Pantropical spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuata)
Pantropical dolphins are the ones on dolphin friendly tuna. They follow shoals of yellowfin tuna in the eastern Pacific and are in turn followed by fishermen after the tuna. Some of the dolphins in tuna fishing areas have learned to avoid boats altogether.
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Swimming with dolphins
Trials of Life
Spotted dolphins' complex communication is heard underwater.
Swimming with dolphins has almost become a cliché now, but Sir David did it back in 1990 not for his benefit but for ours - to show us something of the body language and sounds that dolphins use to communicate.
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Trials of Life: TALKING TO STRANGERS
A twelve part series outlining the natural history of animal behaviour. Prog.10 takes a global look at animal communication.
About the Pantropical spotted dolphin
The Pantropical Spotted Dolphin (Stenella attenuata) is a species of dolphin found in all the world's temperate and tropical oceans. The species was beginning to come under threat due to the killing of millions of individuals in tuna purse seines. The 1980s saw the rise of "dolphin-friendly" tuna capture methods in order to save millions of the species in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
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David Attenborough's favourite moments
David Attenborough's favourite moments from the last 30 years represent not only memorable personal experiences, but also the diversity of life on our planet and the rapidly changing technological face of broadcasting.
Scientific Classification
Family: Oceanic dolphin (Delphinidae)
Genus: Stenella
Species: Pantropical Spotted Dolphin (attenuata)
Common Names
- Bridled dolphin
- Narrow-snouted dolphin
- Pacific spotted dolphin
The Pantropical spotted dolphin is
Adaptation data provided by Animal Diversity Web
Where can I see them?
They can be found in the following habitats:
Conservation Status
The Pantropical spotted dolphin is Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
- EX - Extinct
- EW
- CR - Threatened
- EN - Threatened
- VU - Threatened
- NT
- LC - Least concern
Population trend: Unknown
Year assessed: 2008
Elsewhere on the web
- Animal Diversity Web (animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu)
- Dolphin Population Stunted by Fishing Activities (newswise.com)
- ARKive: Images of Life on Earth (arkive.org)
- Convention for Migratory Species fact sheet (cms.int)
- Encyclopedia of Life entry (eol.org)
- National Marine Fisheries Service fact sheet (nmfs.noaa.gov)
- Pantropical Spotted Dolphin (wikipedia.org)
Site links
BBC links
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