A Long-beaked Common Dolphin, Delphinus capensis, jumping out of the Sea of Cortez, Baja California Sur, Mexico, with Isla Santa Catalina in the background. This behaviour is officially known as ‘spyhopping’.
In 1994, Common Dolphin was split into two species: Long-beaked Common Dolphins, and Short-beaked. The Long-beaked is found mostly in tropical and sub-tropical coastal seas.
This is a very gregarious species, forming into groups of hundreds or thousands of individuals, and certainly I saw some very large groups on my trip to Baja California. They can be found with other cetacean species, particularly Pilot Whales, and also bow-ride baleen whales and boats. We had the company of a small pod bow-riding our boat on several occasions, in the Sea of Cortez.
Some recent research is suggesting that the two species should be rejoined into Common Dolphin, probably as subspecies.
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