Thursday 29 July 2010 The Pantropical Spotted Dolphin - Yellow Fin Tuna's Best Friend

The pantropical spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuata) is a species of dolphin in the genus Stenella and is one of the more distinctive species of dolphin in the world's oceans. When the pantropical spotted dolphin is born it can be hard to distinguish it from its cousin the common bottlenose dolphin as they are without spots. The dolphin acquires spots as it matures until the body is eventually covered with overlapping patterns of spots. When the pantropical spotted dolphin reaches maturity the body has a distinct black "cape" down its back with gray along the sides and a white underbelly. The pantropical spotted dolphin, like many of the other species in the Stenella genus, is a smaller dolphin. The average dolphin grows to between 1.5-2 meters (6-7ft) in length and weighs around 114 kg (250lbs).

It is possible to mistake the pantropical spotted dolphin with the coastal spotted dolphin and Atlantic spotted dolphin. However, the coastal dolphin is a subspecies of the pantropical spotted dolphin while the Atlantic dolphin is a different species in the Stenella genus. It is often hard to differentiate between the varieties as their coloration is very similar, but the pantropical spotted dolphin is often slightly smaller at full maturity and is found in a wider stretch of ocean.

The pantropical spotted dolphin is found in tropical and sub-tropical oceans andmals/mammals/Primates/">Primates