Stenella
Stenella is a genus of aquatic mammals in Delphinidae, the family informally known as the oceanic dolphins.[1][2][3]
Stenella | |
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Striped dolphin | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Artiodactyla |
Infraorder: | Cetacea |
Family: | Delphinidae |
Genus: | Stenella Gray, 1866 |
Species | |
S. attenuata |
Currently, five species are recognised in this genus:[2]
- Pantropical spotted dolphin, S. attenuata
- Atlantic spotted dolphin, S. frontalis
- Spinner dolphin, S. longirostris
- Clymene dolphin, S. clymene
- Striped dolphin, S. coeruleoalba
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
- Tinker, Spencer Wilkie (1988). Whales of the World. Brill Archive. p. 310. ISBN 9780935848472.
- Klinowska, Margaret; Justin Cooke (1991). Dolphins, Porpoises and Whales of the World. IUCN. p. 429. ISBN 9782880329365.
- 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.
- 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.
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