de in the bow wave and may ride for protracted periods.

May Be Confused With

Spinner dolphins may be confused with saddleback dolphins. Both species
occur in large herds and often come to moving vessels to ride the bow
wave. The two can be distinguished, however, by these differences:

SPINNER DOLPHIN SADDLEBACK DOLPHIN

COLORATION

Dark gray on back; tan or Dark gray to brownish gray
yellowish tan on sides; white on back; white on belly with
on belly; lacks crisscross crisscross or hourglass pattern
pattern on sides; distinct of tan to yellow on sides;
black stripe from flipper to distinct black stripe from
eye. flipper to middle of lower
jaw.

Spinner dolphins might also be confused with bridled dolphins, but may
be distinguished by the differences summarized on p. 108.

Distribution

Spinner dolphins are distributed in oceanic and coastal tropical waters.
Though one specimen was collected from South Carolina, they have been
more frequently reported from both coasts of Florida, the Gulf of
Mexico, the Caribbean, and the West Indies. They have also been
reported from Venezuela. They are said to be the most abundant dolphin
species from the southeastern Caribbean. Some Pacific spinner dolphins
are distributed in oceanic zones. Atlantic spinners may be abundant in
offshore tropical waters as well.

Stranded Specimens

Stranded spinner dolphins are most readily identified by the extremely
long rostrum and the 46-65 teeth, far more than any other species of
dolphin. Note that the striped dolphins may have from 43 to 50 teeth per
side in each jaw. However, striped dolphins are decidedly larger (to
about 9 feet [2.7 m]), have a shorter beak, and are distinctly marked
with dark stripes from the eye to the flipper, from the eye to the anus,
and from the area behind the dorsal fin forward, towards but not
reaching the head.

Saddleback dolphins also have from 40 to 50 teeth on each side but are
also easily distinguishable by the differences in coloration discussed
above for living animals at sea.

[Illustration: Figure 122.--Spinner dolphins occur in large herds in
tropical waters. As illustrated by these photos of animals off Venezuela
in 1969, spinner dolphins often leap clear of the water and may come to
a moving vessel from considerable distan