Spinner dolphin

Spinner dolphin
A spinner dolphin in the Red Sea
Size compared to an average human
CITES Appendix II (CITES)
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Suborder: Whippomorpha
Infraorder: Cetacea
Family: Delphinidae
Genus: Stenella
Species:
S. longirostris
Binomial name
Stenella longirostris
(Gray, 1828)
Subspecies
  • S. l. orientalis
  • S. l. centroamericana
  • S. l. longirostris
  • S. l. roseiventris
Spinner Dolphin range
Synonyms
  • Delphinus longirostris Gray, 1828
  • Delphinus microps Gray, 1846
  • Delphinus roseiventris Wagner, 1846
  • Delphinus alope Gray, 1850
  • Clymene alope Gray, 1866
  • Clymene microps Gray. 1866
  • Steno roseiventris Gray, 1866
  • Delphinus alope Gray, 1866
  • Delphinus stenorhynchus Gray, 1866
  • Clymenia alope Gray, 1868
  • Clymenia microps Gray, 1868
  • Clymenia stenorhynchus Gray, 1868
  • Prodelphinus longirostris Trouessart, 1904

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.