Stenella
From Encyclopedia Jr, free information reference for Kids
 |
||||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||
|
Stenella attenuata |
Stenella is a genus in the dolphin family. Currently five species are recognised in this genus:
- 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 species is the "spotted dolphins" or the "bridled dolphins". They are found in temperate and tropical seas all around the world. Individuals of several species begin their lives spotless and become steadily more covered in darker spots as they get older.
The species name comes from the Greek stenos meaning narrow. It was coined by John Gray in 1866. He intended it as a subgenus of Steno. Modern taxonomists recognise two genera.