Species guide
Atlantic spotted dolphin
Stenella frontalis
At a glance
Conservation, taxonomy and Madeira records reviewed . Review sources.
- Global IUCN conservation status
- Least Concern — assessment published .
Global extinction risk is separate from sighting frequency in Madeira.
- Identification
- Grey dolphin with 3 tonned colour pattern: dark cape, paler flanks and whitish ventral areas
- Spotts are related to age, with calves and young dolphins spotless
- Size
- Maximum length: 2.3 m
- Recorded occurrence in Madeira
- Reported on local trips, including September 2026.
- Madeira records and season
- Warmer months favoured; research indicates a summer/autumn tendency, with variation between years.
Identification and size summarize profile notes updated . Local records are past observations, not a prediction of sightings.
Read the identification notes ↓- Taxonomic authority
- (G. Cuvier, 1829)
- Family
- Delphinidae
- Cetacean group
- Odontoceti
Sightings in Madeira
Our September 2026 trip report lists this species. This is an operator observation, not a population estimate.
Warmer months favoured; research indicates a summer/autumn tendency, with variation between years. Madeira habitat research. Modelled habitat suitability describes environmental conditions, not the probability of seeing an animal on a trip.
ID characteristics
Grey dolphin with 3 tonned colour pattern: dark cape, paler flanks and whitish ventral areas
Spotts are related to age, with calves and young dolphins spotless
Tal dorsal fin with round tip
Rather long and chunky beak with white tip and lips
Surface behaviour
Fast swimmer
Normally active and playful at surface and with boats
Distribution
Only in the Atlantic, from 40º North to 30º South.
Warm, temperate, subtropical and tropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean
Social
In groups between 10 to a few hundreds
Diet
Fish, squid and crustaceans
Biometrics
Max length: 2.3 m
Adult weight: 90 to 150 kg
Common names in other languages
- Portuguese: Golfinho-pintado-do-Atlântico, Golfinho malhado do Atlântico
- German: Zügeldelfin, Atlantischer Fleckendelfin
- French: Dauphin tacheté de l'Atlantique
- Spanish: Delfín pintado, Delfín manchado del Atlántico
- Italian: Stenella maculata atlantica
- Dutch: Atlantische vlekdolfijn, Atlantische gevlekte dolfijn
- Polish: Delfin uzdeczkowy, Delfin plamisty atlantycki
- Swedish: Tygeldelfin
- Danish: Atlantisk plettet delfin
Names vary by language and region. This list is not exhaustive. Multilingual name records.
Review sources
Conservation, taxonomy, local occurrence and seasonality checked on . The assessment publication year is separate from this editorial review date. Identification, size, other biology notes and multilingual aliases are outside this review unless a specific source is cited alongside them.
- IUCN Red List: Stenella frontalis — global species assessment, published 2018.
- Society for Marine Mammalogy: species and subspecies list (April 2026) — Scientific names, authorities, families and English names. Mysticeti and Odontoceti are treated as unranked groups.
- IUCN SSC Cetacean Specialist Group: Red List status of cetaceans — Global species categories cross-checked against the specialist group's overview, updated October 2025. Regional and subpopulation assessments are separate.
- IUCN Cetacean Specialist Group: November 2018 assessments — Global assessment publication years and category changes. A category change need not indicate a recent population change.
- Freitas et al. (2012): New records of cetacean species for Madeira Archipelago with an updated checklist — Table 1 and species accounts distinguish sightings, catches and strandings. Record totals and last-record dates describe evidence available through December 2012.
- Fernandez et al. (2021): Modeling fine-scale cetacean distributions in Madeira — Models based on observations from 2003–2018. Seasonal habitat suitability is not a forecast of sightings or proof that animals are absent in other months.
- Alves et al. (2018): Long-term cetacean occurrence patterns in Madeira — Eleven years of whale-watching observations; useful for occurrence, with limits from uneven survey coverage and detection.
The linked trip reports document operator observations. They do not independently confirm every identification or measure population size, abundance or the probability of a sighting.