Long-snouted Spinner Dolphin

About the Long-snouted Spinner Dolphin

The spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris) is a small dolphin found in off-shore tropical waters around the world. It is famous for its acrobatic displays in which it rotates around its longitudinal axis as it leaps through the air. It is a member of the family Delphinidae of toothed whales.

The distribution of the spinner dolphin extends across the tropical and subtropical waters of all oceans. Spinner dolphins exhibit a diurnal schedule characterised by predictable daily geographic migrations, spending mornings resting and socialising in shallow coastal waters before travelling offshore to forage at night.

Concerns have been raised regarding the effects of anthropogenic activities on the species. Tourist vessels used for dolphin watching may disrupt normal behaviour, particularly when vessel numbers are high or when vessels approach dolphins more closely than permitted by local guidelines.

The spinner dolphin is sometimes referred to as the long-snouted dolphin, particularly in older texts, to distinguish it from the similar Clymene dolphin, which is often called the short-snouted spinner dolphin. The species was described by John Gray in 1828. The four named subspecies... Wikipedia →