=Aquatic Mammals |volume=39 |issue=1 |pages=1–9 |doi=10.1578/am.39.1.2013.1 |issn=0167-5427|hdl=11336/23945 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> A survey in 1984 estimated there to be 3,200 individuals in the Strait of Magellan. <ref name="Estimate of number of Commerson's dolphins in a portion of the northeastern Strait of Magellan, January-February 1984">{{cite journal |last1=Leatherwood |first1=S. |last2=Kastelein |first2=R. A. |last3=Hammond |first3=P. S. |title=Estimate of number of Commerson's dolphins in a portion of the northeastern Strait of Magellan, January-February 1984 |journal=Reports of the International Whaling Commission |date=1988 |volume=9 |pages=93–102}}</ref>

Dolphins of the second subspecies, ''C.c.kerguelenensis'', were discovered in the 1950s. They reside near the [[Kerguelen Islands]], in the southern part of the [[Indian Ocean]], and prefer shallow waters.

In 2004, a [[Vagrancy (biology)|vagrant]] individual of unconfirmed origin was sighted on [[South Africa|South Africa's]] [[Agulhas Bank]], {{Convert|4200|km|abbr=on}} from the Kerguelen Islands and {{Convert|6300|km|abbr=on}} from South America. Though the Kerguelen Islands are closer, such a journey would require swimming against the [[Antarctic Circumpolar Current]].<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Bruyn | first1 = P. J. N., de | last2 = Hofmeyr | first2 = G. J. G. | last3 = Villiers | first3 = M. S., de | title = First record of a vagrant Commerson's dolphin, ''Cephalorhynchus commersonii'', at the southern African continental shelf | year = 2006 | journal = African Zoology | volume = 41 | issue = 1 | url = http://www.biologicalsciences.uct.ac.za/sites/default/files/image_tool/images/75/files/de%20Bruyn_Commersons.pdf | access-date = 15 February 2015 | archive-date = 9 May 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210509190352/https://www.biologicalsciences.uct.ac.za/sites/default/files/image_tool/images/75/files/de%20Bruyn_Commersons.pdf | url-status = dead }}</ref>