Spinner Dolphin
Stenella longirostris
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Cetartiodactyla
- Family
- Delphinidae
- Genus
- Stenella
- Species
- Stenella longirostris
The spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris) is a slender, long-beaked dolphin famous for leaping clear of the water and spinning several times on its long axis before splashing back down. It has a three-toned body of dark grey back, lighter flanks and pale belly, and grows to about 2 m.
Spinners live in large, tightly coordinated pods that can number in the hundreds. They feed at night on small fish, squid and shrimp that rise from deep water, and spend much of the day resting in sheltered bays and channels.
In the Philippines the spinner dolphin is one of the most frequently seen cetaceans, regularly encountered on boat crossings in the Bohol Sea, Tañon Strait, Sulu Sea and off Pamilacan Island. Divers occasionally hear their clicks and whistles underwater, but close in-water encounters are rare and should never be forced.
Photo: Robert Webster, CC BY-SA 4.0, via iNaturalist