3 Feb 24 - ORCA Saga Caribbean Calypso Day 17 - Some Caribbean Dolphins Off Bequia

As we left Bequia, we had time for some final surveying before it was dark. To be honest, I wasn't expecting to see that much as we would only have an hour or so at sea after clearing the immediate coastline before it was dusk.

I thought Bequia would be a good backdrop for a new photo for my ORCA profile: It certainly looked better than the one I took at home with the living room wall as a background

St Vincent in the distance: It was a pity we didn't visit there as there is an endemic Parrot and an endemic New World Warbler on the island

Initially, we saw parties of Brown Boobies and Red-footed Boobies flying past the ship. Then I picked up a couple of distant Dolphins jumping high out of the water. I initially though they might be Spinner Dolphins, but they didn't leap again to allow confirmation and they were a long way off. A few minutes later, a party of at least a dozen Dolphins pasting the ship & we could clearly see they were Fraser's Dolphins. They spent most of their time swimming past lust under the surface, but occasionally one surfaced.

Fraser's Dolphin: Fraser's Dolphins are a medium-sized Dolphin growing up to 2.7 metres with a stocky body and a distinctive short and stubby beak. The upperparts are light brownish-grey, with creamy coloured lower sides with a broad darker line from the eye to the anus and a pinkish belly. They have a slightly falcate dorsal fin

Fraser's Dolphin: They occur in the Atlantic from as far North as South Carolina to North Africa and South to Southern Brazil to Angola. They occur throughout the Indian Ocean as far South as South Africa and Madagascar across to central Western Australia. They continue through South East Asian waters and across the Pacific as far South as Sydney, Australia to North Peru and as far North as Southern Japan to Baja California

Having seen Fraser's Dolphins leaping high out of the water in the Banda Sea, then it's possible that was what the distant jumping Dolphins had been. However, with only a couple of very distant breaches to go on, they had to be recorded as unidentified Dolphins.

Fraser's Dolphin: Jumping between Pantar & Kalaotoa in the Banda Sea, Indonesia (10 Nov 22)

Just over ten minutes later, another party of ten Dolphins passing down the side of the ship. Fortunately, I managed to get some photos of them, as we were struggling to identify them as they raced alongside towards the stern. At the time, I thought they were Pantropical Spotted Dolphins, but Terry raised concerns when he saw the photos. Both species Pantropical Spotted Dolphins have a noticeable beak, which is separated from the melon by a distinctive crease. Additionally, both species have a dark cape which extends from the upper face to low under the dorsal fin before it curves up to the top of the back just behind the dorsal fin. The spotting isn't a help as youngsters of Pantropical Spotted Dolphins are unspotted and some populations also have unspotted adults. However, Clymene Dolphins have a dark-tipped beak, whereas Pantropical Dolphins have a white tip.

Clymene Dolphin: Clymene Dolphins are shorter and more robust than Spinner Dolphins with a shorter and stockier beak, which is separated from the melon by a distinctive crease. Note the dark-tipped beak

Clymene Dolphin: This photo shows the dark cape which extends from the upper face to low under the dorsal fin before it curves up to the top of the back just behind the dorsal fin. The dorsal fin is erect and slightly falcate. Clymene Dolphins are restricted to the Atlantic, where their range is broadly similar to the range of Fraser's Dolphins

Sadly, the Clymene Dolphins were the last Dolphins we saw that evening and within a half hour or so, we lost the light. But it had been a good end to the day and those passengers who had joined us on deck had enjoyed the show the Dolphins put on.

Clymene Dolphin: This photo was taken at sea between Ascension & Cape Verde and shows the dark cape and dark-tipped beak. They are clearly an acrobatic species (28 Apr 18)

28 Dec 18 - Index To My Atlantic Dolphins Photos

This Blog Post is an Index to all the Blog Posts covering my Dolphin sightings. The following Blog Posts cover all my Rorqual Whale, Baleen Whale, Sperm Whale, Beaked Whale, Beluga Whale & Narwhal, Blackfish, Atlantic Dolphin, Pacific Dolphin and Porpoise Posts. The taxonomy follows the Marine Mammals of the World (Second Edition) book. There are links to the Posts against each entry below. Alternatively, you can click on a particular species in the Keywords section on the right side of the Blog to show all Posts for the selected species. Finally, selecting the Cetaceans Keyword to show all Cetacean Posts. I will continue to add to the photos and links as I write new Cetacean Blogs.

Risso's Dolphin: At sea between Ascension Island and Cape Verde (27 Apr 18)

Risso's Dolphin: At sea between Cape Verde and the Canary Islands (3 May 18)

Risso's Dolphin: Torpoint, Cornwall, UK (15 June 18)

Bottlenose Dolphin: Captive individual at the Eilat Sealife Centre, Israel (9 Apr 14)

Bottlenose Dolphin: Crossing to Bardsey, North Wales (18 Jun 15)

Bottlenose Dolphin: Ascension Island (24 Apr 18)

Bottlenose Dolphin: At sea between Ascension Island and Cape Verde (29 Apr 18)

Bottlenose Dolphin: At sea between Cape Verde and the Canary Islands (3 May 18)

Pantropical Spotted Dolphin: St Helena (18 Apr 18)

Pantropical Spotted Dolphin: A large pod at sea between Ascension Island and Cape Verde (28 Apr 18)

Atlantic Spotted Dolphin: Leaving Cape Verde (1 May 18)

Atlantic Spotted Dolphin: At sea between Cape Verde and the Canary Islands (3 May 18)

Atlantic Spotted Dolphin: At sea off the Canary Islands (4 May 18)

Spinner Dolphin: A large pod at sea between Ascension Island and Cape Verde (27 Apr 18)

Clymene Dolphin: At sea between St Helena and Ascension Island (21 Apr 18)

Clymene Dolphin: Close acrobatics from a Clymene Dolphin between Ascension Island and Cape Verde (28 Apr 18)

Striped Dolphin: A pod at sea between St Helena and Ascension Island (22 Apr 18)

Striped Dolphin: At sea between Cape Verde and the Canary Islands (2 May 18)

Striped Dolphin: At sea off the Canary Islands (4 May 18)

Striped Dolphin: At sea between Madeira and Portugal (6 May 18)

Striped Dolphin: At sea off Portugal (7 May 18)

Striped Dolphin: In Southern Biscay from the Brittany Ferry (15 Aug 18)

Short-beaked Common Dolphin: Crossing Lochmaddy to Uig, UK (17 Oct 15)

Short-beaked Common Dolphin: At sea off Tristan da Cunha (13 Apr 18)

Short-beaked Common Dolphin: Bay of Biscay (9 May 18)

Short-beaked Common Dolphin: Off St David's Head (6 July 18)

Short-beaked Common Dolphin: Mother & youngster in Northern Biscay from the Brittany Ferry (15 Aug 18)

Short-beaked Common Dolphin: Southern Biscay from the Brittany Ferry (15 Aug 18)

Southern Rightwhale Dolphin: At the Estancia Harberton museum, Argentina (27 Mar 18)

Commerson's Dolphin: At the Estancia Harberton museum, Argentina (27 Mar 18)

28 Apr 18 - Atlantic Odyssey - Day Thirty: Dolphin Dawn

Soon after first light on the last but on day at sea between Ascension Island & Cape Verde we encountered the first of several pods of several hundred Dolphins. I saw around three hundred Pantropical Spotted Dolphins, along with another forty of more Clymene Dolphins.

The first pod of Clymene Dolphins appeared at 06:45: They were on the side of the Plancius with the poor light

Clymene Dolphin: They are also called Short-beaked Spinner Dolphins for reasons that will become apparent

Clymene Dolphin

Clymene Dolphin: This photo is the right way up & one of my favourite Cetacean photos from the trip

Clymene Dolphin

Clymene Dolphin

Clymene Dolphin

Clymene Dolphin: Entering the water the right way up would be dull

Clymene Dolphin: I've cropped & rotated the upside down photo to allow a field guide view of this individual

Pantropical Spotted Dolphin: Some of the several hundred Pantropical Spotted Dolphins. Unfortunately, none came close to the Plancius

Pantropical Spotted Dolphin: A close crop to show the distinctive markings & short beak

21 Apr 18 - Atlantic Odyssey - Day Twenty Three: Clymene Dolphins

The first full day at sea on the crossing between St Helena & Ascension Island had started well for Cetaceans with a small party of Sperm Whales & a party of around fifteen Short-finned Pilot Whales before breakfast. This was followed by a brief appearance of a small party of False Killer Whales while most people were still finishing their breakfast. The morning continued with another party of eight Sperm Whales in late morning which were in no hurry to dive & allowed us to have prolonged & close views. Soon after that a distant Orca put in a brief appearance off the port side, but too distant & brief for photos. It all quietened down for Cetaceans for several hours until late afternoon when we picked up a distant pod of at least fifteen Dolphins on the starboard side. Unfortunately, they were hunting & didn't want to come & check out the Plancius. The photos aren't any better than record shots as they didn't come closer than a half mile. However, the photos did allow them to be identified as my first Clymene Dolphins.

Clymene Dolphin: It is just about possible to see the three coluration tones on the right hand most exposed individual. The odd pale marking on the central individual is presumably splashing water or an effect of the harsh crop

Clymene Dolphins are one of the Spinner Dolphin group & are also known as Short-billed Spinner Dolphin. They are a small Dolphin with a maximum size of only 1.9 metres & thus are only about 80% of the size of a Striped Dolphin or one of the Atlantic populations of Short-beaked Common Dolphin. They have similarly markings to the Atlantic population of Spinner Dolphins, which also have a similar range in the Atlantic. Clymene Dolphins occur in the tropical & subtropical Atlantic, Caribbean & Gulf of Mexico, in a broad band from Brazil to New Jersey in the US & from Mauritania to Angola & are typically a deep-water oceanic Dolphin. The key features are they are similar to the larger Spinner Dolphins, more robust in shape & having a shorter & stockier beak and an erect & only slightly falcate dorsal fin. The colouration is a dark grey uppersides, light grey sides & a white belly, with the dark grey dipping into the light grey under the eye & below the dorsal fin. There may also be a dark band running along the rear flanks which Spinner Dolphins do not show. The main separation from the Atlantic population of Spinner Dolphins is Spinner Dolphins are a bit larger (between intermediate in size between a Clymene Dolphin & Short-beaked Common Dolphin), are slimmer with an extremely long & thinner beak and the dorsal fin is either slightly falcate or erect & triangular in shape.

Clymene Dolphin: Showing the dark flank stripe

Clymene Dolphin

Clymene Dolphin: The short beaks are visible on these individuals

Clymene Dolphin

Overall, it had been another long, but brilliant day on the Atlantic Odyssey with five Cetaceans species seen & two new Cetaceans for my list: False Killer Whale & Clymene Dolphin.