Common dolphin
Delphinus delphis Linnaeus, 1758
LCLeast Concernwhales and dolphins
The common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) is a mammal in the whales and dolphins subgroup, belonging to the order Cetacea, suborder Odontoceti and family Delphinidae. It is a large, marine, nocturnal animal with an adult body mass of 80 kg, classed as an invertivore at the carnivore trophic level.
Quick facts about the common dolphin
Gestation lasts 296.9 days, with 0.99 young per litter and 0.42 litters per year, and sexual maturity is reached at 3.6 years. The species is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 77.8 kg – 80 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 20 years – 29 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 297 days – 335 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 0.99src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 2.99 years – 4.31 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 0.42src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Marinesrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the common dolphin
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the common dolphin live?
Not recorded
What is the common dolphin?
The common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) is the most abundant cetacean in the world, with an estimated global population of about six million. It is currently the only member of the genus Delphinus, the type genus of the subfamily Delphininae. This places it as a close relative of the bottlenose dolphin, humpback dolphin, striped dolphin, spinner dolphin, Clymene dolphin, spotted dolphin, Fraser's dolphin, the tucuxi, and the Guiana dolphin.
The common dolphin was once divided into two different species, the short-beaked common dolphin and the long-beaked common dolphin. These are now generally regarded as ecotypes. Recent research shows that many long-beaked populations worldwide are not closely related to one another, often originating from short-beaked ancestors, and they do not consistently share the same derived traits. For this reason, these forms are no longer classified as separate species.
Despite its name, the common dolphin is not widely considered the "archetypal" dolphin; that role is more often associated with the bottlenose dolphin, largely because of its frequent appearances in aquaria and the media. Nevertheless, the common dolphin held cultural significance in antiquity and frequently appeared in Greek and Roman art, such as in murals created by the Minoan civilization.
From the Wikipedia article “Common dolphin” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Common_dolphin&oldid=1378370252), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the common dolphin endangered?
The common dolphin is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the common dolphin classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderCetacea
- familyDelphinidae
- genusDelphinus
- SpeciesDelphinus delphis Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms Delphinus albimanus, Delphinus algeriensis, Delphinus bairdi, Delphinus capensis, Delphinus capensis capensis, Delphinus delphis capensis, Delphinus forsteri, Delphinus frithii, Delphinus fulvofasciatus, Delphinus longirostris, Delphinus loriger, Delphinus major, Delphinus marginatus, Delphinus microps, Delphinus moorei, Delphinus novaezealandiae, Delphinus novaezeelandiae, Delphinus novaezelandiae, Delphinus sao, Delphinus zelandae
Other names and names in other languages (175)
- Atlantic dolphinEnglish
- Baja-neritic common dolphinEnglish
- Indian long-nosed dolphinEnglish
- Long-beaked common dolphinEnglish
- Long-beaked saddle-back dolphinEnglish
- Pacific dolphinEnglish
- Panglobal common dolphinEnglish
- Saddle-back dolphinEnglish
- Saddle-backed dolphinEnglish
- Saddleback dolphinEnglish
- Sea porpoiseEnglish
- Short-beaked common dolphinEnglish
- Short-beaked common dolphinEnglish
- Short-beaked common dolphinEnglish
- Short-beaked saddle-backed dolphinEnglish
- Short-beaked saddleback dolphinEnglish
- Whitebelly porpoiseEnglish
- gewone dolfynAfrikaans
- Kortbek Gewone DolfynAfrikaans
- Langbek Gewone DolfynAfrikaans
- angaigikAleut
- Al-sha'ehArabic
- الدلفين الشائعArabic
- دلفين شائع طويل المنقارArabic
- دلفين شائع قصير المنقارArabic
- Al-dolpheenArabic
- TolinhaAsturian
- ДелфинBulgarian
- Обикновен делфинBulgarian
- obiknoven delfinBulgarian
- Delfin boutinBreton
- dofí comuCatalan
- Dofí comú de musell curtCatalan
- delfín obecnýCzech
- dolffin cyffredinWelsh
- Dolffiniaid CyffredinWelsh
- almindelig delfinDanish
- Almindelige delfinerDanish
- almindelige DelphinDanish
- DelfinGerman
- DelphinGerman
- Gemeiner DelfinGerman
- gemeiner DelphinGerman
- Gewöhnlicher DelfinGerman
- kurzschnäuziger gemeiner DelphinGerman
- Langschnäuziger Gemeiner DelfinGerman
- Κοινό δελφίνιGreek
- Κοινό Μακρύρυγχο ΔελφίνιGreek
- Κοινό δελφίνι - Kino delfiniGreek
- Delfín comúnSpanish
- Delfín común de pico cortoSpanish
- delfín común de rostro cortoSpanish
- delfín común de rostro largoSpanish
- Delfín de rostro largoSpanish
- delfin panza blancaSpanish
- delfin rayadoSpanish
- delfin tollinoSpanish
- tonino de marSpanish
- TavadelfiinEstonian
- marzuplaBasque
- Izurde arruntBasque
- izurde arruntaBasque
- دلفین معمولی کوتاهنوکPersian
- JuoksiainenFinnish
- DelfiiniFinnish
- Tavallinen delfiiniFinnish
- camusFrench
- bec d'oieFrench
- dauphinFrench
- dauphin à bande fauveFrench
- dauphin communFrench
- Dauphin commun à bec courtFrench
- Dauphin commun à bec longFrench
- dauphin commun à long becFrench
- dauphin commun à petit becFrench
- dauphin delphisFrench
- dauphin ordinaireFrench
- dauphin vulgaireFrench
- deilfScottish Gaelic
- leumadairScottish Gaelic
- leumadaireanScottish Gaelic
- Golfiño comúnGalician
- דולפין מובהקHebrew
- דולפין מצויHebrew
- דולפין מצוי – Dolphin matzuyHebrew
- דולפין מצוי ארוך-חוטםHebrew
- דולפין מצוי קצר-חוטםHebrew
- דולפין (סוג)Hebrew
- Obični dupinCroatian
- közönséges delfinHungarian
- Սպիտակակող դելֆինArmenian
- lumba-lumba biasaIndonesian
- huisenIcelandic
- Eiginlegur höfrungurIcelandic
- hofrungIcelandic
- HöfrungurIcelandic
- hundfiscurIcelandic
- LéttirIcelandic
- delfinoItalian
- delfino comuneItalian
- Delfino comune a becco lungoItalian
- tombarelloItalian
- マイルカJapanese
- ハセイルカJapanese
- マイルカ属Japanese
- Hase irukaJapanese
- ma irukaJapanese
- suzume-irukaJapanese
- tobi irukaJapanese
- ardlusarsukKalaallisut
- Хыкхъуэ (Псэушъхьа)Kabardian
- 참돌고래Korean
- 큰돌고래Korean
- ginburi-cham-dolgoraeKorean
- jjalbeun-buri-cham-dolgoraeKorean
- paprastasis delfinasLithuanian
- AiheMāori
- PopokanuaMāori
- chankan eediMalayalam
- Delfin komuniMaltese
- dolfijnDutch
- Echte dolfijnDutch
- gewone dolfijnDutch
- Kaapse DolfijnDutch
- KortsnuitdolfijnDutch
- Langsnuit Gewone DolfijnDutch
- gulflankedelfinNorwegian Nynorsk
- dolffinNorwegian
- spidsnudet delfinNorwegian
- spingerNorwegian
- spinghvalNorwegian
- ToníuPapiamento
- delfin pospolityPolish
- Delfin długopyskiPolish
- delfin zwyczajnyPolish
- نکی چنج والی عام ڈولفنWestern Panjabi
- golfinhoPortuguese
- Golfinho-comumPortuguese
- Golfinho-comum-de-bico-curtoPortuguese
- golfinho-comum-de-bico-longoPortuguese
- toninha comumPortuguese
- delfinusRomanian
- delfinul comunRomanian
- byelobochkaRussian
- Длиннорылая БелобочкаRussian
- дельфин белобочкаRussian
- обыкновенный дельфинRussian
- Дельфин-белобочкаRussian
- byelobochka (Black Sea)Russian
- obyknovennyi delfinRussian
- Delfín obyčajnýSlovak
- navadni delfinSlovenian
- Delfin i zakonshemAlbanian
- delfini i zakonshëmAlbanian
- springareSwedish
- sadeldelfinSwedish
- vanlig delfinSwedish
- pomigraTamil
- panavai meenTamil
- ganupuliTelugu
- కామన్ డాల్ఫిన్Telugu
- โลมาปากยาวThai
- plaloma pak yaoThai
- yunusTurkish
- tirtakTurkish
- tirtak yunusTurkish
- tyrtakTurkish
- uzun burunlu bayağı yunusTurkish
- Дельфін білобокийUkrainian
- Білобочка чорноморськаUkrainian
- Дельфін білобочкаUkrainian
- PiipaWolof
- 真海豚Chinese
- 長吻真海豚Chinese
- Putong haitunChinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFTAXREFWikidataWoRMSWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the common dolphin
Other species in the same genus Delphinus.
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the common dolphin?
The common dolphin is a mammal in the whales and dolphins subgroup, placed in the order Cetacea and the family Delphinidae.
How heavy is a common dolphin?
An adult common dolphin has a body mass of 80 kg, which places it in the large size class (25 to 250 kg).
What does the common dolphin eat?
The common dolphin is an invertivore, and its trophic level is carnivore.
Is the common dolphin endangered?
No. The common dolphin is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does a common dolphin live?
The common dolphin has a lifespan of 20 years, and our sources report values up to 29 years.
How long is the common dolphin's gestation period?
Gestation lasts 296.9 days, with a highest reported value of 334.8 days. There are 0.99 young per litter and 0.42 litters per year.
When does a common dolphin reach sexual maturity?
It reaches sexual maturity at 3.6 years, with reported values from 3.0 to 4.3 years.
Who named the common dolphin?
The common dolphin, Delphinus delphis, was named by Linnaeus, 1758.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Common dolphin (Delphinus delphis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-dolphin
“Common dolphin (Delphinus delphis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-dolphin.
@misc{common_dolphin_2026,
title = {Common dolphin (Delphinus delphis)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-dolphin},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}