Spinner Dolphin
Spinner Dolphin
Stenella longirostris
UncommonDelphinidaeHarmless
ID points
- Snout long and slender like a beak, clearly longer than a bottlenose dolphin's
- Three colour layers on the flank, dark back, grey sides, white belly
- Spins rapidly on its long axis when it leaps clear of the water
Basics
- Family
- Delphinidae
- Length
- 130–200 cm
- Depth
- 0-200 m
- Regions
- Indo-Pacific reefs · Caribbean & W. Atlantic · Open ocean
- Distribution
- Tropical and subtropical coastal waters and around islands
- Habitat
- Warm coastal waters around islands
- Diet
- Small fish, squid
Easily confused with
Bottlenose DolphinShort thick bottle-shaped snout, with a crease where it meets the forehead
Common DolphinAn hourglass patch of cream and pale grey on the flank
Striped DolphinSeveral fine dark blue stripes run from the eye to the ventFun fact
The Spinner Dolphin can rotate on its own axis as it leaps clear of the water, turning as many as about 7 times in a single jump, and it usually travels in large herds of several hundred animals.