CreatureData

Common bottlenose dolphin

Tursiops truncatus (Montagu, 1821)

LCLeast Concernwhales and dolphins

The common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is a species in the family Delphinidae, order Cetacea. It has been recorded in 121 countries, most often in France, United States and Portugal. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)
Photo: NASA · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the common bottlenose dolphin

Weight
Not recorded
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Gestation
365 dayssrc for Gestation
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Recorded in
121 countriessrc for Recorded in

Photos of the common bottlenose dolphin

Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.

Common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)
DataBase Center for Life Science (DBCLS) · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Where does the common bottlenose dolphin live?

Countries with openly licensed sighting records on GBIF. This shows where the species has been recorded, including zoos and introduced populations. It is not a definitive range.

The common bottlenose dolphin has been recorded in 121 countries, from 74,659 records.

Fiji: 1 recordTanzania: 5 recordsW. Sahara: 2 recordsCanada: 192 recordsUnited States of America: 23,022 recordsPapua New Guinea: 2 recordsIndonesia: 2 recordsArgentina: 85 recordsChile: 36 recordsSomalia: 1 recordKenya: 3 recordsHaiti: 3 recordsRussia: 110 recordsBahamas: 15 recordsNorway: 134 recordsFr. S. Antarctic Lands: 138 recordsSouth Africa: 44 recordsMexico: 2,033 recordsUruguay: 43 recordsBrazil: 1,209 recordsPeru: 62 recordsColombia: 67 recordsPanama: 35 recordsCosta Rica: 91 recordsNicaragua: 4 recordsEl Salvador: 14 recordsGuatemala: 43 recordsBelize: 15 recordsVenezuela: 19 recordsSuriname: 2 recordsFrance: 29,919 recordsEcuador: 267 recordsPuerto Rico: 49 recordsJamaica: 2 recordsCuba: 187 recordsNamibia: 29 recordsSenegal: 54 recordsMauritania: 75 recordsBenin: 8 recordsNigeria: 1 recordCôte d'Ivoire: 7 recordsGuinea-Bissau: 4 recordsLiberia: 2 recordsGabon: 1 recordIsrael: 1 recordMadagascar: 28 recordsGambia: 5 recordsTunisia: 3 recordsAlgeria: 11 recordsUnited Arab Emirates: 3 recordsOman: 17 recordsThailand: 4 recordsVietnam: 11 recordsIndia: 8 recordsSweden: 144 recordsUkraine: 508 recordsRomania: 5 recordsGermany: 157 recordsBulgaria: 265 recordsGreece: 125 recordsTurkey: 43 recordsAlbania: 11 recordsCroatia: 90 recordsBelgium: 58 recordsNetherlands: 681 recordsPortugal: 3,937 recordsSpain: 545 recordsIreland: 957 recordsNew Caledonia: 233 recordsSolomon Is.: 2 recordsNew Zealand: 222 recordsAustralia: 1,962 recordsSri Lanka: 3 recordsChina: 4 recordsTaiwan: 565 recordsItaly: 574 recordsDenmark: 71 recordsUnited Kingdom: 1,971 recordsIceland: 3 recordsGeorgia: 5 recordsPhilippines: 9 recordsSlovenia: 20 recordsFinland: 3 recordsJapan: 302 recordsYemen: 1 recordSaudi Arabia: 1 recordCyprus: 1 recordMorocco: 8 recordsEgypt: 24 recordsDjibouti: 1 recordMontenegro: 1 recordTrinidad and Tobago: 1 record
  • None on record
  • 1–9
  • 10–99
  • 100–999
  • 1,000+
records per country · small islands are not drawn at this scale

The same figures as a list, most records first

  1. France29,919
  2. United States23,022
  3. Portugal3,937
  4. Mexico2,033
  5. United Kingdom1,971
  6. Australia1,962
  7. Guadeloupe1,347
  8. Brazil1,209
  9. Ireland957
  10. French Polynesia862
  11. Netherlands681
  12. Italy574
  13. Taiwan565
  14. Spain545
  15. Ukraine508
  16. Réunion313
  17. Japan302
  18. French Guiana292
  19. Ecuador267
  20. Bulgaria265
  21. New Caledonia233
  22. New Zealand222
  23. Canada192
  24. Cuba187
  25. Germany157
  26. Sweden144
  27. French Southern Territories138
  28. Norway134
  29. Greece125
  30. Russia110
  31. Costa Rica91
  32. Croatia90
  33. Argentina85
  34. Mauritania75
  35. Denmark71
  36. Colombia67
  37. Peru62
  38. Belgium58
  39. Martinique54
  40. Senegal54
Show 81 more countries
  1. Puerto Rico49
  2. South Africa44
  3. Guatemala43
  4. Türkiye43
  5. Uruguay43
  6. Chile36
  7. Panama35
  8. Namibia29
  9. Madagascar28
  10. Mayotte26
  11. Egypt24
  12. Faroe Islands21
  13. Slovenia20
  14. Venezuela19
  15. Oman17
  16. Wallis & Futuna17
  17. Bahamas15
  18. Belize15
  19. Northern Mariana Islands14
  20. El Salvador14
  21. Albania11
  22. Algeria11
  23. Vietnam11
  24. Guam9
  25. Jersey9
  26. Philippines9
  27. Benin8
  28. St. Barthélemy8
  29. India8
  30. Morocco8
  31. St. Martin8
  32. Côte d’Ivoire7
  33. Cape Verde7
  34. Georgia5
  35. Gambia5
  36. Romania5
  37. Tanzania5
  38. British Virgin Islands5
  39. China4
  40. Guinea-Bissau4
  41. Nicaragua4
  42. Seychelles4
  43. Thailand4
  44. United Arab Emirates3
  45. Finland3
  46. Hong Kong SAR China3
  47. Haiti3
  48. Iceland3
  49. Kenya3
  50. Sri Lanka3
  51. Malta3
  52. Tunisia3
  53. Bermuda2
  54. Western Sahara2
  55. Micronesia2
  56. Indonesia2
  57. Jamaica2
  58. Kiribati2
  59. Liberia2
  60. Maldives2
  61. Papua New Guinea2
  62. Solomon Islands2
  63. Suriname2
  64. U.S. Outlying Islands2
  65. Anguilla1
  66. Barbados1
  67. Caribbean Netherlands1
  68. Cyprus1
  69. Djibouti1
  70. Fiji1
  71. Gabon1
  72. Guernsey1
  73. Israel1
  74. Montenegro1
  75. Nigeria1
  76. Saudi Arabia1
  77. Somalia1
  78. Turks & Caicos Islands1
  79. Tonga1
  80. Trinidad & Tobago1
  81. Yemen1

What is the common bottlenose dolphin?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The common bottlenose dolphin or Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is one of three species of bottlenose dolphin in the genus Tursiops. While formerly known simply as the bottlenose dolphin, this term is now applied to the genus Tursiops as a whole. As considerable genetic variation has been described within this species, even between neighboring populations, many experts think additional species may be recognized and split out.

The common bottlenose dolphin is a very familiar dolphin due to the wide exposure it receives in captivity in marine parks and dolphinariums, and in movies and television programs. Common bottlenose dolphins inhabit temperate and tropical oceans throughout the world, absent only from polar waters.

Wikipedia contributors, “Common bottlenose dolphin”, Wikipedia (revision 1366558565), retrieved 2026-11-11. Shared under CC BY-SA 4.0; this block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the common bottlenose dolphin endangered?

The common bottlenose dolphin is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the common bottlenose dolphin classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classMammalia
  4. orderCetacea
  5. familyDelphinidae
  6. genusTursiops
  7. SpeciesTursiops truncatus (Montagu, 1821)

Synonyms Delphinus compressicauda, Delphinus cymodoce, Delphinus erebennus, Delphinus metis, Delphinus nesarnack, Delphinus nesarnak, Delphinus parvimanus, Delphinus troncatus, Delphinus truncatus, Delphinus tursio, Phocoena compressicauda, Tursio compressicauda, Tursio cymodice, Tursio cymodoce, Tursio metis, Tursio truncatus, Tursiops coerulescens, Tursiops communis, Tursiops compressicauda, Tursiops dawsoni, Tursiops eurynome, Tursiops gillii, Tursiops maugeanus, Tursiops nesarnack, Tursiops nuuanu, Tursiops parvimanus, Tursiops ponticus

Names in other languages (26)
  • grand dauphinFrench
  • Großer TümmlerGerman
  • golfinho-comumPortuguese
  • tuimelaarDutch
  • öresvinSwedish
  • ハンドウイルカJapanese
  • 瓶鼻海豚Chinese
  • دلفين شائع قاروري الأنفArabic
  • АфалинаRussian
  • Bottlenose dolphinEnglish
  • Delfín MularSpanish
  • Pez MularSpanish
  • TursiónSpanish
  • Dauphin souffleurFrench
  • SouffleurFrench
  • TursiopsFrench
  • Bottle-nosed dolphinEnglish
  • Bottlenosed dolphinEnglish
  • CowfishEnglish
  • GroßtümmlerGerman
  • FlaschennasendelfinGerman
  • grand dauphin, souffleur, dauphin à gros nezFrench
  • Bottle-nosed dophin, common bottle-nosed dolphinEnglish
  • Grosse Tümmler, GrosstümmlerGerman
  • Delfín nariz de botellaSpanish
  • tursìopeItalian

GBIFWikidataWikipediaNCBI TaxonomyITISEncyclopedia of LifeiNaturalistWoRMS

Relatives of the common bottlenose dolphin

Other species in the same order Cetacea.

EN, Endangered
Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus)

Blue whale

Balaenoptera musculus

Balaenopteridae

CompareCommon bottlenose dolphin vs Blue whale

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

Where does the common bottlenose dolphin live?

The common bottlenose dolphin has openly licensed sighting records from 121 countries on GBIF. The most records come from France, United States, Portugal, Mexico and United Kingdom. These are recorded sightings, not a definitive range.

Is the common bottlenose dolphin endangered?

The common bottlenose dolphin is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long is the common bottlenose dolphin pregnant?

The recorded gestation period is 365 days.

What kind of animal is the common bottlenose dolphin?

The common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) belongs to the family Delphinidae in the order Cetacea.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-bottlenose-dolphin

MLA

“Common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-bottlenose-dolphin.

BibTeX
@misc{common_bottlenose_dolphin_2026,
  title = {Common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-bottlenose-dolphin},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}