Species of Dolphin found Globally | Sea Life, Islands and Oceania

SPECIES OF DOLPHINS

There are 37 different kinds of dolphin. The most familiar one to humans is the bottlenose dolphin like Flipper and most of the dolphins in dolphin shows. The most numerous are the common dolphin, which have distinctive white and black markings. There are millions of them. They have been observed gathering in large groups and going into a frenzy, perhaps to panic schooling fish.

The Atlantic Humpbacked dolphin is common in coastal waters off West Africa. It is known for cooperating with fisherman to drive fish towards their nets. Atlantic white-side dolphins are often seen off the coast of the United States, sometimes riding the bow waves of humpback and fin whales. Northern right whale dolphins do not have a dorsal fin. They live in the north Pacific and have been observed leaping 23 feet in the air.

In July 2005, the discovery of a new species of dolphin was announced. The Australia snubfin dolphin lives in northern, coastal Australia. It is related to the Irrawaddy dolphin — a river dolphin — but different enough to be declare a new species.

Websites and Resources: Britain-based Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society uk.whales.org ; Animal Diversity Web (ADW) animaldiversity.org; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) noaa.gov; Fishbase fishbase.se; Encyclopedia of Life eol.org; Smithsonian Oceans Portal ocean.si.edu/ocean-life-ecosystems ; Monterey Bay Aquarium montereybayaquarium.org ; MarineBio marinebio.org/oceans/creatures

Common Dolphins

Common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) are the most abundant cetacean (whale, dolphin and porpoise) in the world, with a global population of about six million. Despite its name it is not regarded as the archetypal dolphin. That distinction goes to bottlenose dolphin due to its popular appearances in aquariums and the media. However, common dolphins, rather than bottlenose dolphins, are the dolphin species most often depicted in Ancient Greek and Roman art most notably in a mural painted by the ancient-Egyptian-era Greek Minoan civilization. [Source: Wikipedia]

Common dolphins are currently the only member of the genus Delphinus. The common dolphin belongs to the subfamily Delphininae, making this dolphin closely related to the three different species of bottlenose dolphins, humpback dolphins, striped dolphins, spinner dolphins, clymene dolphin, spotted dolphins, fraser's dolphin and the tucuxi and guiana dolphin.

Common dolphins were originally categorized into two different species (now thought to be ecotypes), the short-beaked common dolphin and the long-beaked common dolphin. However, recent evidence has shown that many populations of long-beaked common dolphins around the world are not closely related to one another and are often derived from a short-beaked ancestor and do not always share common derived characteristics. For this reason, they are no longer considered different species. Some sources — such as the NOAA wbesites — still consider them separate species though,

Bottlenose Dolphins

Bottlenose dolphins (Scientific name:Tursiops) are usually gray in color and have a pronounced bottle-shaped snout. Often featured in television shows and movies, they can reach lengths of three meters (10 feet) and weigh as much as 450 kilograms (1,000 pounds). They eat around 13.5 kilograms (30 pounds) of fish a day, mostly pinfish, pigfish and mullet, and come to the surface an average of once every 28 seconds to breath. Female bottlenose dolphins often live into their early 50s, while males typically live between 40 and 45 years. The maximum age recorded in the wild was a 58-year-old female,

bottlenose dolphin
Common bottlenose dolphins get their name from their short, thick snout (or rostrum). Fossils of Tursiops have been found in Pliocene Period (5.4 million to 2.4 million years ago) and Pleistocene Period (less than two million years old) deposits. It has been suggested that they originated in the Mediterranean region. Tursiops species are a descendant of terrestrial mammals from the family Pakicetidae, terrestrial whales from the early Eocene (56 million to 33.9 million years ago) as are other dolphins and whales.

Bottlenose dolphins have a long association with humans in regard to entertainment, tourism and research. They have been described in literature dating as far back to ancient Greece and Rome. The first bottlenose dolphins were publicly displayed in 1883 and have been a fixture of oceanarium and marine park shows around the world for a long time. The term Tursiops means dolphin-like. It is derived from the Latin word for dolphin, Tursio, and -ops, which is the Greek suffix for appearance.

Spinner Dolphins

Spinner dolphins (Scientific name: Stenella longirostris) are smaller than bottlenose dolphins and are named for their spinning leaps. They are generally about two meters long (6 to 7 feet) and weigh between 60 and 80 kilograms (130 to 170 pounds). They have three shadings: 1) dark gray on their back and on their dorsal fin; 2) blue-grey in the middle and 3) white on their bellies. They have sharper snouts than bottlenose dolphin and slimmer bodies. Long-snouted spinner dolphins are known for their acrobatic skills. Found in tropical waters, they can jump three meters (10 feet) in the air and have been observed spinning seven times in a single leap.

Spinner dolphins are best known for their above-water displays of leaping and spinning several times. They often appear to be awake during their sleep cycles. This is because only one half of their brain gets rest, while the other half is used to help them move through waters. NOAA says disturbing sleeping spinner dolphins can result in various health and reproduction issues, and may cause the mammals to get aggressive.

Spinner dolphins are estimated to live about 20 years on average. The maximum age recorded in the wild was 26 years. Spinner dolphins are often attacked by sharks. The wound and scar marks found on some dolphins indicate attack by the small squaloid shark and other larger sharks. Spinner dolphins are also threatened by the chase and capture techniques used by commercial fisherman to catch yellowfin tuna. Yellowfin tuna follow spinner dolphins in search of food. This relationship is probably mutualistic.

spinner dolphins

Spotted Dolphins

There are two species of spotted dolphins— Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis) and Pantropical spotted dolphin(Stenella attenuata). They are found mostly in the tropics and have a wide variety of habitats, external appearance, and habits. Spotted dolphins are regularly approached by humans in the Bahamas. Their populations in the Pacific have been devastated by tuna fishing. Their spots develop with age. The current population of spotted dolphins is estimated to be 2.2 million.

Atlantic spotted dolphins are found in warm temperate and tropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Older members of the species have a very distinctive spots on their bodies. Members of this species in the Bahamas have been observed mating with bottlenose dolphins, which suggests they may be more closely related to the bottlenose dolphins than to other members of the genus Stenella. Studies in the 2020s indicate that this is a consequence of reticulate evolution (such as past hybridization between Stenella (spotted dolphins) and ancestral Tursiops (bottlenose dolphins)) and incomplete lineage sorting, and thus support common bottlenose dolphins truncatus and do-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, which likely explains why Atlantic spotted dolphins can mate with both species of bottlenose dolphins. [Source: Wikipedia]

Pantropical spotted dolphins are found in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans, as well as the Persian Gulf and Red Sea while Atlantic Spotted dolphins are limited warm-water regions of the Atlantic. Pantropical spotted dolphins are further divided into two recognized subspecies, the offshore spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuata attenuata), which has a global distribution, and the Coastal spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuata graffmani), which is only found along the Pacific coast of Mexico and Central America. To further complicate matters, these dolphins are closely related to, and sometimes difficult to distinguish from many of the species with which they share their range and often form large mixed species groups. Pantropical spotted dolphins are best known for their longstanding association with the tuna fishing industry in the Eastern Tropical Pacific, which caused significant population declines in the past. [Source: International Whaling Commission]

Striped Dolphins

Atlantic humpback dolphin

Striped dolphins (scientific name: Stenella coeruleoalaba) are among the most abundant and widespread dolphins in the world. They prefer deep tropical to warm temperate oceanic waters, and are attracted to upwelling areas, where deep, cold, nutrient-rich water rises toward the surface. and convergence zones, where ocean currents meet. [Source: NOAA]

Striped dolphins are usually found in tight, cohesive groups of about 25 to 100 individuals and have been observed breaching, jumping, and leaping over 20 feet above the surface of the water. They display a unique behavior called roto-tailing, when the animal leaps high out of the water and vigorously rotates its tail while airborne. Their estimated lifespan is up to 58 years.

Some striped dolphins have been held in captivity, but have not been successfully trained. The second part of their scientific name — “coeruleoalaba” — is derived from the Latin "caeruleus" (sky-blue) and "albus" (white). [Source: Melissa Savage, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Striped dolphins are found worldwide and have been observed in the Mediterranean Sea, eastern and western Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Their range includes waters off Greenland, northern Europe (United Kingdom, Denmark), the Mediterranean Sea, Japan, Argentina, South Africa, western Australia, and New Zealand. In the United States, they can be found off the west coast, in the northwestern Atlantic, and in the Gulf of Mexico. They also live in the waters off Hawaii, but do not live in the colder temperate and boreal waters of Alaska. This species has been documented outside its normal range in areas such as the Faroe Islands, southern Greenland, the Kamchatka Peninsula, and Prince Edward Island. [Source: NOAA]

Risso's Dolphins

Risso's dolphin

Risso's dolphins (Scientific name: Grampus griseus) are sometimes called gray dolphins. They are found in the temperate and tropical zones of all the world’s oceans. These cetaceans generally prefers deeper offshore waters, especially near the continental shelf edge and slope, where they can dive to at least 300 meters (1,000 feet) and hold their breath for 30 minutes. They are also very active on the ocean surface. [Source: NOAA]

Risso's dolphins are typically found in groups of between 10 and 30 animals, though they have been reported as solitary individuals, in pairs, or in loose aggregations in the hundreds or thousands. Occasionally, this species associates with other dolphins and whales. They are sometimes considered part of a subfamily referred to as “blackfish,” which also includes false killer whales, pygmy killer whales, melon-headed whales, long-finned pilot whales, and short-finned pilot whales. Risso’s dolphins have an estimated lifespan of at least 35 years.

Risso's dolphins to prey on a mix of near surface, open ocean and bottom-dwelling marine organisms — mainly fish (such as, anchovies), krill, and cephalopods (such as, squid, octopus, and cuttlefish) and crustaceans. One of their most important prey item is the greater argonaut, which is also known as the paper nautilus. Although they are capable of making very deep dives, usually they make shorter dives of just a few minutes. Risso’s dolphins feed mainly at night, when their prey is closer to the surface. Most of their diet consists of squid, and they have been known to move into continental shelf waters when following their preferred prey. They also feed along the continental shelf in waters between 600 and 800 meters deep. [Source: Kelsey Hans, Animal Diversity Web (ADW) /=]

Rough-Toothed Dolphins

20120522-Species Rough_toothed_dolphin.jpg
Rough-toothed dolphin
Rough-toothed dolphins (Scientific name: Steno bredanensis) are found around the world. They are usually found in tight-knit groups of 10 to 20 individuals but have been reported in groups of up to 100 individuals. They often associate with other cetacean species, including short-finned pilot whales, bottlenose dolphins, pantropical spotted dolphins, and spinner dolphins. They eat squids and different types of fish. Rough-toothed dolphins can remain underwater for up to 15 minutes. They can also adapt well to captivity, which is unusual for oceanic dolphins. [Source: NOAA]

Rough-toothed dolphins are generally found in deep oceanic waters in tropical and warmer temperate areas in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans from 40° north to 35° south latitude. They prefer areas with lots of available prey. Rough-toothed dolphins become sexually mature at 10 to 14 years of age and can live for up to 36 or more years.

Rough-toothed dolphins are relatively small compared to other dolphins. They can reach up to 2.6 meters (8.5 feet) in length and weigh about 160 kilograms (350 pounds). They have a small head with a long beak, and no demarcation between their gently sloping melon (or forehead) and beak. Their dorsal fin and flippers are fairly long. They have a “reptilian” appearance that is unique among dolphins. Rough-toothed dolphins have dark gray bodies with a white throat and “lips.” They also have a narrow dark cape that runs down their back between the blowhole and dorsal fin. Their underside usually has some white or lighter spots or blotches.

The worldwide population of rough-toothed dolphins is unknown. In U.S. waters, there are three stocks: the Hawaiian stock, the northern Gulf of Mexico stock, and the western North Atlantic stock. NOAA estimates that there are about 6,000 dolphins in the Hawaiian stock, 600 dolphins in the northern Gulf of Mexico stock, and 300 dolphins in the western North Atlantic stock — for a total of about 6,900 rough-toothed dolphins in U.S. waters. CITES places them in Appendix II. They are protected by the MMPA throughout their range. Threats include entanglement in fishing gear and ocean noise. Rough-toothed dolphins have been killed in direct fisheries in Japan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, West Africa, and the Caribbean Sea.

Freshwater Dolphins

There are four generally recognized species of freshwater dolphin. The Irrawaddy fresh water dolphin is found in the Mekong River in Laos and Cambodia, the Mahakam River in Kalimantan in Indonesia, and the Yangtze in China. They were once found in the Chao Praya River, which flows through Bangkok, but haven't been seen there in decades (See Laos). The three other live in the Ganges in India, the Indus in Pakistan and the Amazon in South America.

Bottlenose dolphins and pilot whales: 23) Black Sea bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus ponticus); 24) Common bottlenose dolphin (tursiops truncatus truncatus); 25) Long-finned Pilot Whale (Globicephala melas); 26) Southern long-finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas edwardii)

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons, NOAA

Text Sources: Animal Diversity Web (ADW) animaldiversity.org; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) noaa.gov; Wikipedia, National Geographic, Live Science, BBC, Smithsonian, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The New Yorker, Reuters, Associated Press, Lonely Planet Guides and various books and other publications.

Last Updated June 2025