Mammals
Clymene Dolphin
Stenella clymene · also called Clymene dolphins, short-snouted spinner dolphin
Performing a smaller-scale version of the famous spinner dolphin leap in warm Gulf of Mexico waters, a Clymene dolphin represents a species that spent years hiding in plain sight, assumed to be nothing more than a variant of its more famous relative before genetics finally proved otherwise.
Overview
The Clymene dolphin, Stenella clymene, is a warm-water dolphin native to tropical and subtropical waters across the Atlantic Ocean, including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. Its relatively recent confirmation as a genuinely distinct species, smaller-scale version of the spinner dolphin’s signature leap, and geographic confinement to the Atlantic alone make it one of the more scientifically interesting and taxonomically recent discoveries among the world’s dolphins.
A species proven distinct only recently
For years dismissed as simply a variant of the spinner dolphin, the Clymene dolphin’s eventual confirmation as its own species stands as a reminder of how much remains to be settled even among relatively well-known marine mammal groups.
Status
Least Concern overall but decreasing in parts of its range, widespread across suitable tropical and subtropical Atlantic habitat.
Clymene Dolphin: common questions
Why was the Clymene dolphin once considered the same species as the spinner dolphin?
This species was long assumed to be a form of the closely related spinner dolphin due to strong similarities in appearance and behaviour, including a shared tendency for spinning leaps, before genetic and physical evidence eventually confirmed it as a genuinely distinct species in its own right.
Does the Clymene dolphin spin like the spinner dolphin?
Yes, this species performs spinning leaps similar to those of the spinner dolphin, though generally on a smaller scale with fewer rotations, a behavioural echo of its close relative's more famous and more dramatic acrobatic display.
Where is the Clymene dolphin found?
This species has a more geographically limited range than several of its close relatives, found exclusively within the Atlantic Ocean, including warm tropical and subtropical waters of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, rather than more broadly across multiple oceans.
How can you tell a Clymene dolphin from a spinner dolphin?
This species has a comparatively shorter beak than the spinner dolphin, along with a distinctive dark cape-like pattern along its back, features that together help distinguish it from its closely related look-alike once you know what to look for.