Florida mammals

Striped Dolphin in Florida

Stenella coeruleoalba

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

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

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Small group of striped dolphins swimming at the surface in open blue oceanStriped dolphin diving underwater with a second individual visible in sunlit blue waterTwo striped dolphins leaping together from calm water with hazy coastal hills behindStriped dolphin breaching through a large sheet of spray, dorsal fin visibleStriped dolphin swimming just under the surface viewed from above in bright turquoise water
Photo: Tracie Jacques · Public domainSmall group of striped dolphins swimming at the surface in open blue oceanPhoto: Daniel Benák · CC BY 4.0Striped dolphin diving underwater with a second individual visible in sunlit blue waterPhoto: Daniel Benák · CC BY 4.0Two striped dolphins leaping together from calm water with hazy coastal hills behindPhoto: russnamitz · CC0Striped dolphin breaching through a large sheet of spray, dorsal fin visiblePhoto: Jan Herr · CC0Striped dolphin swimming just under the surface viewed from above in bright turquoise water

Striped Dolphin in Florida, by the numbers

Occasional in Florida 70th most recorded of 116 mammals logged in Florida

23 occurrence records

When to look for the Striped Dolphin in Florida

Most sightings fall in March.

23 Florida occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year. 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
January0
February0
March7
April2
May1
June0
July4
August0
September5
October1
November3
December0

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

Seasonality

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

Occurrence map

Where Striped Dolphin has been recorded in Florida

23 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

23 Florida records mapped

Where it's recorded in Florida

CountyRecords
Brevard County 4
Duval County 3
Gulf County 1
Manatee County 1
Sarasota County 1
Pinellas County 1
Bay County 1
Franklin County 1
St. Johns County 1
Other localities 9

The complete county distribution, spread across 9 Florida counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Two bumps stand out in Florida’s striped dolphin records: seven in March and five in September, separated by months with few or no reports at all. With only 23 total records in the state, and all of them from GBIF’s survey and stranding data rather than iNaturalist, that pattern is best read as scattered detection events, not a predictable seasonal visit.

Florida treats the striped dolphin as native to its waters, and NatureServe hasn’t given the state a numeric rank, listing it as SNR. With so few records overall, they’re better read as occasional offshore encounters than any sign of how many dolphins pass through Florida waters.

Occurrence data from GBIF.

Small group of striped dolphins swimming at the surface in open blue ocean
Full species profile Striped Dolphin Stenella coeruleoalba Size 1.8–2.6 m5.9–8.5 ft Weight 100–160 kg220.5–352.7 lb Lifespan 60 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