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MAMMAL FACTS |
Description The Pantropical Spotted Dolphin is gray and develops spots on the skin as it grows older. The back is gray with pale spots, and the belly is pale with dark spots. The snout is white and it has a fatty bump on its forehead. Males are larger than females although females have longer beak. The Spotted Dolphin has 29 - 37 small, rounded teeth on either side of its upper and lower jaws.
Size Length: males1.6m - 2.6m; females 1.7m - 2.5m
Habitat tropical and subtropical ocean and seas. Most live in open ocean, although some are found in coastal areas.
Food fish, squid
Breeding A single calf (rarely twins) is born after a gestation period of juts under 12 months. The calf is weaned after about 1.5 years or longer.
Range Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans
Credits: Map is from Atlas of Living Australia website at https://biocache.ala.org.au licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Conservation Status The conservation status in the 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals is "lower risk/conservation dependent".
Classification
Class: | Mammalia | Order: | Cetacea | Family: | Delphinidae | Genus: | Stenella | Species: | attenuata | Common Name: | Pantropical Spotted Dolphin |
Relatives in same Genus Striped Dolphin (S. coeruleoalba) Spinner Dolphin (S. longirostris)
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