Clymene dolphin  (Stenella clymene)

Description

One of the most recently recognised species of dolphin (2) (4), the Clymene dolphin remains among the least known of the Delphinidae (2). In appearance it is very similar to the spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris), which is largely why it was not recognised until 1981 as a distinct species. It is a small but stocky dolphin, with a beak of medium length and a dorsal fin that is triangular to nearly triangular. Males are larger and heavier than females, but both sexes have a white belly, light grey flanks and a dark grey cape, and a dark grey line runs down the top of the beak (2) (4). The one distinctive feature that separates the Clymene dolphin in appearance from the spinner dolphin is the black marking, somewhat like a moustache, on top of the beak (2).

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