Fam.: Delphinidae

Common dolphins and striped dolphins are typical oceanic dolphins of the tropical to warm temperate zone. A characteristic slender body shape is combined with a relatively long beak. Both species are fast swimmers, occurring in schools of several hundred to several thousand animals and sometimes approaching moving vessels to bow-ride. Common and striped dolphins feed on small mid-water fish and squid. According to their warm-water origin, they are most likely to be encountered southwest of the British Isles and in the English Channel. In the eastern tropical Pacific large numbers of both species are taken incidentally during tuna fishing, and there is concern that a similar by-catch may be occurring in the Bay of Biscay.

Illustrations: M. Camm