STRIPED DOLPHIN (T)
Stenella coeruleoalba (Meyen 1833)
Other Common Names
Euphrosyne dolphin (Stenella styx), Meyen's dolphin, blue-white dolphin, Gray's dolphin, striped porpoise, streaker porpoise.
Description
The striped dolphin is a widely distributed relative of the spinner and the Atlantic spotted dolphins, though it more closely resembles saddleback dolphins than either of these two species. It reaches a maximum length of about 9 feet (2.7 m) and is characterized by a series of distinctive black stripes. One band of black begins near the eye and extends down the side of the body to the area of the anus. (A small secondary stripe originating with this band turns off and disappears in the white coloration of the side just above the flippers.) A second band of black extends from the eye to the flipper. Some workers have contended that striped dolphins are separable into distinct species depending on whether the eye-to-flipper stripe has one (S. coeruleoalba) or two (S. styx) components.
Most individuals have an additional distinctive finger of black coloration which extends from the black coloration behind the dorsal fin forward towards and about halfway to the eye. It is this feature which is most distinctive in animals riding the bow or leaping clear of the water. The back is dark gray to bluish gray, the sides are lighter gray, and the belly is white.
Natural History Notes
Though little is known of this species, it has been reported in herds of up to several hundred individuals and apparently exhibits behaviors very similar to those of the saddleback dolphins (p. [116]), frequently jumping clear of the water. Atlantic and Mediterranean animals have been reported to bow ride.
May Be Confused With
This species is most likely to be confused with the saddleback dolphin, which it closely resembles. The two may be distinguished by the following characteristics: