Species guide
Common bottlenose dolphin
Tursiops truncatus
At a glance
Conservation, taxonomy and Madeira records reviewed . Review sources.
- Global IUCN conservation status
- Least Concern — assessment published .
2019 assessment; the linked errata version was also published in 2019.
Global extinction risk is separate from sighting frequency in Madeira.
- Identification
- Big and chunky dolphin, almost uniformly dark grey body with lighter to white underside.
- Lower jaw and tip of beak usually whitish
- Size
- Maximum length: 4.1 m
- Recorded occurrence in Madeira
- Reported on local trips, including September 2026.
- Madeira records and season
- Recorded throughout the year.
Identification and size summarize profile notes updated . Local records are past observations, not a prediction of sightings.
Read the identification notes ↓- Taxonomic authority
- (Montagu, 1821)
- 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.
Recorded throughout the year. Madeira habitat research. Modelled habitat suitability describes environmental conditions, not the probability of seeing an animal on a trip.
ID characteristics
Big and chunky dolphin, almost uniformly dark grey body with lighter to white underside.
Lower jaw and tip of beak usually whitish
High dorsal fin, falcate with pointed tip though its shape may be variable
Rounded forehead with a crease to the stubby beak
Surface behaviour
Powerful swimmer sometimes playful with bow-rides, aerobatics and body surf.
It spends much time at surface and often associates with other cetaceans
Distribution
Worldwide between parallels 60º North and 45º South
From cold temperate to tropical waters.
Social
Groups up to 25 individuals
Diet
Fish, squid and some crustaceans
Biometrics
Max length: 4.1 m
Adult weight: 150 to 650 kg
Common names in other languages
- Portuguese: Roaz-corvineiro
- German: Großer Tümmler
- French: Grand dauphin, Souffleur, Tursiops
- Spanish: Delfín Mular, Tonina, Delfín nariz de botella
- Italian: Tursiope, Delfino dal naso a bottiglia
- Dutch: Tuimelaar
- Polish: Butlonos, Delfin butlonosy
- Swedish: Öresvin
- Danish: Øresvin
- Norwegian: Tumler, Tumlar
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: Tursiops truncatus — global species assessment, published 2019.
- 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: March 2019 assessments — Global bottlenose and striped dolphin assessments.
- 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.