dolphin
species
data card
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Dolphin Species
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dolphin
species
data card
dolphin species
How
many dolphin species are there?
What's
the largest and smallest? What are their scientific names?
There are 32 different dolphin species. There are also two closely related families - the white whales (Monodontidae) and river dolphins (Platanistidae).
The most 'familiar' dolphin species is the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). Bottlenose dolphins have been the mainstays of oceanariums and TV programs for decades.
The largest dolphin species is the Orca, or 'killer whale' (Orcinus orca). Male killer whales can grow up to 9.6 m (31.5 ft).
Here is a listing of the dolphin species:
order CETACEA (WHALES AND DOLPHINS)
suborder ODONTOCETI (TOOTHED WHALES)
| scientific name: | common name: |
| Steno bredanensis | rough-toothed dolphin |
| Sousa chinensis | Indo-Pacific hump-backed dolphin |
| Sousa teuszii | Atlantic hump-backed dolphin |
| Sotalia fluviatilis | tucuxi |
| Tursiops truncatus | bottlenose dolphin |
| Stenella longirostris | spinner dolphin |
| Stenella clymene | clymene dolphin |
| Stenella frontalis | Atlantic spotted dolphin |
| Stenella attenuata | pantropical spotted dolphin |
| Stenella coeruleoalba | striped dolphin |
| Lagenodelphis hosei | Fraser's dolphin |
| Lagenorhynchus albirostris | white-beaked dolphin |
| Lagenorhynchus acutus | Atlantic white-sided dolphin |
| Lagenorhynchus obliquidens | Pacific white-sided dolphin |
| Lagenorhynchus obscurus | dusky dolphin |
| Lagenorhynchus australis | Peale's dolphin |
| Lagenorhynchus cruciger | hourglass dolphin |
| Cephalorhynchus commersonii | Commerson's dolphin |
| Cephalorhynchus heavisidii | Heaviside's dolphin |
| Cephalorhynchus eutropia | black dolphin |
| Cephalorhynchus hectori | Hector's dolphin |
| Lissodelphis borealis | northern right whale dolphin |
| Lissodelphis peronii | southern right whale dolphin |
| Grampus griseus | Risso's dolphin |
| Peponocephala electra | melon-headed whale |
| Feresa attenuata | pygmy killer whale |
| Pseudorca crassidens | false killer whale |
| Globicephala melaena | long-finned pilot whale |
| Globicephala macrorhynchus | short-finned pilot whale |
| Orcinus orca | killer whale |
| Orcaella brevirostris | Irrawaddy dolphin |
family PLATANISTIDAE (RIVER DOLPHINS)
| scientific name: | common name: |
| Platanista gangetica | Ganges river dolphin |
| Platanista minor | Indus river dolphin |
| Inia geoffrensis boto, | Amazon river dolphin |
| Lipotes vexillifer baiji, | Yangtze river dolphin |
| Pontoporia blainvillei franciscana | La Plata dolphin |
| scientific name: | common name: |
| Phocoena phocoena | harbor porpoise |
| Phocoena sinus | vaquita |
| Phocoena dioptrica | spectacled porpoise |
| Phocoena spinnipinnis | Burmeister's porpoise |
| Neophocaena phocaenoides | finless porpoise |
| Phocoenoides dalli | Dall's porpoise |
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