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Australian Wildlife

  Spinner Dolphin (Stenella longirostris)





Spinner Dolphin | Stenella longirostris photo
Stenella longirostris, Lanai, Hawaii.

Image by Curt Smith from Bellevue, WA, USA - Some rights reserved.    (view image details)

Spinner Dolphin | Stenella longirostris photo
Spinner dolphins in Hawaii

Image by Giles Douglas - Some rights reserved.    (view image details)

Spinner Dolphin | Stenella longirostris photo
Spinner dolphin family

Image by Mikol - Some rights reserved.    (view image details)







SPINNER DOLPHIN FACTS

Description
The Spinner Dolphin gets its name from its habit of leaping out of the water, twirling and landing with noisy splash. The back is dark grey and belly is white. On each side there is a paler gray side panel.

Other Names
Spinner Porpoise, Long-snouted Spinner Dolphin

Size
Length 1.3m - 2.4m, with average length of about 2m. Weight 55kg - 75kg

Habitat
deep ocean water and shallower coastal waters. Swims in schools

Food
fish, squid and shrimp

Breeding
A single calf is born after gestation period of 10.6 months. Females give birth to one calf every 2 or 3 years. The calf is weaned after 6-7 months.

Range
tropical and subtropical waters in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans

distribution map showing range of Stenella longirostris in Australia

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:longirostris
Common Name:Spinner Dolphin

Relatives in same Genus
  Pantropical Spotted Dolphin (S. attenuata)
  Striped Dolphin (S. coeruleoalba)