Stenella

{{Short description|Genus of mammals}}

{{For|the genus of fungi|Stenella (fungus)}}

{{Italic title}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| fossil_range = {{Fossil range|Neogene|Present}}

| image = Stenella coeruleoalba-cropped.jpg

| image_caption = Striped dolphin

| taxon = Stenella

| authority = Gray, 1866

| type_species = Steno attenuatus {{MSW3|id=14300084}}

| type_species_authority = Gray, 1846

| subdivision_ranks = Species

| subdivision = S. attenuata

S. frontalis

S. longirostris

S. clymene

S. coeruleoalba

S. rayi

}}

Stenella is a genus of marine mammals in Delphinidae, the family informally known as the oceanic dolphins.{{cite book

|title= Whales of the World

|last= Tinker |first= Spencer Wilkie

|year= 1988 |publisher= Brill Archive

|isbn= 9780935848472 |page= 310

|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ASIVAAAAIAAJ&q=%22Stenella%22&pg=PA137}}{{cite book

|title= Dolphins, Porpoises and Whales of the World

|last= Klinowska |first= Margaret

|author2=Justin Cooke

|year= 1991 |publisher= IUCN

|isbn= 9782880329365 |page= 429

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QynOriR1MxEC&q=%22Stenella%22 }}{{cite book

|title= Walker's Marine Mammals of the World

|last= Walker |first= Ernest Pillsbury

|author2=Ronald M. Nowak |author3=John E. Heyning |author4=Randall R. Reeves |author5=Brent S. Stewart |author6=John E. Heyning |author7=Randall R. Reeves |author8=Brent S. Stewart

|year= 2003 |publisher= JHU Press

|isbn= 9780801873430 |page= 264

}}

Species

Currently, five species are recognised in this genus:

class="wikitable "
ImageCommon NameScientific nameDistribution
120pxPantropical spotted dolphinS. attenuataTropical oceans worldwide
120pxAtlantic spotted dolphinS. frontalisTropical and warm temperate Atlantic Ocean
120pxSpinner dolphinS. longirostrisTropical oceans worldwide
120pxClymene dolphinS. clymeneTropical and warm temperate North Atlantic Ocean
120pxStriped dolphinS. coeruleoalbaTropical and temperate oceans worldwide, including the Mediterranean

S. rayi was a species of this genus found in North Carolina, in the early Pliocene.{{Cite journal |last=Bianucci |first=Giovanni |date=May 2013 |title=Septidelphis morii, n. gen. et sp., from the Pliocene of Italy: new evidence of the explosive radiation of true dolphins (Odontoceti, Delphinidae) |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02724634.2013.744757 |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |language=en |volume=33 |issue=3 |pages=722–740 |doi=10.1080/02724634.2013.744757 |bibcode=2013JVPal..33..722B |issn=0272-4634|url-access=subscription }}

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

The genus name comes from the Greek {{lang|el|stenos}} meaning narrow. It was coined by John Gray in 1866 when he intended it as a subgenus of Steno. Modern taxonomists recognise two genera.

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).{{Cite journal|doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0083645|title = Hybrid Speciation in a Marine Mammal: The Clymene Dolphin (Stenella clymene)|year = 2014|last1 = Amaral|first1 = Ana R.|last2 = Lovewell|first2 = Gretchen|last3 = Coelho|first3 = Maria M.|last4 = Amato|first4 = George|last5 = Rosenbaum|first5 = Howard C.|journal = PLOS ONE|volume = 9|issue = 1|pages = e83645|pmid = 24421898|pmc = 3885441|doi-access = free| bibcode=2014PLoSO...983645A }}

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.{{Cite journal|last1=Tyne|first1=Julian A.|last2=Christiansen|first2=Fredrik|last3=Heenehan|first3=Heather L.|last4=Johnston|first4=David W.|last5=Bejder|first5=Lars|date=2018|title=Chronic exposure of Hawaii Island spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) to human activities|url= |journal=Royal Society Open Science|language=en|volume=5|issue=10|pages=171506|doi=10.1098/rsos.171506|issn=2054-5703|pmc=6227997|pmid=30473795}}

References

{{Wikispecies}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Cetacea|O.}}

{{Odontoceti|D.}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q594051}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Oceanic dolphins

Category:Cetacean genera

Category:Taxa named by John Edward Gray

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