Pantropical Spotted Dolphin

The pantropical spotted dolphin is a slender oceanic dolphin distributed through temperate and tropical seas worldwide. Adults develop the spots that give the species its name, whereas immature animals are generally unspotted and may be confused with bottlenose dolphins. Coastal animals in the eastern tropical Pacific are larger and more heavily spotted than offshore animals. Some adults around the Gulf of Mexico can remain comparatively free of spots (Wikipedia, general species account).

Two named subspecies are recognized in the opened account: the worldwide offshore form Stenella attenuata attenuata and the coastal eastern tropical Pacific form S. a. graffmani. Another unnamed form has been proposed for waters around Hawaii. John Edward Gray described the species in 1846; his original concept included the Atlantic spotted dolphin, which is now treated separately. Tuna purse-seine fishing formerly killed millions, while dolphin-conscious capture practices introduced during the 1980s greatly reduced that mortality (Wikipedia, general species account).