''Stenella'' is a
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of marine mammals in
Delphinidae, the
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
informally known as the oceanic dolphins.
Species
Currently, five species are recognised in this genus:
[
''S. rayi'' was a species of this genus found in North Carolina, in the early Pliocene.
The common name for species in this genus is the "spotted dolphins" or the "bridled dolphins".]Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
meaning narrow.[ It was coined by John Gray in 1866 when he intended it as a subgenus of '' Steno''.][ Modern taxonomists recognise two genera.][
The clymene dolphin (''S. clymene'') is the only confirmed case of hybrid speciation in marine mammals, descending from the spinner dolphin (''S. longirostris'') and the striped dolphin (''S. coeruleoalba'').
''Stenella'' dolphins tend to be more active during nighttime and spend their daytime resting. Although these dolphins are supposed to spend 60% of their daytime resting, they happen to be exposed to human activities for 80% of their day. These patterns of sleep deprivation can have negative impact on their resting habit and leads to decline in their population size.]
References
Oceanic dolphins
Cetacean genera
Taxa named by John Edward Gray
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