Risso's dolphin Grampus griseus (Cuvier, 1812)

The first description of Risso's dolphins originated from a specimen found stranded on a beach in Brest, France, by the French/Italian naturalist Antoine Risso, who described the species' characteristics to G. Cuvier in 1812. Gray (1828) grouped it within the sub-genus Grampus, and Hamilton (1837) elevated this to genus level. In subsequent years scientists considered newly found specimens as potential separate species based on differences in factors such as geographical distribution, size and coloration compared to the original specimen. This led to a variety of names, such as D. rissoanus (Desmarest), G. cuvieri (Gray), G. sowerbianus (Fisher), G. sakamata (Gray), G. stearnsii (Dall), G. richardsoni (Gray), and Globicephalus rissii (Hamilton). In 1889, the zoologist True consolidated the nomenclature by designating the species as monotypic under the name Grampus griseus. However, Iredale and Troughton (1933) assigned the name Grampus to killer whales and classified Risso's dolphin under the genus Grampidelphis. This change was later reversed by Schevill (1954) and Hershkovitz (1961).