From a distance, saddleback dolphins might also be confused with spinner dolphins because of the habits of both species of congregating in large schools with much jumping and splashing. Both species ride the bow wave, and close examination should permit positive identification using the following characteristics:
| Saddleback Dolphin | Spinner Dolphin |
|---|---|
| COLORATION | |
| Dark gray to brownish grayon back; white on belly withcrisscross or hourglass patternof tan to yellowish tanon side; distinct black stripefrom flipper to middle oflower jaw. | Dark gray on back; tan oryellowish tan on sides; whiteon belly; lacks crisscrosspattern on sides; distinctblack stripe from flipper toeye. |
Distribution
Saddleback dolphins are widely distributed in the temperate, subtropical, and tropical waters of the western North Atlantic Ocean. They have been reported off Newfoundland, Iceland, Nova Scotia, and the coast of Massachusetts, south along the coast of North America to the Caribbean (West Indies and Jamaica), in the Gulf of Mexico, and from South American waters at least to Margarita Island, Venezuela.
The species' occurrence in the more northerly portions of this range during the summer and early fall months appears to coincide with the intrusion of warm waters into those areas. They are not uncommon off Nova Scotia in summer and fall and are casual members of the marine mammalian fauna of the remaining Maritime Provinces during that period.
In previous years, saddleback dolphins were not uncommonly encountered by collectors of Marineland of Florida working the northeast coast of Florida, but the species has been conspicuously absent since about 1960. Reasons for this apparent shift of range are unknown.
Stranded Specimens
Saddleback dolphins have from 40 to 50 small, sharply pointed teeth in each side of both the upper and lower jaws. These numbers overlap with only those of the striped and spinner dolphins (with 43-50 and 46-65, respectively). Saddleback dolphins should be readily distinguishable from both these species by the features outlined under the descriptions of living animals and distinguishable from the bridled dolphins by the distinctive markings on the head of the two species (see Figs. 121 and 134).
