#etymology dolphins

[namu-the-orca]

“Sharp beak”

★ Pantropical spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuata)

Another Stenella dolphin, and one of my favourites: the pantropical spotted dolphin. Their specific name, attenuata, is Latin for diminutive, reduced, slight, or tapered. It is a name they share with the pygmy killer whale (Feresa attenuata). It seems their name was the result of a slight misunderstanding, for combined with Stenella (Latin for narrow, referring to the long beaks of the dolphins in this genus) ‘attenuata’ would mean pantropicals have small, or simple rostra. Which is strange, given their long beaks. John Edward Gray, the zoologist who named the species, probably thought ‘attenuata’ meant sharp (instead of tapered) as he referred to the species as the ‘sharp-beaked dolphin’. This would make a lot more sense, since pantropical spotted dolphin skulls show quite sharp-tipped beaks indeed.

The individual in this painting is a juvenile. Like all spotted dolphins they are born without spots, slowly acquiring black and white ones with age. How many spots they may end up with depends on where they come from; different populations are marked with different amounts and patterns. The coastal animals off the Eastern Tropical Pacific are probably the most heavily spotted of all.

Part 2 of a little series called ‘Etymology dolphins’

[namu-the-orca]

“Sky Blue”

★ Striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba)

The striped dolphin’s species name, coeruleoalba, is a combination of the Latin words ‘caeruleus’ meaning sky- or ocean blue, or caerulean, and ‘alba’ meaning white. How they got to be called this is not certain, for although it is often said to refer to their colours, striped dolphins are rather more grey than blue. But perhaps it’s because they are more bluish grey than other delphinids, especially after death. Either way it makes for a beautiful Latin name.

Part 1 of a little series called ‘Etymology dolphins’

[namu-the-orca]

“Porpoises with glasses”

★ Spectacled porpoise (Phocoena dioptrica)

Spectacled porpoises are amongst my favourite cetaceans, their markings are so pretty! Their genus name, Phocoena, is simply a Latinised form of ‘phokaina’, which is Greek for porpoise and (in one version or another) shared amongst all 6 species of porpoises. Their specific name, dioptrica, however is unique, and refers to a dioptra, which is a measuring instrument for angles and altitudes. The instrument does have rings, which may explain its use in the porpoise’s name, though other sources state that ‘dioptrica’ was more literally meant to mean ‘spectacled’. Whichever is true, fact remains that both the binomial and English name refer to these porpoise’s striking black eye patches, lined with white.

Despite it being their namesake, not all Spectacled porpoises actually show their spectacles. On some animals, like the one in the painting, the black eyepatch is more or less fused with the black cape, leaving only very faint trails of the normally so conspicuous white glasses.

Part 3 of a little series called ‘Etymology dolphins’