Central American spinner

Stenella longirostris

Marine mammals
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth0–3,693 m
Water temperature15–30 °C
Best monthsAugust, September, and October
How commonCommon

Photo credit: (c) Alexander Vasenin, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist

About this species

The spinner dolphin is a small dolphin found in off-shore tropical waters around the world. It is famous for its acrobatic displays in which it rotates around its longitudinal axis as it leaps through the air. It is a member of the family Delphinidae of toothed whales.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Spinner dolphin”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 227 records
February: 254 records
March: 368 records
April: 403 records
May: 302 records
June: 279 records
July: 351 records
August: 881 records
September: 689 records
October: 638 records
November: 599 records
December: 266 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 0–3,693 m · Deepest record: 4,010 m

0–10 m: 4 records
10–20 m: 0 records
20–30 m: 0 records
30–40 m: 1 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 18 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 15–30 °C

14–16 °C: 1 records
16–18 °C: 0 records
18–20 °C: 0 records
20–22 °C: 0 records
22–24 °C: 7 records
24–26 °C: 84 records
26–28 °C: 150 records
28–30 °C: 190 records

Photos

Names and classification

English: Central American spinner, Dwarf spinner dolphin, Eastern spinner, Gray's spinner, Long-beaked dolphin, Long-nosed dolphin, Central American Spinner Dolphin, centroamericana, dwarf spinner dolphin, Dwarf Spinner Dolphin, eastern spinner, Eastern Spinner Dolphin, Gray's Spinner Dolphin, long-beaked dolphin, Long-beaked Dolphin, longirostris, long-nosed dolphin, Long-snouted Dolphin, long-snouted spinner dolphin, orientalis, Pantropical Spinner Dolphin, red-bellied dolphin, rollover, roseiventris, small-headed dolphin, spinner, Spinner, spinner dolphin, Spinner Dolphin, spinner porpoise, whitebelly spinner

Names in 8 more languages

German: Langschnauzen-Delfin, Ostpazifischer Delfin, Ostpazifischer Delphin, Spinnerdelfin
Spanish: churumbeles, delfín churumbelo, delfin de hocico largo, delfín girador, Delfín girador, Delfín tornillo, delfín tornillon, Delfín Tornillón, delfin volteador, estenela giradora, falso delfin, tornillos
French: Dauphin a long bec, Dauphin à long bec, dauphin longirostre
Indonesian: Lumba-Lumba Moncong Panjang, lumba-lumba paruh panjang, lumba-lumba peruh panjang, lumba-lumba perut marah
Japanese: hashinaga iruka, ハシナガイルカ, 嘴長海豚
Korean: 긴부리돌고래, ginburi-dolgorae
Thai: plaloma huakhuadmalayu, plaloma kradod, โลมากระโดด
Simplified Chinese: 長吻飛旋海豚, 飞旋原海豚

Other scientific names: Clymene alope, Clymene microps, Clymene stenorhynchus, Clymenia alope, Clymenia longirostris, Clymenia microps, Clymenia roseiventris, Clymenia stenorhynchus, Delphinus alope, Delphinus longirostris, Delphinus microps, Delphinus roseiventris, Delphinus stenorhynchus, Fretidelphis roseiventris, Prodelphinus alope, Prodelphinus longirostris, Prodelphinus microps, Prodelphinus roseiventris, Stenella alope, Stenella microps, Steno roseiventris

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
20,342 open-data records from 1828 to 2025.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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