Order Artiodactyla Family Delphinidae Scientific name Stenella | Phylum Chordata Genus StenellaGray, 1866 Higher classification Oceanic dolphin | |
 | ||
Length Striped dolphin: 2.6 m, Spinner dolphin: 1.3 – 2.4 m, Pantropical spotted dolphin: 2.5 m, Clymene dolphin: 2 m Gestation period Striped dolphin: 12 months, Spinner dolphin: 10 months Lower classifications Striped dolphin, Spinner dolphin, Atlantic spotted dolphin, Pantropical spotted dolphin, Clymene dolphin | ||
Stenella is a genus of aquatic mammals in Delphinidae, the family informally known as the oceanic dolphins.
Currently, five species are recognised in this genus:
The common name for species in this genus is the "spotted dolphins" or the "bridled dolphins". They are found in temperate and tropical seas all around the world. Individuals of several species begin their lives spotless and become steadily more covered in darker spots as they get older.
The genus name comes from the Greek stenos meaning narrow. It was coined by John Gray in 1866 when he intended it as a subgenus of Steno. Modern taxonomists recognise two genera.
The clymene dolphin (S. clymene) is the only confirmed case of hybrid speciation in marine mammals, descending from the spinner dolphin (S. longirostris) and the striped dolphin (S. coeruleoalba).