Species guide
Pantropical spotted dolphin
Stenella attenuata
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
- Slender beak, often white at the tip, and a dark cape along the back.
- Spots develop with age; newborn calves are unspotted.
- Size
- Adult length: about 1.8–2.1 m
- Recorded occurrence in Madeira
- Reported on local trips in August 2024.
- Madeira records and season
- No dependable seasonal window established by the cited records.
Identification and size summarize profile notes updated . Local records are past observations, not a prediction of sightings.
Read the identification notes ↓- Taxonomic authority
- (Gray, 1846)
- Family
- Delphinidae
- Cetacean group
- Odontoceti
Sightings in Madeira
Our August 2024 trip report lists pantropical spotted dolphins in weeks 30 and 31 and describes them as very rare locally. These are operator observations, not a population estimate or a measure of present-day sighting frequency.
The cited records do not establish a dependable seasonal window. Individual sighting months should not be treated as the limits of a season.
ID characteristics
A small dolphin with a long, narrow beak, often pale at its tip, and a dark cape covering the back. Spotting increases as the animal ages; newborn calves lack spots.
Compare with the Atlantic spotted dolphin, which also develops spots with age.
Distribution and diet
Found across tropical and subtropical oceans. Feeds mainly on fish and cephalopods and often associates with other dolphin species.
Biometrics
Adult length: about 1.8–2.1 m (6–7 feet).
Identification, distribution, diet and size: NOAA Fisheries species account.
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 attenuata — 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.
- Wind Birds: Madeira sightings, August 2024 — Operator reports of pantropical spotted dolphins in weeks 30 and 31; not a population estimate or seasonal forecast.
- NOAA Fisheries: pantropical spotted dolphin — Identification, size, distribution and diet.
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.