Stenella clymene

Short-snouted Spinner Dolphin, with no subspecies, is a deep-water species in the ocean.

Differences between similar species: The short-beaked spinner dolphin is thicker than the long-beaked (spinner) dolphin (Stenella longirostris), and its dorsal fin is less triangular; in addition, as its name suggests, its beak is relatively short and fat, and you can also notice the cape below the dorsal fin of the short-beaked spinner dolphin, which extends downward and almost touches the white belly. May be confused with bottlenose dolphins and true dolphins.

Short-beaked spinner dolphins are social animals, moving in groups of about 5 to 50, which may be divided by gender and age. This group has close exchanges with the group of long-beaked spinner dolphins, and also mixes with true dolphins and other small whale groups. When swimming with other cetaceans, they still maintain their own group's cohesion.

Short-beaked spinner dolphins will bow ride in some places, sometimes very close to ships. When jumping into the waves, they occasionally turn sideways and land on their backs or sides. Short-beaked spinner dolphins' jumps are not as high and complex as those of long-beaked spinner dolphins, but in the Gulf of Mexico, their rotations are no different from those of long-beaked spinner dolphins.

The short-beaked spinner dolphin is a moderately deep-water forager that preys on squid and other small fish that swim to the surface at night.

The reproductive status of the short-beaked spinner dolphin is unknown. Based on the breeding period of the closely related long-beaked spinner dolphin, it is speculated that the short-beaked spinner dolphin may breed in all seasons, but is most common in early summer. One calf is born every two years. The female gestation period is 11 months. The newborn dolphin is about 75 cm long.

The short-beaked spinner dolphin population abundance is only recorded in the northern Gulf of Mexico and the east coast of the United States, with 6575 (CV=36%) and 6086 (CV=93%) individuals, respectively (Waring et al. 2008). Because it is difficult to distinguish the markings of similar species at sea, this species is not as rare as the data suggests (Perrin & Mead 1994). Based on the capture records, it is speculated that the short-beaked spinner dolphin may be the most common cetacean species along the coast of Ghana.

For many years, the short-beaked spinner dolphin was considered one of the many subspecies of the long-beaked spinner dolphin (S. longirostris); but since 1981, it has been recognized as a separate species. The distribution ranges of the two species overlap greatly in the Atlantic Ocean, so the two may be difficult to distinguish at sea. Some studies have shown that the short-beaked spinner dolphin is a new species produced by long-term hybridization between the long-beaked spinner dolphin and the striped dolphin. The latest genetic studies show that the genus Stenella is polyphyletic (LeDucet al. 1999), and the short-beaked spinner dolphin may be moved to other genera in the future as the Delphinidae are reconstructed.

Listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Listed in China's National List of Key Protected Wildlife: National Class II Protected Animals (effective December 10, 1988, Cetacean*Other Cetaceans)

Listed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Data Deficient (DD), assessed in 2008.

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Only distributed in tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean, including the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.
Origin (sea): Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, Brazil, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Curacao, Dominica, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guinea, Honduras, Jamaica, Mauritania, Mexico, Puerto Rico, St. Helena, Ascension Island, Tristan da Cunha, Saint Martin, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sint Maarten, United States, Venezuela.
Often found in deep waters of tropical and warm temperate zones, with a suitable water depth of 44 to 4500 meters.

The tip of the bill and lips are black. The forehead is slightly protruding. The lower jaw is white (varies from individual to individual). There is a light gray stripe between the blowhole and the bill. The light gray stripe extends from the eye to the pectoral fin (varies from individual to individual). The dark gray or black cape extends to the dorsal fin. The dorsal fin is slightly hooked and may be lighter in the center. The dark pectoral fins are slender and pointed at the end. The dark gray stripes are distributed along the sides of the body. The abdomen is white or pink, with lighter parts or small spots, especially where the white and gray meet. The tail shaft is light gray. There are ridges below and above the tail shaft. The tail fin has a sharp end, with a slightly protruding rear edge and a prominent notch in the center.
There are 38-49 sharp teeth on each side of the upper and lower jaws.
Size measurement: Adult length ♂ 176-197 cm, ♀ 171-190 cm; average weight of a