South Carolina mammals

Common Bottlenose Dolphin in South Carolina

Tursiops truncatus

Native to South Carolina S5 Secure in South Carolina

Not listed as nonindigenous in South Carolina by USGS NAS; native to its South Carolina 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.

Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)Delfín mular (Tursiops truncatus), isla de San Cristóbal, islas Galápagos, Ecuador, 2015-07-24, DD 86Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)Two wild bottlenose dolphins breaching in unison over gray coastal waterWild 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 South Carolina, by the numbers

Common in South Carolina 4th most recorded of 108 mammals logged in South Carolina

902 occurrence records

Records from 2000–2026.

902 total records count every South Carolina occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 893 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Common Bottlenose Dolphin in South Carolina

Most sightings fall in October to November.

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

Monthly South Carolina records (table)
MonthRecords
January29
February38
March80
April79
May57
June105
July107
August69
September69
October93
November116
December51

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

Seasonality

Year-round in South Carolina, with recorded sightings peaking in October–November, with a smaller rise in March–April and June–July.

Occurrence map

Where Common Bottlenose Dolphin has been recorded in South Carolina

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

299 South Carolina records mapped

Where it's recorded in South Carolina

CountyRecords
Charleston County 533
Beaufort County 100
Georgetown County 30
Horry County 17
Berkeley County 7
Colleton County 7
Dorchester County 2
Lee County 1
Williamsburg County 1
Marlboro County 1
Other localities 203

The complete county distribution, spread across 10 South Carolina counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

South Carolina has 902 common bottlenose dolphin records for 2000–2026, all from GBIF. Every month is represented: November is highest at 116, followed by July at 107 and June at 105, whereas January is lowest at 29. This is a record of reporting activity and occurrence, not a census of dolphins.

The species is ranked S5 (Secure) in South Carolina. ACE Basin and Cape Romain national wildlife refuges and Hunting Island State Park are the overlay’s named viewing areas; the year-round monthly coverage supports a broad observation window without showing how dolphins are distributed among those sites.

Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)
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 South Carolina 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