Rough-toothed dolphin records in Hawaii span the Big Island’s Kona coast, where deep water lies close to shore, and the waters off Kauaʻi, the oldest of the main islands, beyond its own steep drop-off past the Nāpali Coast cliffs. Both areas share the key habitat feature this species needs: warm, deep offshore water rather than shallow reef flats.
This is a long-snouted oceanic dolphin named for the fine ridges on its teeth, and it travels in social groups hunting fish and squid far from shore. Because it rarely comes close to land, most of what’s confirmed about it in US waters comes from strandings and dedicated boat-based surveys rather than casual shoreline sightings.
Confirmed Hawaii records are still few, with the most recent sighting from November 2025, and reports run through the year without one dominant season. A quiet stretch in the record likely reflects how far offshore this species stays rather than any real absence.
