Florida mammals

Atlantic spotted dolphin in Florida

Stenella frontalis

Native to Florida

Not listed as nonindigenous in Florida by USGS NAS; treated as native to its mapped Florida range.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis) NOAAAtlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis)Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis)Atlantic Spotted Dolphin (Stenella frontalis)Atlantic Spotted Dolphin (Stenella frontalis)Atlantic Spotted Dolphin (Stenella frontalis)
Photo: NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center · Public domainAtlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis) NOAAPhoto: Martina Nolte · CC BY-SA 3.0 deAtlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis)Photo: Wayne Hoggard NOAA/NMFS/SEFSC · Public domainAtlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis)Photo: Julien Savoie · CC BY 4.0Atlantic Spotted Dolphin (Stenella frontalis)Photo: Julien Savoie · CC BY 4.0Atlantic Spotted Dolphin (Stenella frontalis)Photo: Julien Savoie · CC BY 4.0Atlantic Spotted Dolphin (Stenella frontalis)

Atlantic spotted dolphin in Florida, by the numbers

Occasional in Florida 61st most recorded of 116 mammals logged in Florida

12 occurrence records
11 with iNaturalist photos
Jun 30, 2025 Last seen in Florida

Records from 2000–2026.

When to look for the Atlantic spotted dolphin in Florida

Most sightings fall in June.

12 Florida occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence. Based on a small number of dated records; the seasonal pattern may not be representative.

Monthly Florida records (table)
MonthRecords
January1
February3
March0
April0
May0
June4
July1
August1
September1
October0
November1
December0

Monthly atlantic spotted dolphin occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Florida, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Florida, with recorded sightings peaking in June, with a smaller rise in February.

Occurrence map

Where Atlantic spotted dolphin has been recorded in Florida

12 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

9 Florida records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve 1

Protected places with the most atlantic spotted dolphin sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in Florida

CountyRecords
Volusia County 1
Other localities 11

The complete county distribution, spread across 1 Florida counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Florida has only 12 records for the Atlantic spotted dolphin, 11 from iNaturalist and 10 in GBIF, with most appearing in both. The species is treated as native to Florida’s waters, though there’s no NatureServe rank on file for the state.

That’s too few to show a seasonal pattern; June’s 4 are the most in any month. Offshore detection depends heavily on where boats and surveys happen to be, so even that small cluster likely tracks effort more than the dolphins’ real movements.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Atlantic spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis) NOAA
Full species profile Atlantic spotted dolphin Stenella frontalis Size 2.8 m9.2 ft Weight 100 kg220.5 lb View the full profile

More mammals in Florida in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

  • GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
  • iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"