Mammals · Artiodactyla · Delphinidae

Atlantic Spotted Dolphin

Stenella frontalis

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The Atlantic spotted dolphin is endemic to that ocean, where it occupies temperate and warm waters on both sides. Its most characteristic feature is a spotting that develops with age: the calves are born a uniform grey and gradually acquire pale markings on the dark back and dark ones on the pale belly, until old adults look almost spattered with paint. It lives in groups that often associate with bottlenose dolphins and hunts fish and squid by day and by night.

Weight

100 kg – 143 kg

Size

1.7 m – 2.3 m

Lifespan

25 years

Diet

Carnivore

Feeds mainly on other animals.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

OceanCarnivore Ocean Mammal

12countries 9parks 14dive sites17same family

Fun facts

GeneralIt is born unspotted and gains its spots with age, like freckles.
An individual's age can be estimated from its spotting: it is born plain and accumulates markings into old age, which allows animals to be classified without catching them.
The Bahamas population has been studied continuously since the 1980s and is one of the longest individual-based studies ever carried out on wild dolphins.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)
Habitat & environment: Temperate and tropical waters of the Atlantic, over the continental shelf and shallow banks
Sexual maturity: 9 years
Gestation / incubation: 11.5 months
Litter / clutch size: 1

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stenella_frontalis