Spotted Dolphins

Spotted Dolphin

Scientific name: Stenella attenuata
Local name: spotter, pink bellies, school boy porpoise
Length: 2.2 meters (7feet)

Distinctive Markings
Head: tip of beak usually white; black eye patch and eye band
Teeth: 30-36 in each row of upper jaw, 28-35 in each row of lower jaw
Dorsal Fin: tall, curved backwards; pointed at tip, located mid-body
Body: young are two-tone grays; with age, dark spots develop on gray background; adults
have white spots on dark background; blaze below and behind dorsal fin
Behavior: Spotted dolphins frequently make high leaps and travel in groups of 50 or
more. They can be confused with other species of spotted dolphins, Stenella
frontalis, locally called, rollover porpoise; often travel with, Stenella clymene,
short-snouted spinner.

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