<\/span><\/h2>\nClassification is not an exact science as more discoveries will come to light, some dolphins are likely to be further divided into more than one species. However, there are 43 species of dolphins so far. Out of which 38 are oceanic dolphins and 5 are river dolphins. Some of them are discussed below:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n- \n
<\/span>Long-Beaked Common Dolphin or Delphinus Capensis<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nAs the name suggests this <\/span><\/span>type of dolphin<\/span><\/span><\/strong> has a distinct long beak and high dorsal fin. They have different coloring with multiple color bands on their sides. They reside in the tropical and warm waters of the Indian, Atlantic, and Pacific oceans.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n- \n
<\/span>Short-Beaked Common Dolphin or Delphinus delphis<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nShort-beaked common dolphins have a beautiful hourglass pattern on their sides forming the distinctive color bands on their sides. Their dorsal fin has flashes of yellow in front and white at the back. This <\/span><\/span>type of dolphin<\/span><\/span> is found mostly in the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n- \n
<\/span>Bottlenose Dolphin or Tursiops truncatus<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nThese dolphins are so-called because of their bottle-shaped snout. This <\/span><\/span>type of dolphin<\/span><\/span> can grow from 6 to 12 feet long. Only a few people know that these <\/span><\/span>dolphins shed their outermost layer of skin every 2 hoursFF <\/span><\/span>These dolphins are found in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea as well as the Southwestern Indian Ocean.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n- \n
<\/span>Northern and Southern Rightwhale Dolphin or Lissodelphis Borealis<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nThese dolphins are named after the locations where they are found. Northern rightwhales are found in North Pacific Ocean of the Northern Hemisphere whereas Southern rightwhale dolphins are found in Southern Hemisphere. They are called rightwhales because they lack dorsal fin just like the whales and have similar coloration.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n- \n
<\/span>Tucuxi or Sotalia fluviatilis<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nThis <\/span><\/span>type of dolphin <\/span><\/span>is similar to bottlenose dolphin in shape. Its snout is longer, dorsal is shorter, and more triangular. These dolphins are found in the fresh waters of the Amazon Basin rivers.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n- \n
<\/span>Costero or Sotalia\u00a0guianensi<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nThese dolphins are closely related to tucuxi, sharing a close resemblance to the bottlenose dolphins. These have a darker colored snout, flukes, and fin than their sides. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\nThis type of dolphin is very famous for performing a number of acrobatic stunts and can be seen leaning and flipping out of the water. These are usually found in coastal waters of Central and South America.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n- \n
<\/span>Indo-Pacific Humpbacked Dolphin or Sousa Chinensis<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nThis type of dolphin varies in appearance depending upon the region in which it is found. For example, in China they are white, in Hong Kong they are pink. <\/span><\/p>\nAs with their counterparts in Australia, they don\u2019t have distinctive \u2018hump\u2019 either. They can be found in the shallow coastal waters of Central China in the east to South-East Asia as far West as the East coast of India.<\/span><\/p>\n\n- Atlantic Humpbacked Dolphin or Sousa teuszii<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
This is an endangered species and is in desperate need of protection from the burgeoning threats. They have a hump on which sits their small triangular dorsal fin. Sousa Teuzii dolphins are slate grey in color and support a slender beak. They reside in the shallow coastal waters along the western coast of Africa.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n- Atlantic Spotted Dolphin or Stenella frontalis<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
This species lives only in the tropical warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean. They generally live in a group of 50 individuals up to 200. The extent of the spots varies with age and location in these dolphins. The tail flukes, flippers, and dorsal fin usually remain unspotted.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n- \n
<\/span>Clymene Dolphin or Stenella Clymene<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nThis<\/span><\/span> type of dolphin <\/span><\/span>looks a lot like spinner dolphins.\u00a0 Clymene Dolphins have a dark grey cape that contours into an S shape. These dolphins have pale grey sides with a white or pinkish chin and belly. They are found in tropical and subtropical regions of the Atlantic Ocean. Clymene Dolphins can be spotted as far north as New Jersey on America\u2019s East Coast up to south as Southern Brazil.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n- \n
<\/span>Pantropical Spotted Dolphin or Stenella attenuate<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nThis type of dolphin has a long and narrow snout with a white tip. Their flippers are small, with sharply curves, narrow and tall dorsal fin. They also have a dark stripe going through the flipper to the corner of their mouth and from crease between the snout and melon to the eye. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\nThese dolphins prefer to live in the waters where the temperature is higher than 25\u2103. They live in the Indian, Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans, The Red Sea, and The Persian Gulf. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n- \n
<\/span>Spinner Dolphin or Stenella longirostris<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nThese dolphins have a skinny, long beak, small curved flippers, and a slender body with a triangular dorsal fin. They have three-banded colors, pale belly, dark grey back, and light grey flanks. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\nThey are called so because have the incredible capability to spin while doing acrobatic leaps. Spinner dolphins are widely spread across the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n- \n
<\/span>Striped Dolphin or Stenella Coeruleoalba<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nThe name alone gives away the quality of these marvelous creatures. These dolphins have stripes on their bodies. Dark-grey colored stripe runs from above the eye, from the beak, across the flank leading to the underside of the body. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\nA second stripe goes from the pectoral flipper to below the eye. They are found in ocean waters over the continental shelves as they are widely spread over the world\u2019s temperate and tropical oceans.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n