Mississippi mammals

Common Bottlenose Dolphin in Mississippi

Tursiops truncatus

Native to Mississippi S4 Apparently Secure in Mississippi

Not listed as nonindigenous in Mississippi by USGS NAS; native to its Mississippi range.

IUCN Red List status

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Photo: NASA · Public domainCommon Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)Photo: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0Delfín mular (Tursiops truncatus), isla de San Cristóbal, islas Galápagos, Ecuador, 2015-07-24, DD 86Photo: Jonathan Eisen · CC BY 4.0Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)Photo: steve b · CC0Two wild bottlenose dolphins breaching in unison over gray coastal waterPhoto: Rolf Lawrenz · CC BY 4.0Wild bottlenose dolphin surfacing head-on, beak and dorsal fin above the water

Photo: NASA · Public domainCommon Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)Photo: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0Delfín mular (Tursiops truncatus), isla de San Cristóbal, islas Galápagos, Ecuador, 2015-07-24, DD 86Photo: Jonathan Eisen · CC BY 4.0Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)Photo: steve b · CC0Two wild bottlenose dolphins breaching in unison over gray coastal waterPhoto: Rolf Lawrenz · CC BY 4.0Wild bottlenose dolphin surfacing head-on, beak and dorsal fin above the water

Common Bottlenose Dolphin in Mississippi, by the numbers

Common in Mississippi 12th most recorded of 74 mammals logged in Mississippi

715 occurrence records

137 with iNaturalist photos

Apr 23, 2026 Last seen in Mississippi

Records from 2000–2026.

715 total records count every Mississippi occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 707 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Common Bottlenose Dolphin in Mississippi

Most sightings fall in March to April.

707 Mississippi occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly Mississippi records (table)

Month	Records
January	28
February	51
March	122
April	141
May	50
June	40
July	37
August	28
September	59
October	37
November	71
December	43

Monthly common bottlenose dolphin occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Mississippi, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Mississippi, with recorded sightings peaking in March–April.

Occurrence map

Where Common Bottlenose Dolphin has been recorded in Mississippi

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

284 Mississippi records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monument	iNaturalist records
Gulf Islands National Seashore	18
Graveline Bay Coastal Reserve	7
Hancock County Marsh Coastal Reserve	2
Bellefontaine Point Coastal Reserve	1

Protected places with the most common bottlenose 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 Mississippi

County	Records
Jackson County	104
Harrison County	82
Hancock County	6
Lauderdale County	1
Winston County	1
Webster County	1
Other localities	520

The complete county distribution, spread across 6 Mississippi counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Mississippi’s bottlenose dolphins are a Gulf Coast specialty, best watched from the barrier-island waters of Gulf Islands National Seashore and from shorelines overlooking Mississippi Sound. Scan passes, boat channels, and the outer edges of bays for surfacing groups, especially where tide lines concentrate fish.

Reports extend through the year and crest in September, but weather, boating activity, and observer access strongly shape the record. A calm morning and a patient scan usually matter more than the calendar.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Full species profile Common Bottlenose Dolphin Tursiops truncatus Size 2–4 m6.6–13.1 ft Weight 150–650 kg330.7–1433 lb Lifespan 60 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Mississippi 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
NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"