striped dolphins are separable into distinct species
depending on whether the eye-to-flipper stripe has one (_S.
coeruleoalba_) or two (_S. styx_) components.

Most individuals have an additional distinctive finger of black
coloration which extends from the black coloration behind the dorsal fin
forward towards and about halfway to the eye. It is this feature which
is most distinctive in animals riding the bow or leaping clear of the
water. The back is dark gray to bluish gray, the sides are lighter gray,
and the belly is white.

Natural History Notes

Though little is known of this species, it has been reported in herds of
up to several hundred individuals and apparently exhibits behaviors very
similar to those of the saddleback dolphins (p. 116), frequently jumping
clear of the water. Atlantic and Mediterranean animals have been
reported to bow ride.

May Be Confused With

This species is most likely to be confused with the saddleback dolphin,
which it closely resembles. The two may be distinguished by the
following characteristics:

STRIPED DOLPHIN SADDLEBACK DOLPHIN

LENGTH

To about 9 feet (2.7 m) or Seldom greater than 7.5 feet
more. (2.3 m).

COLORATION

Back from light gray to dark Back basically black or
gray to bluish gray; sides brownish; distinct white
gray; belly gray or white; chest or belly patch;
distinctive black lateral hourglass or crisscross
stripping from 1) eye to pattern on the sides;
flipper, 2) eye to anus, and 3) distinct black stripe from
dark color behind dorsal fin flipper to middle of lower
forward, towards but not jaw.
reaching head.

Distribution

Striped dolphins are widely distributed in the temperate, subtropical,
and tropical seas of the western North Atlantic. They have been reported
from at least Halifax, Nova Scotia, south as far as Jamaica. (Additional
records, purportedly from southern Greenland, involved a museum
specimen. Since striped dolphins of the eastern North Atlantic are rare
north of England, the species occurrence near Greenland would be highly
improbable.) Individuals have recently been reported from the Gulf of
Mexico.

Despite this wide distribution, striped dolphins appear to prefer warmer
waters and are probably normally confined to the Gulf Stream or the
waters