Bottlenose dolphin ©M.Dewynter/CARIMAM

Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)©V.Rufray/Biotope

- TAXONOMY
Class : Mammalia
Order : Cetartiodactyla
Infraorder : Cetacea
Parvorder : Odontoceti
Family: Delphinidae
Common names:
English: Common bottlenose dolphin
Spanish: Delfín nariz de botella
French: Grand dauphin

- MORPHOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR
Morphology: robust body compared with small delphinids. Rounded head with short, thick beak with distinct crease. Prominent dorsal fin located mid-back, with a marked concavity of the leading edge. In the Caribbean, two ecotypes can be distinguished: a coastal form, with a slenderer silhouette, and an oceanic form, more robust.
Color and patterns: color highly variable with dark to light gray dorsally fading to white or even pink on belly. The coastal ecotype color is in general lighted.
Body size: 2.5-4 m with oceanic ecotype larger.
Group size: usually a few individuals to several dozen.
Specific behavior: often approaches boats and shows aerial displays. It usually dives for short periods of time, from a few to 15 minutes, at a depth of a few hundred meters. Blows noisily.
Feeding: highly variable diet, depending on the habitat, e.g.: small deep-sea fish and cephalopods, hunted at night when they rise in the water column at night in oceanic environments, large fish in coastal environments.

- DISTRIBUTION
Global distribution: they occur in tropical, subtropical, and temperate waters around the world, from 50° south to 65° north.
Sightings in the Wider Caribbean region: The species is common in the whole Caribbean region, but it is mainly observed in coastal areas, on the continental shelves, and around the islands, up to bathymetric lines of a few hundred meters.

- CONSERVATION
Threats recorded in the Wider Caribbean region: bycatch in active and ghost fishing nets, whaling and coastal habitat degradation (destruction, water pollution and overfishing).
IUCN status: LC (Least Concern)
Spaw status: The Bottlenose dolphin is classified in Annex II of the SPAW Protocol since 1991.

Sources :
International Whaling Commission
IUCN (2021) The IUCN redlist of threatened species.
IUCN and Zoological Society of London (2012) National Red Lists
Jefferson T.A., Webber M.A., Pitman R.L. (2015) Marine mammals of the world : a comprehensive guide to their identification. Academic Press.
Kaschner, K., Reeves, R. (2011) LifeWeb species distribution factsheets.
NOOA (2021) Species fact sheets - Marine mammals.
Ocean Science & Logistic (2020) Guide des cétacés de Guyane française. OSL, canopée des Science, Cayenne, Guyane française.
Savouré-Soubelet A., Aulagnier S., Haffner P., et al. (coord.) (2016) Atlas des mammifères sauvages de France volume 1 : Mammifères marins. Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris ; IRD, Marseille.
Society for marine mammalogy-Species fact sheets
SPAW-RAC. (2020). Implementation of the Action Plan for Marine Mammals in the Wider Caribbean Region: A Scientific and Technical Analysis. Authored by Vail, C. and Borobia, M. UNEP, SPAW-RAC.
Ward, N., Bogomolni, A., Potter, C. (2013) A stranding guide to marine mammals of the Wider Caribbean region : An introduction field for stranding responders. Gecko Production Inc. ISBN : 978-1-891694-00-4.