Short-beaked Common Dolphin

Open encyclopedia reference

The common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) is the most abundant cetacean in the world, with an estimated global population of about six million. It is currently the only member of the genus Delphinus, the type genus of the subfamily Delphininae. This places it as a close relative of the bottlenose dolphin, humpback dolphin, striped dolphin, spinner dolphin, Clymene dolphin, spotted dolphin, Fraser's dolphin, the tucuxi, and the Guiana dolphin. The common dolphin was once divided into two different species, the short-beaked common dolphin and the long-beaked common dolphin. These are now generally regarded as ecotypes. Recent research shows that many long-beaked populations worldwide are not closely related to one another, often originating from short-beaked ancestors, and they do not consistently share the same derived traits. For this reason, these forms are no longer classified as separate species. Despite its name, the common dolphin is not widely considered the "archetypal" dolphin; that role is more often associated with the bottlenose dolphin, largely because of its frequent appearances in aquaria and the media.

Wikipedia contributors, Common dolphin; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T11:46:54.423688+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Delphinus delphis Linnaeus, 1758

Name authority

Linnaeus, 1758

Common name

Short-beaked Common Dolphin

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Cetacea

Family

Delphinidae

Genus

Delphinus

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
9. subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
10. infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
11. orderCetacea Brisson, 1762
12. suborderOdontoceti Flower, 1867
13. familyDelphinidae Gray, 1821
14. genusDelphinus Linnaeus, 1758
15. speciesDelphinus delphis Linnaeus, 1758

Close classified relatives

No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.

Browse 32 records assigned to Delphinidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=180438 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:34JWM. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.