Classification: Gray classified Stenella clymene in 1846 from skeletal material, but it was not until the first recorded sighting in 1981 that some cetologists believed in its existence. In Greek myth, Clymene is the daughter of Tethys and Oceanus.
Local Names: Short-Snouted Spinner Dolphin; Helmet Dolphin; Senegal Dolphin.
Description: The Clymene Dolphin is a slender creature, closely resembling the Hawaiian form of the Spinner Dolphin. The undersides are white, darkening to a light grey on the flanks and a dark grey dorsal cape that dips low along the sides. A grey stripe from eye to flipper can sometimes be seen. The tip of the beak is black, as is the stripe that leads from the tip of the beak to the melon. Adults weigh around 80kg and measure approximately 2m.
Recognition at sea: The Clymene Dolphin's characteristic short snout and low-dipped dorsal cape should aid identification.
Habitat: The Clymene Dolphin has only been observed in deep water.
Food & Feeding: It is thought that the Clymene Dolphin takes the same prey as the Spinner Dolphin, namely midwater fish and squid.
Behaviour: Units of between 1-10 animals are common, but one mass strand of 50 has been recorded. Clymene Dolphins associate with both Spinner and Common Dolphins, but are not as dramatically acrobatic as the former.
Longevity: Unknown.
Estimated Current Population: Unknown.
The Influence of Man: Clymene Dolphins are harpooned around St Vincent, Lesser Antilles.
