Common dolphin
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| phylum | Chordata | The common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) is the most abundant cetacean in the world, with a global population of about six million. It is presently the only member of the genus Delphinus. The common dolphin belongs to the subfamily Delphininae, making this dolphin closely related to the three different species of bottlenose dolphins, humpback dolphins, striped dolphins, spinner dolphins, clymene dolphin, spotted dolphins, fraser's dolphin and the tucuxi and guiana dolphin. The common dolphin was originally categorized into two different species (now thought to be ecotypes), the short-beaked common dolphin and the long-beaked common dolphin. However, recent evidence has shown that many populations of long-beaked common dolphins around the world are not closely related to one another and are often derived from a short-beaked ancestor and do not always share common derived characteristics. For this reason, they are no longer considered different species.
For more information, visit the Wikipedia entry. Get back to Oceanic dolphins |
| class | Mammalia | |
| infraclass | Eutheria | |
| order | Cetacea | |
| suborder | Odontoceti | |
| family | Delphinidae | |
| species | Delphinus delphis |
