Stenella

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Stenella
Temporal range: Neogene–Present
Striped dolphin
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Infraorder: Cetacea
Family: Delphinidae
Subfamily:
Delphininae
Genus: Stenella
Gray, 1866
Type species
Steno attenuatus [1]

Gray, 1846
Species

S. attenuata
S. frontalis
S. longirostris
S. clymene
S. coeruleoalba
S. rayi

Stenella is a

Delphinidae, the family informally known as the oceanic dolphins.[2][3][4]

Species

Currently, five species are recognised in this genus:[3]

Image Common Name Scientific name Distribution
Pantropical spotted dolphin S. attenuata eastern Pacific Ocean
Atlantic spotted dolphin S. frontalis tropical areas of the Atlantic Ocean. I
Spinner dolphin S. longirostris Pacific Ocean
Clymene dolphin S. clymene Atlantic Ocean.
Striped dolphin S. coeruleoalba North and South Atlantic Oceans, including the Mediterranean

S. rayi was a species of this genus found in North Carolina, in the early Pliocene.[5]

The common name for species in this genus is the "spotted dolphins" or the "bridled dolphins".[2][3] They are found in temperate and tropical seas all around the world.[2][3] Individuals of several species begin their lives spotless and become steadily more covered in darker spots as they get older.[2][3]

The genus name comes from the

Steno.[2] Modern taxonomists recognise two genera.[2][3]

The clymene dolphin (S. clymene) is the only confirmed case of hybrid speciation in marine mammals, descending from the spinner dolphin (S. longirostris) and the striped dolphin (S. coeruleoalba).[6]

Stenella dolphins tend to be more active during nighttime and spend their daytime resting. Although these dolphins are supposed to spend 60% of their daytime resting, they happen to be exposed to human activities for 80% of their day. These patterns of sleep deprivation can have negative impact on their resting habit and leads to decline in their population size.[7]

References