Short-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis)

Species information

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Facts

Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata
Class	Mammalia
Order	Cetacea
Family	Delphinidae
Genus	Delphinus (1)
Size	Female length: 1.5 m (2) Male length: 1.7-2.2 m (2)

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Status

Listed on Annex IV of the EC Habitats Directive; North and Baltic Sea, western Mediterranean, Black Sea and eastern tropical Pacific populations are listed under Appendix II of the Bonn Convention, and Appendix II of the Bern Convention (3). All cetaceans (whales and dolphins) are listed on Annex A of EU Council Regulation 338/97; they are therefore treated by the EU as if they are included in CITES Appendix I, so that commercial trade is prohibited. In the UK all cetaceans are fully protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981 and the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order, 1985 (4).