Stenella

Stenella is a genus of aquatic mammals in Delphinidae, the family informally known as the oceanic dolphins.[1][2][3]

For the genus of fungi, see Stenella (fungus).

Stenella
Striped dolphin
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Infraorder: Cetacea
Family: Delphinidae
Genus: Stenella
Gray, 1866
Species

S. attenuata
S. frontalis
S. longirostris
S. clymene
S. coeruleoalba

Currently, five species are recognised in this genus:[2]

The common name for species in this genus is the "spotted dolphins" or the "bridled dolphins".[1][2] They are found in temperate and tropical seas all around the world.[1][2] Individuals of several species begin their lives spotless and become steadily more covered in darker spots as they get older.[1][2]

The genus name comes from the Greek stenos meaning narrow.[1][2] It was coined by John Gray in 1866 when he intended it as a subgenus of Steno.[1] Modern taxonomists recognise two genera.[1][2]

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).[4]

References
  1. Tinker, Spencer Wilkie (1988). Whales of the World. Brill Archive. p. 310. ISBN 9780935848472.
  2. Klinowska, Margaret; Justin Cooke (1991). Dolphins, Porpoises and Whales of the World. IUCN. p. 429. ISBN 9782880329365.
  3. Walker, Ernest Pillsbury; Ronald M. Nowak; John E. Heyning; Randall R. Reeves; Brent S. Stewart; John E. Heyning; Randall R. Reeves; Brent S. Stewart (2003). Walker's Marine Mammals of the World. JHU Press. p. 264. ISBN 9780801873430.
  4. Amaral, Ana R.; Lovewell, Gretchen; Coelho, Maria M.; Amato, George; Rosenbaum, Howard C. (2014). "Hybrid Speciation in a Marine Mammal: The Clymene Dolphin (Stenella clymene)". PLOS ONE. 9 (1): e83645. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0083645. PMC 3885441. PMID 24421898.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.