Clymene Dolphin
Stenella clymene

Other Names: Short-snouted Spinner Dolphin, Helmet Dolphin, Senegal Dolphin

Habitat: Offshore

Status: Unknown

Population: Unknown

Threats: Unknown

Group Size: 5-50

Fin Position: Center

Newborns: c.32 in (80 cm), Unknown weight

Adults: 5 ¾-6 ½ ft (1.7-2m), 110-200 lb. (50-90 kg)

Diet: Fish and squid or octopus

Teeth: 78-98 on top row, 76-96 on bottom row

Description

Dorsal fin:

- slightly falcate dorsal fin may have pale center

Flukes:

- pointed tips
- distinct notch in middle
- slightly concave trailing edges

Flippers:

- pointed tips
- dark, slender flippers (variable)

Other characteristics:

- slightly bulging forehead
- pale gray stripe between blowhole and beak
- dark gray or black cape dips below dorsal fin
- pale gray band along sides
- keel below and above tail stock
- lighter areas may be flecked with small spots, especially where white and gray shading meet
- white or pinkish underside
- pale gray stripe from eye to flipper (variable)
- lower jaw white (variable)
- tip of beak and "lips" black

Behavior

- sometimes spins longitudinally when breaching, normally landing on back or one side; recent observations in the Gulf of Mexico indicate that the leaps of the Short-snouted Spinner are as high and complex as in the Long-snouted Spinner, but this appears to be rare in most populations
- known to bow-ride in some areas and sometimes approaches boats quite closely
- thought to be a midwater, nocturnal feeder
-may be seen in association with Long-snouted Spinners and Common Dolphins and various small whales

Distribution

- tropical, subtropical, and occasionally warm temperate waters of the Atlantic Ocean
- distribution poorly known
- recorded off the northwest coast of Africa; in the mid-Atlantic around the equator; along the northeastern coast of South America; in southeastern USA as far north as New Jersey (which is the northernmost record for the species); in the Gulf of Mexico; and in the Caribbean Sea
- may occur as far south as southern Brazil in the west of the range (although single record in 1992 in state of Santa Catarina, Brazil, could have been a stray) and Angola in the east, but limits of distribution are not known for certain
- found mainly in deep water


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This page was created by:Candice Orca Mottet