Blue-white dolphin, Euphrosyne dolphin, Gray’s dolphin, Meyen’s dolphin, Streaker porpoise, Whitebelly
The striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba ) is an extensively studied dolphin found in temperate and tropical waters of all the world's oceans. It is a member of the oceanic dolphin family, Delphinidae.
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CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
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MolluscivoreA molluscivore is a carnivorous animal that specializes in feeding on molluscs such as gastropods, bivalves, brachiopods, and cephalopods. Known mo...
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PiscivoresA piscivore is a carnivorous animal that eats primarily fish. Piscivorous is equivalent to the Greek-derived word ichthyophagous. Fish were the die...
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AquaticAn aquatic animal is an animal, either vertebrate or invertebrate, which lives in water for most or all of its life. It may breathe air or extract ...
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PrecocialPrecocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
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NatatorialNatatorial animals are those adapted for swimming. Some fish use their pectoral fins as the primary means of locomotion, sometimes termed labriform...
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ViviparousAmong animals, viviparity is the development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous'...
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PolygynyPolygyny is a mating system in which one male lives and mates with multiple females but each female only mates with a single male.
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MigratingAnimal migration is the relatively long-distance movement of individual animals, usually on a seasonal basis. It is the most common form of migrati...
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starts withStriped dolphin has a typical shape for a dolphin, exhibiting a blue skin color with a white to light grey stripes, running along the spine: this unique coloration distinguishes the animal from other dolphin species. Meanwhile, the coloration of this animal may vary greatly depending on habitat and helping the dolphin easily merge with the environment. The belly of the animal is lighter than sides. As the dolphins age, the coloration and stripes on their body become more emphatic. In some parts of their range, the Striped dolphins are occasionally called 'streakers' due to their ability of moving very fast in order to avoid boats.
Striped dolphins inhabit both offshore and inshore areas, preferring warm-temperate and tropical waters. The area of their distribution covers a huge territory, including the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and the northern Gulf of Mexico.
Striped dolphins are highly social animals, known to gather in large schools, consisting of more than 1000 individuals. However, they most commonly appear in smaller groups of 100 - 500 animals. Meanwhile, groups of this species differ in their type. Thus, there are groups of juvenile, breeding adults and non-breeding adults. Each dolphin moves around to corresponding groups throughout its life. These active and playful animals are known to perform a variety of aerial maneuvers. They can often be observed bow-riding: enthusiastically swimming along a vessel and accompanying the performance with twists and jumps. Striped dolphins are also known for "roto-tailing": this is when a dolphin jumps high, doing several quick and sharp rotations with its tail, and then dives back into the water. Other maneuvers they perform include chin slaps as well as breaching or jumping out of water.
These dolphins are opportunistic feeders, though they are primarily piscivorous and molluscivorous. They generally prefer fish (especially lantern fish), cephalopods and crustaceans.
Currently, very little is known about the mating system of striped dolphins, although the animals are believed to be polygynous. In the western north Pacific region of their range, these animals usually mate in winter and summer months. Meanwhile, those in the Mediterranean region tend to mate in the autumn. Females usually give birth every 4 years. Gestation period lasts for 12 - 13 months. Females and their young are known to form mothers-and-calf schools. Newborn calves live in these groups with their mothers for 16 months, after which they are weaned. According to scientific studies, sexual maturity of these dolphins depends more on their length than the age. Thus, the animals are ready to mate at a length of 7 feet (2 meters). When it comes the age, males of this species are usually able to mate within 7 - 15 years, whereas females are ready to mate at 5 - 13 years old.
The primary threats to this species population include commercial fisheries and hunting for meat. Currently, Striped dolphins also suffer from degradation of their natural habitat.
According to the IUCN Red List, the worldwide population size of the Striped dolphin is over 2 million individuals, including estimated populations in following regions: the western North Pacific - 570,000 dolphins; the eastern tropical Pacific - 1,470,854 dolphins; the western Mediterranean excluding the Tyrrhenian Sea - 117,880 dolphins; the Bay of Biscay - 74,000 dolphins; the northern Gulf of Mexico - 3,325 dolphins; and the western North Atlantic off the US east coast - 94,462 dolphins. Currently, Striped dolphins are classified as least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...