Stenella

Stenella is a genus of marine mammals in Delphinidae, the family informally known as the oceanic dolphins.<ref name=C1>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=C2>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=C3>Template:Cite book</ref>

Species

Currently, five species are recognised in this genus:<ref name=C2/>

Image	Common name	Scientific name	Distribution
	Pantropical spotted dolphin	S. attenuata	Tropical oceans worldwide
	Atlantic spotted dolphin	S. frontalis	Tropical and warm temperate Atlantic Ocean
	Spinner dolphin	S. longirostris	Tropical oceans worldwide
	Clymene dolphin	S. clymene	Tropical and warm temperate North Atlantic Ocean
	Striped dolphin	S. coeruleoalba	Tropical and temperate oceans worldwide, including the Mediterranean

S. rayi was a species of this genus found in North Carolina, in the early Pliocene.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The common name for species in this genus is the "spotted dolphins" or the "bridled dolphins".<ref name="C1" /><ref name="C2" /> They are found in temperate and tropical seas all around the world.<ref name="C1" /><ref name="C2" /> Individuals of several species begin their lives spotless and become steadily more covered in darker spots as they get older.<ref name="C1" /><ref name="C2" />

The genus name comes from the Greek Template:Lang meaning narrow.<ref name=C1/><ref name=C2/> It was coined by John Gray in 1866 when he intended it as a subgenus of Steno.<ref name=C1/> Modern taxonomists recognise two genera.<ref name=C1/><ref name=C2/>

The clymene dolphin (S. clymene) is the only confirmed case of hybrid speciation in marine mammals, descending from the spinner dolphin (S. longirostris) and the striped dolphin (S. coeruleoalba).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Stenella dolphins tend to be more active during nighttime and spend their daytime resting. Although these dolphins are supposed to spend 60% of their daytime resting, they happen to be exposed to human activities for 80% of their day. These patterns of sleep deprivation can have negative impact on their resting habit and leads to decline in their population size.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

References

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