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Pantropical Spotted Dolphins are aquatic mammals.
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Pantropical Spotted
Dolphin Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Cetacea
Family: Delphinidae
Genus: Stenella
Species: Attenuata
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Other Names: Spotted Dolphin, White-Spotted
Dolphin, Bridled Dolphin, Spotter, Spotted Porpoise,
Slender-Beaked Dolphin, Narrow-Snouted Dolphin,
Gulf Stream Dolphins, Gulf Stream Spotted Dolphins,
and The Spotter,
Size: Pantropical Spotted Dolphins are
one of the smaller species of dolphins. Pantropical
Spotted dolphins are 5.75 to 8 feet in length
and they weigh 200-255 lbs. Male Pantropical Spotted
Dolphins are slightly larger than females in the
species.
Habitat: Pantropical Spotted Dolphins
can be found in temperate and tropical waters
throughout the world. Pantropical Spotted Dolphins
mainly live in tropical or warm waters, and they
are found in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian
Oceans. They are often observed around islands
in the eastern tropical Pacific, the western North
Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico and around Hawaii.
Diet: Pantropical Spotted Dolphins primarily
feed on Fish, squid, octopus, occasionally krill
or other crustaceans.
Gestation: Pantropical Spotted Dolphins
typically carry their young for 11-12 months.
The calves will nurse for up to two years, or
as little as one year
Calves: Pantropical Spotted Dolphin calves
are born without the trademark spots, the spots
emerge as they age.
Sexual Maturity: Pantropical Spotted Dolphin
females reach sexual maturity at 9 years of age
while males mature at 12 years of age. They will
females will mate every 26 months for reproductive
purposes, after they mature sexually.
Senses: Pantropical Spotted Dolphins
have the sense of sight, both in and out of the
water. They have acute hearing, the sense of taste,
and touch. Their sense of smell is limited.
Hunting: Like other toothed whales, Pantropical
Spotted Dolphins use echolocation, as a way of
locating prey. They emit high-pitched clicks and
sense them as they bounce back off objects in
their surroundings. Pantropical Spotted Dolphins
mostly hunt for food at night. Pantropical Spotted
Dolphins spend most of their day in shallow waters,
typically between 300 to 1,000 feet deep. At night
they move into deeper waters to hunt for prey.
Life Span: Pantropical Spotted Dolphins
can live in excess of 40 years.
Social Structure: Pantropical Spotted
Dolphins travel in pods of less than one hundred
dolphins, but they have also been seen in superpods
of over a thousand dolphins.
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