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Delphinus (common dolphin)

Mammalia - Cetacea - Delphinidae

Taxonomy
Delphinus was named by Linnaeus (1758) [Sepkoski's age data: T Plio-l R]. It is extant. Its type is Phocoena phocoena. It was considered monophyletic by Geisler et al. (2011).

It was assigned to Cete by Linnaeus (1758); to Cete by Illiger (1811); to Delphinina by Gray (1846); to Delphinina by Gray (1825), Gray (1864), Gray (1868) and Gray (1871); to Delphinoceti by Abel (1919); to Delphini by Winge (1921); to Cetacea by Sepkoski (2002); to Delphininae by Flower (1867), Gill (1871), Gill (1872), Brandt (1874), Brandt (1874), Hay (1902), Weber (1928), Hay (1930), Fraser and Purves (1960), Scheffer and Rice (1963), Kasuya (1973), de Muizon (1988), Vidal (1991), McKenna and Bell (1997), LeDuc et al. (1999), Fordyce and de Muizon (2001), Buchholtz and Schur (2004), Agnarsson and May-Collado (2008), Geisler et al. (2011), Perrin et al. (2013) and Marx et al. (2016); and to Delphinidae by Gray (1821), De Kay (1842), Gray (1846), Gray (1850), Pictet (1853), Gray (1863), Owen (1866), Gray (1866), Cope (1867), Scammon and Cope (1869), Gray (1870), Scott (1873), Ameghino (1889), Cope (1890), Paquier (1894), Flores (1895), Trouessart (1898), Trouessart (1904), Palmer (1904), Turner (1912), Zittel (1925), Oliver Schneider (1926), Kellogg (1928), Dal Piaz (1929), Simpson (1945), Ellerman and Morrisson-Scott (1951), Sherman (1952), Hershkovitz (1966), Barnes (1977), Pilleri (1987), Carroll (1988), Rice (1998), Mead and Brownell (2005), Whitmore and Kaltenbach (2008), Uhen et al. (2008), Fordyce and Roberts (2009), Canto et al. (2010), Murakami et al. (2014) and Jefferson et al. (2024).

Species
D. bairdii, D. baltringii, D. bertini, D. bonnaterrei, D. boryi, D. chilensis, D. coronatus, D. delannoy, D. delphis (syn. D. zelandae, D. loriger, D. dussumieri, D. ponticus, D. major, D. longirostris, Eudelphinus pliocaenus, D. janira, D. moorei, D. tropicalis, D. fulvifasciatus, Lagenorhynchus decastelnau, D. algeriensis, D. walkeri, D. vulgaris, D. pomeegra, D. capensis, D. forsteri, D. albimanus, D. frithii, Eudelphinus tasmaniensis, D. novaezelandiae, D. fluvofasciatus, D. microps), D. dewaeli, D. epiodon, D. fabricii, D. feres, D. harlani, D. leucocephalus, D. maculatus, D. malayanus, D. minimus, D. nesarnac, D. niger, D. obtusus, D. pernettyi, D. rappii, D. rhinoceros, D. rikuzenensis, D. risso, D. sao, D. siculus, D. taramelli, D. tursio, D. wasii, Eudelphinus compressus
Species lacking formal opinion data
D. heavisidei

Synonyms
Synonymy list
YearName and author
1758Delphinus Linnaeus p. 77
1780Delphinus tursio Fabricius
1789Delphinus feres Bonnaterre
1804Delphinus feres Lacépède p. 312
1808Delphinus bonnaterrei Tiedemann
1810Delphinus siculus Rafinesque Schmaltz
1811Delphinus Illiger p. 143
1817Delphinus coronatus Blainville p. 152
1817Delphinus pernettensis Blainville p. 154
1817Delphinus bertini Desmarest
1818Delphinus niger Lacepede
1821Delphinus Gray p. 310
1822Delphinus boryi Desmarest
1822Delphinus epiodon Desmarest
1822Delphinus pernettyi Desmarest
1824Delphinus rhinoceros Quoy and Gaimard
1825Delphinus Gray p. 340
1826Delphinus leucocephalus Lesson
1826Delphinus malayanus Lesson
1826Delphinus minimus Lesson
1826Delphinus maculatus Lesson and Garnot
1827Delphinus fabricii Billberg
1827Delphinus nesarnac Lesson
1829Delphinus harlani Fischer
1829Delphinus boryi Fischer p. 505
1829Delphinus coronatus Fischer p. 505
1829Delphinus maculatus Fischer p. 506
1829Delphinus pernettyi Fischer p. 506
1829Delphinus tursio Fischer p. 506
1829Delphinus malayanus Fischer p. 508
1829Delphinus rhinoceros Fischer p. 509
1829Delphinus leucocephalus Fischer p. 510
1829Delphinus feres Fischer p. 513
1842Delphinus De Kay p. 136
1846Delphinus Gray p. 35
1846Delphinus tursio Gray p. 37
1846Delphinus sao Gray p. 41
1846Steno malayanus Gray p. 43
1846Delphinus tursio Gray p. 84
1846Delphinus Gray p. 85
1846Delphinus rappii Reichenbach
1847Delphinus tursio Nilsson p. 602
1850Delphinus Gray p. 105
1850Delphinus tursio Gray p. 109
1850Delphinus sao Gray p. 125
1850Steno malayanus Gray p. 127
1852Delphinus tursio Gervais p. 149
1853Delphinus Pictet p. 381
1862Delphinus obtusus Schlegel
1863Delphinus Gray p. 200
1864Delphinus Gray p. 236
1864Delphinus (Clymene) tursio Gray p. 237
1866Steno malayanus Gray p. 232
1866Steno coronatus Gray p. 238
1866Delphinus Gray p. 239
1866Delphinus sao Gray p. 248
1866Delphinus Owen p. 17
1867Delphinus Cope p. 144
1867Delphinus Flower p. 115
1868Delphinus Gray p. 5
1868Eudelphinus Van Beneden and Gervais p. 600
1869Delphinus Scammon and Cope p. 21
1870Delphinus Gray p. 772
1871Delphinus Gill p. 125
1871Delphinus Gray p. 67
1872Delphinus Gill p. 95
1873Steno malayanus Scott p. 70
1873Delphinus Scott p. 72
1873Delphinus sao Scott p. 75
1874Delphinus Brandt p. II
1880Eudelphinus Van Beneden and Gervais p. 600
1889Delphinus Ameghino p. 885
1890Delphinus Cope p. 609
1894Delphinus Paquier p. 48
1895Delphinus Flores p. 12
1896Delphinus chilensis Philippi
1898Delphinus Trouessart p. 1031
1902Delphinus Hay p. 593
1904Delphinus Palmer p. 220
1904Eudelphinus Palmer p. 274
1904Delphinus Trouessart p. 765
1904Prodelphinus malayanus Trouessart p. 766
1912Delphinus Turner p. 131
1919Delphinus Abel p. 772
1921Delphinus Winge p. 36
1925Eudelphinus Portis p. 14
1925Delphinus Zittel p. 87
1926Delphinus Oliver Schneider p. 154
1928Delphinus Kellogg p. 33 figs. Table 1
1928Delphinus Weber p. 389
1929Delphinus Dal Piaz p. 84
1930Delphinus Hay p. 588
1945Delphinus Simpson p. 103
1951Delphinus Ellerman and Morrisson-Scott p. 730
1952Delphinus Sherman p. 99
1960Delphinus Fraser and Purves p. 112 figs. Figure 26
1963Delphinus Scheffer and Rice p. 6
1966Stenella pernettyi Hershkovitz p. 40
1966Delphinus Hershkovitz p. 41
1973Delphinus Kasuya p. 61
1977Delphinus Barnes p. 323 figs. Table 1
1987Delphinus Pilleri p. 110
1988Delphinus Carroll
1988Delphinus de Muizon p. 162
1991Delphinus Vidal p. 5
1997Delphinus McKenna and Bell p. 384
1998Delphinus Rice p. 111
1999Delphinus LeDuc et al. p. 639 figs. Figure 2
2001Delphinus Fordyce and de Muizon p. 179
2002Delphinus Sepkoski
2004Delphinus Buchholtz and Schur p. 384 figs. Figure 1
2005Delphinus Mead and Brownell p. 727
2008Delphinus Agnarsson and May-Collado p. 981 figs. Fig. 2
2008Delphinus Uhen et al. p. 592
2008Delphinus Whitmore and Kaltenbach p. 218
2009Delphinus Fordyce and Roberts p. 553
2010Delphinus Canto et al. p. 20
2011Delphinus Geisler et al. p. 6 figs. Table 1
2013Delphinus Perrin et al. p. 571
2014Delphinus Murakami et al. p. 507 figs. Figure 10
2016Delphinus Marx et al. p. 140
2024Delphinus Jefferson et al. p. 24

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
—Bilateria
—EubilateriaAx 1987
—Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
—Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
—Tetrapoda
—Reptiliomorpha
—Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
—Cotylosauria()
—Amniota
subclassSynapsida
—Therapsida()
infraorderCynodontia()
—Mammaliamorpha
—Mammaliaformes
classMammalia
RankNameAuthor
—Cladotheria
—Zatheria
subclassTribosphenida()
subclassTheria
—Eutheria()
—Placentalia
—Boreoeutheria
—Laurasiatheria
—Scrotifera
—Euungulata
—Artiodactylamorpha
—Artiodactyla()
—Whippomorpha
orderCetacea
—Pelagiceti
—Neoceti
suborderOdontoceti
infraorderDelphinida
superfamilyDelphinoidea
familyDelphinidae
subfamilyDelphininae
genusDelphinus

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

G. Delphinus Linnaeus 1758 [common dolphin]
show all | hide all
†Delphinus baltringii Van Beneden 1876
†Delphinus delannoy Van Beneden 1860
Delphinus delphis Linnaeus 1758 [short-beaked common dolphin]
+
Invalid names: Delphinus albimanus Peale 1848 [synonym], Delphinus algeriensis Loche 1860 [synonym], Delphinus capensis Gray 1828 [synonym], Delphinus dussumieri Blanford 1891 [synonym], Delphinus fluvofasciatus Wagner 1853 [synonym], Delphinus forsteri Gray 1846 [synonym], Delphinus frithii Blyth 1859 [synonym], Delphinus fulvifasciatus Wagner 1846 [synonym], Delphinus janira Gray 1846 [synonym], Delphinus longirostris Cuvier 1829 [synonym], Delphinus loriger Wiegmann 1846 [synonym], Delphinus major Gray 1866 [synonym], Delphinus microps Burmeister 1866 [synonym], Delphinus moorei Gray 1866 [synonym], Delphinus novaezelandiae Quoy and Gainard 1830 [synonym], Delphinus pomeegra Owen 1866 [synonym], Delphinus ponticus Barabash 1935 [synonym], Delphinus tropicalis van Bree 1971 [synonym], Delphinus vulgaris Lacépède 1804 [synonym], Delphinus walkeri Gray 1866 [synonym], Delphinus zelandae Gray 1843 [synonym], Eudelphinus pliocaenus Gervais 1859 [synonym], Eudelphinus tasmaniensis Van Beneden and Gervais 1880 [synonym], Lagenorhynchus decastelnau Van Beneden 1873 [synonym]
†Delphinus dewaeli Vanden Broeck 1874
†Delphinus rikuzenensis Hatai et al. 1963
Delphinus risso Risso 1826
†Delphinus taramelli de Zigno 1872
†Delphinus wasii Vanden Broeck 1874
Invalid names: Delphinus bertini Desmarest 1817 [nomen dubium], Delphinus bonnaterrei Tiedemann 1808 [nomen dubium], Delphinus boryi Desmarest 1822 [nomen dubium], Delphinus chilensis Philippi 1896 [nomen dubium], Delphinus coronatus Blainville 1817 [nomen dubium], Delphinus epiodon Desmarest 1822 [nomen dubium], Delphinus fabricii Billberg 1827 [nomen dubium], Delphinus feres Bonnaterre 1789 [nomen dubium], Delphinus harlani Fischer 1829 [nomen dubium], Delphinus leucocephalus Lesson 1826 [nomen dubium], Delphinus maculatus Lesson and Garnot 1826 [nomen dubium], Delphinus malayanus Lesson 1826 [nomen dubium], Delphinus minimus Lesson 1826 [nomen dubium], Delphinus nesarnac Lesson 1827 [nomen dubium], Delphinus niger Lacepede 1818 [nomen dubium], Delphinus obtusus Schlegel 1862 [nomen dubium], Delphinus pernettyi Blainville 1817 [nomen oblitum], Delphinus rappii Reichenbach 1846 [nomen dubium], Delphinus rhinoceros Quoy and Gaimard 1824 [nomen dubium], Delphinus sao Gray 1846 [nomen dubium], Delphinus siculus Rafinesque Schmaltz 1810 [nomen dubium], Delphinus tursio Fabricius 1780 [nomen dubium], Eudelphinus Van Beneden and Gervais 1880 [synonym]
Diagnosis
No diagnoses are available
Measurements
partNmean

Composition: hydroxyapatitesubo
Form: roller-shapedo
Ontogeny: modification of partso
Environment: marine, freshwatersubo
Locomotion: actively mobileo
Life habit: aquatico
Depth habitat: surfaceo
Diet: piscivoref
Diet 2: carnivoref
Reproduction: viviparoussubo
Created: 2005-06-08 10:11:09
Modified: 2005-06-08 12:11:09
Source: f = family, subo = suborder, o = order
References: Uhen 2004, Nowak 1991

Age range

Maximum range based only on fossils: base of the Aquitanian to the top of the Holocene or 23.03000 to 0.00000 Ma
Minimum age of oldest fossil (stem group age): 20.44 Ma

Collections (50 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Aquitanian23.03 - 20.44Italy Delphinus taramelli (47623)
Miocene23.03 - 5.333Ukraine Delphinus sp. (183532 183536)
Neogene23.03 - 2.58Australia (South Australia) Delphinus sp. (99623)
Neogene23.03 - 2.58South Pacific Delphinus sp. (99584 99586)
Neogene23.03 - 2.58Romania Delphinus sp. (80382)
Neogene23.03 - 2.58Madagascar Delphinus sp. (55451)
Burdigalian20.44 - 15.97Germany Delphinus baltringii (47425)
Middle Miocene15.97 - 11.608Italy (Sardinia) Delphinus taramelli (49402)
Serravallian13.82 - 11.62Netherlands Delphinus delannoy (75264)
Tortonian - Messinian11.62 - 5.333Peru Delphinus sp. (46083)
Early/Lower Pliocene5.333 - 3.6Japan Delphinus rikuzenensis (47462)
Zanclean5.333 - 3.6Belgium (Turnhout) Delphinus sp. (77492)
Zanclean5.333 - 3.6USA (North Carolina) Delphinus sp. (52582)
Zanclean5.333 - 3.6Australia (Victoria) Delphinus sp. (51328)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.588Azerbaijan Delphinus delphis (108338)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.588Turkmenistan Delphinus delphis (56640)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.588Belgium (Oost-Vlaanderen) Delphinus sp., Delphinus delannoy (57138)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.588Ukraine (Odessa) Delphinus sp. (76502)
Pliocene5.333 - 2.588Italy Delphinus sp. (76977 87788)
Zanclean - Piacenzian5.333 - 2.588Italy Delphinus sp. (59273)
Waipipian3.7 - 3.0New Zealand (Hawera) Delphinus sp., Delphinus delphis (28039)
Waipipian3.7 - 3.0New Zealand Delphinus delphis (87884)
Late/Upper Pliocene3.6 - 2.588Morocco Delphinus sp. (32052)
Gelasian2.588 - 1.806United Kingdom Delphinus delphis (69541)
Gelasian2.588 - 1.806United Kingdom (England) Delphinus delphis (77747)
Early/Lower Pleistocene2.588 - 0.781Turkmenistan Delphinus delphis (40693)
Middle Pleistocene0.774 - 0.129United Kingdom (England) Delphinus sp. (58419)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Spain Delphinus delphis (90036)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Portugal Delphinus sp. (197768)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0India Delphinus delphis (168109)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Ukraine Delphinus delphis (235086)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Bulgaria Delphinus delphis (232847)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Italy Delphinus delphis (168110)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0New Zealand Delphinus delphis (168106 168107)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Mexico (Baja California) Delphinus delphis (201786)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Georgia Delphinus delphis (235087 235088)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0South Africa Delphinus delphis (168105 168108)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Bulgaria (Tolbuchin) Delphinus delphis (227255)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Netherlands Delphinus delphis (55533)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Panama Delphinus delphis (179577)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Japan Delphinus delphis (54129)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Brazil Stenella pernettyi (86888)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Italy (Sicily) Delphinus delphis (175523)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0USA (North Carolina) Delphinus delphis (168104)