Priority species healthcheck

Common Dolphin
(Delphinus delphis)

The fastest dolphin to be found in Welsh waters

The common dolphin has a slender and elegant body shape with a long beak and sharp angle between the beak and forehead. The dorsal fin is tall and slender with a half-moon or sickle-shaped trailing edge.

The patterning of this species is very distinctive; the attractively marked flank of yellow buff and grey patches forms a swepping hourglass shape brought into stark relief by the black upper body and white belly. The characteristic inverted v-shaped patterned mirrors the dorsal fin and further adds to the dramatic appearance of this species.

This is not a coastal species, but an open ocean or 'pelagic' dolphin. It is found in large groups or 'pods' of up to, and over, a hundred individual animals. Common dolphins are the fastest of all the small dolphins, reaching speeds of 27mph. They are often active at the surface; jumping and splashing.

Common dolphins are one of the smallest dolphins, with a body length of 1.7-2.4m, weighing 70-110kg. They are between a harbour porpoise and a bottlenose dolphin in size.

In Wales, common dolphins are more likely to be sighted at sea from boats, although they can be seen from offshore islands such as Bardsey and the Pembrokeshire islands. Large congregations of common dolphins are found in the summer months (May to November) in the waters off the coast of Pembrokeshire in St George's Channel.

Information supplied from CCW Species Series: Dolphins, porpoises and whales in Welsh waters.