off the continental slope. Individuals appearing to the north of
the range seem to have ventured northward with fingers of warm water.

Stranded Specimens

Stranded striped dolphins should be readily identifiable by the highly
distinctive patterns of lateral striping discussed above for living
animals. If the color pattern has faded, they may still be identified by
their size, larger than other dolphin species of similar appearance, and
the relatively large number of teeth (43-50 per side in both upper and
lower jaws). Only the spinner dolphin, much smaller in body length and
having a much longer beak, has more teeth (46-65 per side in each jaw).

[Illustration: Figure 127.--Despite some similarities in appearance and
behavior to saddleback dolphins, striped dolphins can be readily
identified by the prominent dark stripes on the side of the body. These
striped dolphins were photographed between the Caribbean Islands of
Curacao and Bonaire in 1972. (_Photo by D. Poppe._)]

[Illustration: Figure 128.--When they ride the bow, the most apparent
characteristic of striped dolphins is usually the dark streak beginning
in the black coloration behind the dorsal fin and extending forward
towards but not reaching the head. This stripe is not always present,
however, and the species may sometimes appear uniformly pale gray from a
distance. (_Photo from the tropical Atlantic by H. E. Winn._)]

[Illustration: Figure 129.--Stranded striped dolphins. Note the
distinctive black stripes 1) eye to flipper, 2) eye to anus, and 3) (on
top animal) from black behind dorsal fin forward towards but not
reaching the head. Some workers contend that striped dolphins are
separable into two species, depending on whether the eye-to-flipper
stripe has one (_Stenella coeruleoalba_) or two (_S. styx_) components.
Others contend that the two belong to the same species (_S.
coeruleoalba_). Striped dolphins have from 43 to 50 teeth in each upper
and lower jaw. (_Photos from Japan by W. E. Schevill (top) and from
Indian Rocks Beach, Fla. by W. A. Huck, courtesy of Marineland of
Florida (bottom)._)]

SADDLEBACK DOLPHIN (T)

_Delphinus delphis_ Linnaeus 1758

Other Common Names

Saddleback porpoise, common dolphin, crisscross dolphin.

Description

Saddleback dolphins reach a maximum overall length of about 8.5 feet
(2.6 m) though most individuals are less than 7.5 feet (2.3 m) long.
Males are slightly larger than females of the same