Chance Encounter: Spotted Dolphins, Stenella attenuata

Heading out to the water anytime here in Hawaii is bound to be a great time. For a marine biologist it can also be like a treasure hunt. I am always thinking about the incredible animals I must be casting a shadow on as I drift over in a boat. Sometimes you are lucky enough for those animals to rise up and break the surface. While this happens very infrequently with sharks and rays and other kinds of fish, you have a much better chance with marine mammals like dolphins. Here in Maui I often see spinner dolphins and bottlenose dolphins just off the coast but if you get into deep enough water other species start popping up. One of these is the Pantropical Spotted Dolphin, or Stenella attenuata. They have a tri-coloration pattern going from dark to light down their sides much like spinner dolphins, but a tall curved dorsal fin like a bottlenose dolphin. Sometimes you can see many white spots down the sides of older ones, and if you catch a view of the beak as they break the surface you can often see white 'lips' at the very ends.