Clymene Dolphin
| Clymene Dolphin | ||||||||||||
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Clymene Dolphin ( Stenella clymene ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Stenella clymene | ||||||||||||
| ( Gray , 1846) |
The Clymene dolphin ( Stenella clymene ) is a species of dolphin from the genus of the spotted dolphin ( Stenella ), which is endemic to the Atlantic Ocean .
features
The Clymene dolphin looks very similar to the East Pacific dolphin and at sea, where the two species mix in large groups, they are indistinguishable. Up close, it is possible to observe that the snout of the Clymene dolphin is slightly shorter than that of its relative. The dorsal fin is also less erect and triangular.
The basic color is "Whale Neapolitan" - it consists of three shaded layers. The underside is white-pink in color. Next comes a light gray stripe that runs straight down the muzzle, around each side of the eye, then back to the end of the tail where the band thickens. The upper layer, from the forehead to the dorsal fin and further to the top of the tail root, is a dark gray. The muzzle, lips and pectoral fins are also dark gray.
Clymene dolphins can grow up to two meters long and weigh 75–80 kg. There are no numbers for the size of newborns. Pregnancy, suckling, development times and the maximum lifespan are unknown. But they should hardly differ from those of other species of the genus Stenella .
They are fairly active dolphins that can turn lengthways when jumping out of the water, but not with such regularity and complexity as the East Pacific dolphin. The food is likely to be small fish and squids. Group sizes vary from a few animals to large schools of up to 500 individuals.
distribution
The Clymene Dolphin is only found in the tropical and subtropical Atlantic Ocean. The boundaries of its range are still not exactly clarified, especially in the south. The northern limit of distribution runs roughly from New Jersey east-south-east to southern Morocco . The southern border runs roughly from Angola to Rio de Janeiro . The species undoubtedly prefers temperate and tropical waters of great depth. Many sightings have been made in the Gulf of Mexico . The species has not yet been seen in the Mediterranean .
The total population is unknown; an estimate for the northern part of the Gulf of Mexico is 5,500 individuals. The species could be rarer compared to others of the genus Stenella .
Humans and Clymene Dolphins
The species hardly interacts with humans. Some individuals were killed by direct fishing in the Caribbean, others in nets off West Africa.
Taxonomy
From its discovery by John Gray in 1850 to its redefinition in 1981, the Clymene dolphin was thought to be a subspecies of the East Pacific dolphin ( Stenella longirostris ). Perrin et al. declared it to be a species of its own in 1981. A study published in January 2014 came to the conclusion that the Clymene dolphin was created by hybridization of the East Pacific with the blue and white dolphin ( S. coeruleoalba ).
literature
- Stenella clymene, a rediscovered tropical dolphin of the Atlantic , Perrin, Mitchell, Mead, Caldwell and van Bree (1981) Journal of Mammology. Vol 62, pp 583-589.
- Clymene Dolphin Perrin and Mead in Handbook of Marine Mammals . Vol 5. pp 161-171.
- Clymene Dolphin by Thomas A. Jefferson in Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals pp. 234-236. ISBN 0-12-551340-2
- Whales Dolphins and Porpoises , Mark Carwardine, Dorling Kindersley Handbooks, ISBN 0-7513-2781-6
- National Audubon Society Guide to Marine Mammals of the World , Reeves, Stewart, Clapham and Powell, ISBN 0-375-41141-0
Individual evidence
- ↑ Amaral AR, Lovewell G, Coelho MM, Amato G, Rosenbaum HC (2014) Hybrid Speciation in a Marine Mammal: The Clymene Dolphin (Stenella clymene). PLoS ONE 9 (1): e83645. doi: 10.1371 / journal.pone.0083645
Web links
- Stenella clymene in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2006. Posted by: Cetacean Specialist Group, 1996. Retrieved on 12 May, 2006.