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Stenella Longirostris
Stenella Longirostris
Stenella Longirostris
Stenella longirostris (Gray, 1828) GENERAL CHARACTERS. The spinner is a small and slen-
der dolphin; length of 1,824 sexually mature adults ranged from
60° J---1f--+--t---t--t---t---+-+---t-----j--+--t---t--t---t---+---1---.-t-...L-J
FIG. 3. Geographi c distribution of the spinner dolphin. Modified from Jefferson et aI. (1993) . A = range of 5. l. longirostris, B =
5. l. orientalis, C = 5. l. ceruroamericana (coastal), D = known range of dwarf form (Gulf of Thailand).
struc tures implicated in sound production (Cranford et al., 1996). Approximately 1% of adult females are postreproductive, as ev-
Weights of brain, heart , lun gs, liver, kidney, and splee n are provid- idenced by shrunken , non-active ovaries containing scars of pre-
ed in Perrin et al. (1977), Perrin and Roberts (1972), Mead et al. vious ovulatory function. The reason for this is unk nown but may
(1980), and Rajaguru and Natarjan (1988). Deep-b ody temperature be relat ed to some non-reproductive social function of elderly fe-
has been measur ed at 36. 1- 37.9°C and oxygen uptake at 1.5 that males that contributes to inclusive fitness.
of terrestrial mammals of simil ar size (Hampton and Whittow, Almost nothing is known of the biology of the dwarf form of the
1976). Skin- surface temperature is several degrees Celsius below spinner dolphin in Southeast Asia, but four specimens, probably
deep-b ody temperature except on the dorsal fin. The body wall sexually matur e, from the Gulf of Thailand ranged from 129 to 137
serves as a flexible insulator while the dorsal fin is a major site of ern (range for thousan ds of specimens from other parts of the world
heat dissipation (McGinnis et aI., 1972). was 152-235 cm- Perrin et al., 1989).
ONTOGENY AND REPRODUCTION. The system of stripes ECOLOGY. Spinner dolphins are usuall y associ ated with in-
on the head (the "bridle") develops from a single anla ge consisting shore waters , islands, or banks, but in the eas tern tropical Pacific
of a band across the back of the head in fetuses of roughly 100 they occur in large schools hundreds of miles from the nearest land
mm (Perrin, 1997). Postnatal development of the skull and post- in waters typified by unusual conditions of shallow mixed layer,
cranial skeleton was described by Perrin (1975) and embryology of shoal and sharp therm ocline, and relatively low annual variation in
the termin al airway system by Drabek and Kooyman (1983 ). surface temperature (Au and Perryman , 1985). They are usuall y
Growth and reprodu ction are summarized in Perrin and Gilpa- see n together with pant ropical spotted dolphin s (5. attenuata), yel-
trick (1994). Gestation is ca. 10 months. Average length at birth in lowfin tuna (Thynnus albacares), and bird s of several species (Nor-
5. l. orientalis is 77 ern, and average length at one year is 133 ris, 1994 ; Perrin, 1968, 1969). Reilly (1990) and Fiedler and Reill y
cm; for the hybrid whitebelly form, average length at birth is 76 (1994) found seas onal shifts of the preferred habitat of spinner
em and at one year, 137 cm (Perrin and Hend erson, 1984 ; Perrin dolphins, as well as year-to-year variation in habitat distri buti on,
and Reill y, 1984; Perrin et aI., 1977). Length of nurs ing is 1-2 and differences in the hab itats of the eastern and whitebelly pop-
years . Calves are born at ca. 3-yr intervals. Both males and females ulations (the former preferrin g regions of relat ively more shoal ther-
undergo a growth spurt at about the onset of puberty' Females on mocline ). The dwarf spinner of Southeas t Asia apparently inhabits
average attain sexual maturity at about 165-170 ern and 4-7 years, shallow coral reef areas.
depending on the population and the hypothesis of tooth-layer de- Predators includ e sharks and probabl y killer whales (Orcinus
position rate. Males und ergo a sharp increase in testis weight at orca), as well as possibly false killer whales (Pseudorca crassi-
body length of 160-180 cm and age 7- 10 years. However, some dens) , pygmy killer whales [Feresa att enuata) , and short-finned
lar ge and externally mature animals have immature testes or ova- pilot whales (Globicephala mac rorhync hus-Norris, 1994 ; Perrin
ries; social factors may influence sexual maturat ion. Ovulation may and Gilpatrick, 1994). Parasites may cause direct or indirect mor-
be spontaneous (Benirschke et al., 1980). Ovulation rate is variable tality (Perrin and Powers, 1980 ). External commensals include the
with age and populati on but is about once per year in mature an- remora Remilegia australis and the stalked barnacle Conchoder-
imals. Breeding is seaso nal, more sharply so in some regions than ma auritum. Internal parasites include the nematodes An isakis
in others (Barlow, 1984). Seasonal hormonal cycles have bee n dem- simplex, Halocercus delphini, and Mastigonema stenell ae; the
onstrated for both males and females in 5. l. longirostris, with trematod es Z alophotrema pacifieum, Campula rochebruni, and
correlated changes in some behaviors involving genital contact Nasit rema; the ces todes Tetrabothrius forsteri, Strobilocephalus
(Wells, 1984 ; Wells and Norris, 1994). The most likely breeding triangularis, Ph yll obothri um delphini, and Monorygm a grimal-
system is polygynandry (Wells and Norris, 1994 ). Males of the high- di; and the aca nthocep hala ns Bulb osoma vasculosum and B. bal-
ly dimorphic eastern spinner attain greater testis size than males anae (Perrin and Gilpatrick, 1994). Natural diseases and pathology
of the hybrid whitebelly form (Perri n et al., 1977); this may indicate recorded in wild spinner dolphin s include irregular thickenin g of
some difference in breeding systems in the two populati ons, be- walls of small arteri es and arterioles , degen eration and scarri ng of
cause, as pointed out by Kenagy and Trombulak (1986), pro- the myocardium, focal myocard itis, basophilic degeneration, lung
nounced sexual dimorphi sm is generally inversely correlated with lesions caused by Halocercus delph ini, myxoid neurofibromas, neo-
sperm competition (trend to polyandry). plasm of islet cell origin in the pancreas, focal interst itial inflam-
4 MAMMALIAN SPECIES 599
mation of the kidney, infarcted renculus, glomerulosclerosis, arte- ing to heterochromatin variation (Stock, 1981). However, the C-
riosclerosis, neoplasm of tubular epithelial origin, and splenic band karyotype is sharply different from those of both species,
changes suggestive of reaction to an infectious agent (Perrin and which closely resembled each other. RFLP haplotypes of a portion
Gilpatrick, 1994). of the control region of mtDNA were not found to correlate with
The diet includes primarily small «20cm) mesopelagic fishes, morphotypic geographic differences in the eastern Pacific, but all
squids, and sergestid shrimps obtained in dives to depths of at least were different from haplotypes from northern Australia (Dizon et
200-300 m (Perrin and Gilpatrick, 1994). Prey items identified al., 1991)- Analysis of sequences for the same mtDNA region yield-
from stomach contents in the eastern tropical Pacific and Hawaii ed similar results (Garcia-Rodriguez, 1995). The northern Australia
include fishes of the families Myctophidae, Photichthyidae, Breg- sample had low diversity of sequence divergence and low levels of
macerotidae, Melamphidae, Bathylagidae, Scopelarchidae, Stro- haplotype diversity. The eastern Pacific sample had high levels of
mateidae, Paralepididae, Apongonidae, Carapidae, Holocentridae, haplotype diversity and haplotype sharing between schools, with no
and Bythitidae; cephalopods of the families Onychoteuthidae, Om- concordance with geographical morphotype.
Mammal Stock Assessments. National Oceanic and Atmo- short systematic descriptions of new and unfigured animals.
spheric Administration Technical Memorandum NMFS- Treuttel, WUrtz and Co. and W. Wood, London, 7 pp.
SEFSC-363, 211 pp. · 1846. On the cetaceous animals. Pp. 1-53, in The zo-
BROWNLEE, S. M., AND K. S. NORRIS. 1994. The acoustic domain. ology of the voyage of H.M.S. Erebus and Terror under the
Pp. 161-185, in The Hawaiian spinner dolphin (K. S. Norris, command of Captain Sir James Clark Ross during the years
B. WUrsig, R. S. Wells, M. WUrsig, S. M. Brownlee, C. John- 1839 to 1843. Vol. 1. Mammalia, birds (J. Richardson and J.
son, and J. Solow, eds.). University of California Press, Berke- E. Gray, eds.). E. W. Jansen, London.
ley, 408 pp. · 1850. Catalogue of the specimens of Mammalia in the
CALMET, D., D. WOODHEAD, AND J. M. ANDRE. 1992. 21Opb,137Cs collection of the British Museum. Part I. Cetacea. British Mu-
and 40K in three species of porpoises caught in the eastern seum (Natural History), London, 153 pp.
tropical Pacific Ocean. Journal of Environmental Radioactiv- · 1866. Catalogue of seals and whales in the British Mu-
ity, 15:153-169. seum. Second edition. British Museum, London, 402 pp.
Second ed. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington and mammals: the first book of dolphins (S. H. Ridgway and R.
London, 1206 pp. Harrison, eds.). Academic Press, London, 5:1-416.
MEAD, J. G., D. K. ODELL, R. S. WELLS, AND M. D. SCOTT. 1980. PERRIN, W. F., AND J. E. POWERS. 1980. Role of a nematode in
Observations on a mass stranding of spinner dolphin, Stenella natural mortality of spotted dolphins. Journal of Wildlife Man-
longirostris, from the west coast of Florida. Fishery Bulletin, agement, 44:960-963.
U.S., 78:353-360. PERRIN, W. F., AND S. B. REILLY. 1984. Reproductive parameters
MIYASHITA, T., T. KISHIRO, N. HIGASHI, F. SATO, K. MORI, AND H. of dolphins and small whales of the family Delphinidae. Re-
KATO. 1996. Winter distribution of cetaceans in the western port of the International Whaling Commission, Special Issue,
North Pacific inferred from sighting cruises 1993-1995. Re- 6:97-133.
port of the International Whaling Commission, 46:437-441. PERRIN, W. F., AND E. L. ROBERTS. 1972. Organ weights of non-
NIETO, A., AND D. NIETO. 1984. The nucleus ellipticus in Ste- captive porpoise (Stenella spp.). Bulletin of the Southern Cal-
nella (Cetacea, Delphinidae). Investigations on Cetacea, 16: ifornia Academy of Sciences, 71:19-32.
whale distribution. Report of the International Whaling Com- . 1994. Abundance and population dynamics of two east-
mission, 45:413-418. ern Pacific dolphins, Stenella attenuata and Stenella longi-
SMITH, B. D. ET AL. 1995. Marine mammals of Vietnam: a prelim- rostris orientalis. Ph.D. dissertation, Scripps Institution of
inary checklist. Collection of Marine Research Works (Viet- Oceanography, University of California at San Diego, 255 pp.
nam), 1:147-176. WANG, P 1996. Guide to marine mammals of China. Lianing
SOKOLOV, A. S., T. L. YURCHINSKAYA, AND S. V. PERSHIN. 1982. Science and Technology Press, Shenyang, 110 pp.
Osobenosti raspredeleniya i stroeniya kom[p]leksnykh sosu- WELLS, R. S. 1984. Reproductive behavior and hormonal corre-
dov, regulirushchikh uprygost' spinnogo plavnika del'finov lates in Hawaiian spinner dolphins, Stenella longirostris. Re-
[Peculiarities of distribution and structure of the blood vessel port of the International Whaling Commission, Special Issue,6:
complex regulating elasticity in the dorsal fin of dolphins]. 465-472.
Trudy Zoologicheskogo Instituta (Leningrad), 115:85-91 (in WELLS, R. S., AND K. S. NORRIS. 1994. Patterns of reproduction.
Russian). Pp. 186--200, in The Hawaiian spinner dolphin (K. S. Norris,