Genus SOUSA Gray, 1866 



Sousa chinensis (Osbeck, 1765) (Indo-Pacific hump- 

 back dolphin; white dolphin). 



Coastal waters of the Indian and western Pacific 

 oceans, from Port Elizabeth, South Africa, north to 

 the Red Sea and east to southern China (including 

 lower reaches of the Yangtze, Foochow, and Canton 

 rivers), Borneo, and northeastern and eastern Aus- 

 tralia. The taxonomy of the humpbacked dolphins is 

 greatly in need of revision. Several nominal species 

 have been described, but individual, sexual, age, 

 and geographic variations have not been adequately 

 studied. 



Sousa teuszii (Kiikenthal, 1892) (Atlantic humpback 



dolphin). 



Coastal waters of west Africa from Mauritania to 

 Cameroon. This form could perhaps be regarded as a 

 subspecies of S. chinensis, from which it differs 

 mainly in tooth count (26-29 versus 32-36). 



Genus SOTALIA Gray, 1866 



Further taxonomic studies of this genus are needed. 

 Two forms are recognized — one chiefly in coastal and es- 

 tuarine waters, the other in fresh water. The differences 

 between them are slight; they are best regarded as sub- 

 species of a single species. (The Old World species 

 formerly placed in Sotalia are now placed in a separate 

 genus, Sousa.) 



Sotalia fluviatilis (Gervais, 1853) (tucuxi; tookashee). 

 Sotalia f. fluviatilis occurs in the Amazon River and 

 its tributaries; S. /. guianensis (van Beneden, 1864) 

 occurs in coastal waters and lower reaches of rivers 

 of northeastern South America, from Lake 

 Maracaibo, Venezuela, to Santos, Brazil. 



Genus TURSIOPS Gervais, 1855 



Tursiops truncatus (Montagu, 1821) (bottlenose dol- 

 phin). 



Widely distributed in temperate and tropical 

 waters, including the Black Sea. Occurs mostly close 

 to shore, near islands, and over shallow banks. 

 Ranges north to Japan, Hawaii, California, New 

 Brunswick, and Norway; south to southern Aus- 

 tralia, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, and South 

 Africa. There is considerable geographical variation; 

 populations in warmer waters of the Indo-Pacific 

 tend to average smaller in body size and greater in 

 snout length and tooth count. 



Genus STENELLA Gray, 1866 



The species of this genus fall into three groups or 

 superspecies which are sympatric in many areas: 1) The 

 spinner dolphins with long snouts, about 50 teeth in each 



jaw, and shallow palatal grooves. This group includes 

 forms that differ markedly in body form and color pat- 

 tern, but intermediate populations connect the extreme 

 forms, so they are regarded as conspecific (Perrin 1972, 

 1975a, b). Current studies indicate, however, that there 

 is probably another species in the Atlantic similar to, but 

 sympatric with, the spinner dolphin (Perrin, pers. com- 

 mun.). 2) The spotted and bridled dolphins with shorter 

 snouts, about 37 teeth in each jaw, and no palatal 

 grooves. This group apparently includes two species, the 

 ranges of which overlap in the Atlantic (Perrin 1975b). 3) 

 The striped dolphins, with about 44 teeth in each jaw, no 

 palatal grooves, a dark stripe along the flank, and no 

 spots. Only one species is recognized (Fraser and Noble 

 1970). 



Stenella longirostris (Gray, 1828) (spinner dolphin). 

 Tropical Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans. This 

 species shows marked geographical variation. In the 

 central and eastern Pacific, Perrin (1972, 1975a, b) 

 has described four subspecies: "Costa Rican," 

 "eastern," "whitebelly," and "Hawaiian" — the cor- 

 rect scientific names of which have not been deter- 

 mined. [Although most recent authors have used 

 Gray's specific name, its applicability is ques- 

 tionable (Perrin 1975b).] 



Stenella attenuata (Gray, 1846) (bridled dolphin; pan- 

 tropical spotted dolphin). 

 Tropical Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans. This 

 species also shows considerable geographical varia- 

 tion. In the central and eastern Pacific, Perrin (1970, 

 1975a, b) has described three subspecies: "coastal" 

 S. a graffmani (Lonnberg, 1934), "offshore," and 

 "Hawaiian"; the correct scientific names of the lat- 

 ter two have not been determined. [For the spotted 

 dolphins I provisionally use the specific names em- 

 ployed by most recent authors, although their validi- 

 ty is dubious. Other available names are S. dubia 

 (G. Cuvier, 1812) and S. frontalis (G. Cuvier, 1829). ] 



Stenella plagiodon (Cope, 1866) (spotted dolphin; At- 

 lantic spotted dolphin). 

 Tropical and warm temperate waters of Atlantic 

 Ocean. (See nomenclatorial note under preceding 

 species). 



Stenella coeruleoalba (Meyen, 1833) (striped dol- 

 phin). 



Widely distributed in temperate and tropical waters 



around the world. 



Genus DELPHINUS Linnaeus, 1758 



Delphinus delphis Linnaeus, 1758 (saddleback dol- 

 phin). 

 Widely distributed in warm temperate and tropical 

 waters of all oceans, including the Black Sea. There 

 is marked geographical variation in snout length and 



