Florida mammals

Pantropical spotted dolphin in Florida

Stenella attenuata

Native to Florida SNR Unranked in Florida

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

IUCN Red List status

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Photo: Marilia Olio · CC BY-SA 3.0Pantropical spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuata)Photo: Marilia Olio · CC BY-SA 3.0Pantropical spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuata)Photo: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration · Public domainSchlankdelfinPhoto: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, uploaded by Hepheastos · Public domainPantropical spotted dolphinPhoto: Tommy Andriollo · CC BY 4.0Live pantropical spotted dolphins surfacing, spotted flanks visible

Pantropical spotted dolphin in Florida, by the numbers

Occasional in Florida 68th most recorded of 116 mammals logged in Florida

31 occurrence records

31 total records count every Florida occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the monthly chart covers the 30 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Pantropical spotted dolphin in Florida

Most sightings fall in March.

30 Florida occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly Florida records (table)

Month	Records
January	2
February	1
March	6
April	2
May	0
June	6
July	0
August	0
September	5
October	4
November	1
December	3

Monthly pantropical spotted dolphin occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Florida.

Seasonality

Year-round in Florida, with recorded sightings peaking in March, with a smaller rise in June and September–October.

Occurrence map

Where Pantropical spotted dolphin has been recorded in Florida

31 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

22 Florida records mapped

Where it's recorded in Florida

County	Records
Sarasota County	3
Bay County	1
Broward County	1
St. Johns County	1
St. Lucie County	1
Monroe County	1
Palm Beach County	1
Volusia County	1
Other localities	21

The complete county distribution, spread across 8 Florida counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Every one of Florida’s 31 pantropical spotted dolphin records comes from GBIF, with no iNaturalist sightings logged at all. That’s typical for a species that travels well offshore in the Gulf and Atlantic, far from where most casual observers can reach. Florida treats it as native, though NatureServe hasn’t assigned the state a numeric rank yet (SNR).

March and June each produced six records, the two strongest months in an otherwise scattered pattern, while some months show none at all. That unevenness likely tracks survey and stranding effort rather than any real seasonal shift in where the dolphins travel.

Occurrence data from GBIF.

Full species profile Pantropical spotted dolphin Stenella attenuata Size 1.9–2.1 m6.4–6.9 ft Weight 66.8–107.9 kg147.2–238 lb Lifespan Up to 46 yr 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
NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap