Species group · Mammals

Dolphins

WAnimals has 17 species of dolphin, spread across 4 families (Delphinidae, Iniidae, Lipotidae, Platanistidae).

17 species

4 families

173 countries

184 parks

Weight: 30 kg – 650 kg
Length: 1.2 m – 3.8 m
Lifespan: 13 – 55 years

Ranges calculated from the entries that record the figure, not from all 17.

All 17 species of dolphins on WAnimals

Each one has its own full entry. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.

Bottlenose Dolphin

Tursiops truncatus

155 countries83 parks364 dive sites

Amazon River Dolphin

Inia geoffrensis

11 countries9 parks

Irrawaddy Dolphin

Orcaella brevirostris

10 countries11 parks5 dive sites

Short-beaked Common Dolphin

Delphinus delphis

42 countries5 parks94 dive sites

Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin

Sousa chinensis

23 countries10 parks28 dive sites

Ganges River Dolphin

Platanista gangetica

7 countries5 parks

Critically Endangered

Atlantic Humpback Dolphin

Sousa teuszii

19 countries4 parks1 dive site

Spinner Dolphin

Stenella longirostris

83 countries41 parks47 dive sites

Striped Dolphin

Stenella coeruleoalba

88 countries18 parks80 dive sites

Atlantic Spotted Dolphin

Stenella frontalis

12 countries9 parks14 dive sites

Pantropical Spotted Dolphin

Stenella attenuata

57 countries13 parks16 dive sites

Commerson's Dolphin

Cephalorhynchus commersonii

9 countries8 parks2 dive sites

White-beaked Dolphin

Lagenorhynchus albirostris

18 countries20 parks19 dive sites

Hector's Dolphin

Cephalorhynchus hectori

1 country5 parks3 dive sites

Peale's Dolphin

Lagenorhynchus australis

4 countries16 parks2 dive sites

Near Threatened

Chilean Dolphin

Cephalorhynchus eutropia

1 country5 parks

Critically Endangered

Baiji

Lipotes vexillifer

Conservation status

9 Least Concern4 Endangered2 Critically Endangered1 Vulnerable1 Near Threatened

7 especies in this group están en alguna categoría de riesgo real según la UICN.

See the global conservation status

Where they live

Recorded in 173 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:

Where to see them

Did you know…

It is probably the most studied cetacean in the world, thanks to more than 50 years of research in Sarasota Bay.
From Bottlenose Dolphin
It can hold its breath for up to 7 minutes.
From Bottlenose Dolphin
It can recognise itself in a mirror, a cognitive ability that is rare among animals.
From Bottlenose Dolphin
Males urinate into the air during social encounters, a behaviour researchers believe may work as a chemical signal.
From Amazon River Dolphin
Beakless with a bulging forehead, it spits jets of water to corral fish.
From Irrawaddy Dolphin
It lives both in coastal waters and in freshwater stretches of the great Asian rivers, and has developed a traditional cooperative fishing relationship with fishermen in Myanmar.
From Irrawaddy Dolphin
In Myanmar there is a centuries-old cooperative fishery: the fishermen tap the water with their oars and the dolphins drive the shoals towards the nets, keeping the fish that escape, a collaboration passed down the generations in both species.
From Irrawaddy Dolphin
It forms pods of over 10,000, among the largest social gatherings of any marine mammal.
From Short-beaked Common Dolphin

Ecosystems

See every species group · Explore the species one by one

Dolphins — 17 species | WAnimals