NOAA Technical Report NMFS Circular 443 

Synopsis of the Biological 

Data on Dolphin-Fishes, 

Coryphaena hippurus Linnaeus 

and Coryphaena equise/is 

Linnaeus 

Barbara Jayne Palko, Grant L. Beardsley, 

and William J. Richards 

April 1982 

FAO Fisheries Synopsis No. 130 

u.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Malcolm Baldrige, Secretary 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

John V. Byrne, Administrator 

National Marine Fisheries Service 

William G. Gordon, Assistant Administrator for Fisheries 
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) does not approve, recommend or endorse any proprietary product or proprietary material 

mentioned in this publication. No reference shall be made to NMFS, or 

to this publication furnished by NMFS, in any advertising or sales pro- I_ 

motion which would indicate or imply that NMFS approves, recommends 

or endorses any proprietary product or proprietary material mentioned 

herein, or which has as its purpose an intent to cause directly or indirectly 

the advertised product to be used or purchased because of this NMFS 

publication. 
CONTENTS 

1 Identity .. .. .... . .. .. . . . .. .. . . . . . .. ... .. . .............. . . . ............. . ... . ...................... . 

1.1 Nomenclature .. . . . . . .. . ... .. .. . .. .. ...... . .......... . .. . . . ............... .. .. . .... .. .... .. .. . . 

1.11 Valid name ....... . . .... . . . . ..... . .. .. . .. . . . ... .......... . .. .. .. . . .. .. .. . . . .. .... .. . ... . 

1.12 Objective synonymy . .. .... .. . ..... . . . .. . .. .... .. . .... . . .. .... .. . . ..... . .. . ............. . . 

1.2 Taxonomy . . . .. .. . . .. . . . ....... . . . . . . . . ... . ................ . ...... . ......... . . . . .. . . . . .... . ... 1 

1.21 Affinities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 

1.22 Taxonomic status .... . . . ...... . . . .... . .. .. . . .. .. . . . .. . . .. . .. .. .... . . .. .. . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. 3 

1.23 Subspecies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 

1.24 Standard common names, vernacular names. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 

1.3 Morphology ........... . .... . ......... . . . .. . ..... . . .. . .. ......... . ........... . . .. . .. . . . . .. . .. . 3 

1.31 External morphology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 

* 1.32 Cytomorphology 

*1.33 Protein specificity 

1.34 Internal morphology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 

2 Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 

2.1 Total area .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 

2.2 Differential distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 

2.21 Spawn, larvae, and juveniles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 

2.22 Adults . ..... . ... . .. . .................................... . .. . ...... . ... . .... . ........... 7 

2.3 Determinants of distribution changes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 

2.4 Hybridization .. .. . . ............ . .................. . ...... . ...... . ...... . ... . .. . .. . ...... . .. . . . 7 

3 Bionomics and life history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 

3.1 Reproduction ............. . ....................................... .. . .. . . .. . .............. . ... 7 

3.11 Sexuality ....... . ................ . .......... .. .. . .. . ........... . ........................ 7 

3.12 Maturity.... .. ... ................ .. ............. . ................................ ....... 7 

3.13 Mating .............. . .......................................................... . ....... 7 

3.14 Fertilization .... .. ........ ... ........ ..................................... ... ............ 8 

3.15 Gonads.............................. ....... ..................................... . ...... 8 

3.16 Spawning . . . . .. ..... . ....................... . . . ... . ..... . ............ . ......... . ........ 8 

3.17 Spawn. . .. ...... ... .......... ............... ............ ...... ........... . ............. 9 

3.2 Preadult phase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 

3.21 Embryonic phase ... . .................... . ............... .. .............................. 9 

3.22 Larval phase ................................... . .................... . ... . ............... 9 

3.23 Adolescent phase .............................................. . . . ....................... 9 

3.3 Adult phase . .............. . ................ . ... . ............. . ...... .. ...... . ................. 11 

3.31 Longevity . . ... . ... . .. . . . .... . ...... . .............................. . ................ . .... 11 

3.32 Hardiness . . . . ... . . .. . . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . .. .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. . .. 11 

3.33 Competitors. ............................................................................ 11 

3.34 Predators.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 11 

3.35 Parasites, diseases, injuries, and abnormalities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 

3.36 Physiology and biochemistry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 

3.4 Nutrition and growth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 13 

3.41 Feeding .... .. ..... . ... . ........... . ........... . .......... . ............................. 13 

3.42 Food . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 13 

3.43 Growth rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 

3.44 Metabolism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . . .. . . . . . . ... . . .. . . .. . . .. . . . ... . . .... 17 

3.5 Behavior . . .......... . . .. ......................... . ........................................... 17 

3.51 Migrations and local movements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 

3.52 Schooling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 17 

3.53 Responses to stimuli . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 18 

4 Population . . ...... . .. . ..................... . ................... . . . ................................ 18 

4.1 Structure ..... . ...... .. .. . .. . ...... . ... . .................... .. ................................ 18 

4.11 Sex ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 

4.12 Age composition . ............................... . .... . ................ '.' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 19 

4.13 Size composition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 

4.14 Subpopulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 21 

*4.2 Abundance and density (of population) 

4.3 Natality and recruitment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 21 

4.31 Reproduction rates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 21 

*4.32 Factors affecting reproduction 

iii 
4.4 

·4.33 Recruitment 

Mortality and morbidity 

4.41 Mortality rates .. 

·4.5 Dynamics of populatIOn (as a \\holc) 

·4.6 The population in till' comlllunity Illld the l'(O y tem 

5 Exploitation ..... . ..... . 

5.1 Fishing equipment 

5.11 C,ears .. . 

5.12 130ah .. . 

5.2 Fishing areas .. . 

5.21 General gn)graphl di trihutillf1 

5.22 C,eograrhic range 

5 23 Depth range ... . .. . 

5.3 Fishing season. .. .... . .. . 

5.31 General pattern l)f ea lHl .• •• •• 

5.32 Dates of beg1l1nlll', r> uk .• 111 en \ f 

5.33 Variallons in dute un I t1ur,ltioll of e 

5.4 Fishing operations and r ult 

·6 Protection and management 

"1 Culture ..... 

7 J Procurement or to( k 

+7 .2 Genetic seitX110n of loc k 

7. 3 pa'\ning ......... 

Rearing .. 

d.no"ledgments .. 

literatu re cited .. 

*, 0 info rmat ion availabk. 

IV 

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24 

24 
Synopsis of the Biological Data on 

Dolphin-Fishes, Coryphaena hippurus Linnaeus and 

Coryphaena equiselis Linnaeus1 

BARBARA JAYNE PALKO, 2 GRANT L. BEARDSLEY,) and 

WILLIAM J. RICHARDS) 

I IDENTITY 

1.1 Nomenclature 

1.11 Valid name 

Coryphaena hippurus Linnaeus, 1758 (Fig. 1). 

Originally described by Linnaeus in the 10th edition of 

,ystema Naturae (1758:261). 'JYpe locality listed as open seas. 

:--10 type specimen. 

Coryphaena equiselis Linnaeus, 1758 (Fig. 2). 

Originally described by Linnaeus in the 10th edition of 

)ystema Naturae (1758:261). 'JYpe locality: high seas. This 

pecies was derived from Osbeck (1757:308), who used the name 

'quisetis, and most authors have corrected Linnaeus' supposed 

nisprint to equiselis. Gibbs and Collette (1959), however, 

)ointed out that the spelling in later editions of Systema Naturae 

as not corrected. Fowler (1906:122) pointed out that neither 

'orm is incorrect from an etymological standpoint. Gibbs and 

: oJlette (1959) recommended following original orthography, 

md this has been followed by some authors, but not all. 

1.12 Objective synonymy 

Coryphaena hippurus 

-::oryphaena hippurus Linnaeus, 1758 (see above). 

)comber pelagicus Linnaeus, 1758. 'JYpe locality: none listed. 

oryphaena fasciolata Pallas, 1770. 'JYpe locality: Amboina. 

'JYpe specimen: unknown. 

oryphaena imperialis Rafinesque, 1810. 'JYpe locality: Sicily. 

Lepimphis hippuroides Rafinesque, 1810. 'JYpe locality: Sicily. 

~oryphaena immaculata Agassiz in Spix and Agassiz, 1829. 

'JYpe locality: Atlantic, off Brazil. 

oryphaena marcgravii Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1833. 'JYpe locality: America. 

'Contribution No. 81-44M from the Southeast Fisheries Center Miami 

..aboratory, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, 75 Virginia Beach Drive, 

iami, FL 33149. 

' Southeast Fisheries Center Miami Laboratory, National Marine Fisheries Ser-

'ce, NOAA, Miami, Fla.; present address: Southeast Fisheries Center Panama 

:ity Laboratory, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, 3500 Delwood Beach 

toad, Panama City, FL 32407. 

'Southeast Fisheries Center Miami Laboratory, National Marine Fisheries Serace, NOAA, 75 Virginia Beach Drive, Miami, FL 33149. 

Coryphaena suerii Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 

1833. 'JYpe locality: Philadelphia. 

Coryphaena dorado Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 

1833. 'JYpe locality: Brazil. 

Coryphaena dolfyn Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 

1833. 'JYpe locality: Antilles. 

Coryphaena virgata Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 

1833. 'JYpe locality: Martinique. 

Coryphaena argyrurus Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 

1833. 'JYpe locality: Sea of Coromandel. 

Coryphaena vlamingii Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 

1833. 'JYpe locality: seas of India. 

Lampugus siculus Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 

1833. 'JYpe locality: Sicily. Holotype: MNHN no. A5813. 

Coryphaena scomberoides Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1833. 'JYpe locality: South Sea. 

Coryphaena nortoniana Lowe, 1839. 'JYpe locality: Madeira. 

Ecterias brunneus Jordan and Thompson, 1914. 'JYpe locality: 

Japan. 

Coryphaena equiselis 

Coryphaena equiselis Linnaeus, 1758 (see above). 

Coryphena aurata Rafinesque, 1810. 'JYpe locality: Sicily. 

Coryphaena azorica Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 

1833 . 'JYpe locality: Azores. Holotype: MNHN no. A8189. 

Coryphaena lessonii Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 

1833. 'JYpe locality: India. 

Lampugus neapolitan us Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1833. 'JYpe locality: Naples. Holotype: ZMHU no. 

1631. 

Lampugus punctulatus Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1833. 'JYpe locality: Atlantic at the Equator. 

1.2 Taxonomy 

1.21 Affinities 

Suprageneric 

Phylum Chordata 

Subphylum Vertebrata 

Superclass Gnathostomata 

Class Osteichthyes 

Subclass Actinopterygii 

Order Perciformes 

Suborder Percoidei 

Family Coryphaenidae 
B 

Figure I.-Common dolphin, Co,yphaena hippurus Linnaeus, 1758. A) Adult males, ca. 600 mm TL, B) Adult female, ca. 612 mm TL (from Goode 1884, plate 109). 

o 10 em 

Figure 2.- Pompano dolphin, Co,yphaena equise/is Linnaeus, 1758. 

2 
Generic 

Genus Coryphaena Linnaeus, 1758 (ref.). Type species Coryphaena hippurus Linnaeus. UIiquestioned. 

Coryphaena is the only genus in the fantily Coryphaenidae 

and is composed of two species: C. hippurus and C. equiselis. 

The generic concept of Coryphaena as given below follows that 

of Gibbs and Collette (1959), Collette (1978), and Potthoff 

(1980). 

Coryphaenids are elongate, compressed fishes with small 

cycloid scales. The mouth is large with many fine teeth in bands. 

The lateral line curves upward above the pectoral fin but is 

otherwise straight. The dorsal fin is very long, arising on the 

nape and continuing almost to the tail. It is composed of 52-66 

soft rays in adults. The anal fin is also very long, arising behind 

the anus at or before the midpoint of the body and continuing 

almost to the tail with 23-30 soft rays. The pelvic fins are beneath 

the pectoral fins and fit into a groove on the body. The pectoral 

fin has 19-21 rays. The caudal fin has 17 principal rays and 

10-14 upper and lower secondary caudal rays. The caudal fin is 

deeply forked. There are 31-33 vertebrae. Mature males are 

characterized by possessing a prominent bony crest on the front 

of the head. In life, the color of these animals is striking with 

golden hues on the sides, metallic blues and greens on the back 

and sides, with white and yellow on the underparts. There are 

also many small black spots on the head and body. Small 

specimens have pronounced vertical bars on the sides of the 

body. 

Both species are very similar in appearance but characters to 

separate them are given below. 

Specific 

Coryphaena hippurus Linnaeus 

As with the generic description, but the greatest body depth in 

adults is < 25070 SL (standard length). This species has 58-66 dorsal fin rays (mean of 61.3), 25-31 anal fin rays (mean of 28.0), 

and 31 vertebrae. The anal fin is concave and the pectoral fin is 

more than half the length of the head. The tooth patch on the 

tongue, is small and oval. In juveniles only the tips of the caudal 

fm are white and the pelvic fms are black. 

Coryphaena equiselis Linnaeus 

As with the generic description, but the greatest body depth in 

adults is > 25% SL. This species has 52-59 dorsal fm rays (mean 

of 55.0), 23-29 anal fin rays (mean of 26.0), and 33 vertebrae. 

The anal fin is convex and the pectoral fin is about half the 

length of the head. The tooth patch on the tongue is broad and 

square. In juveniles the entire margin of the caudal fm is white 

and the pelvic fins are not pigmented. 

1.22 Taxonomic status 

In recent years there has been no question about the taxonomic status of these two species. Both are valid and easily 

separable down to all but the smallest larval sizes. The accounts 

in section 1.21 clearly give the differences between the two. The 

family Coryphaenidae is monogeneric and its affinities within 

the percoid fishes are unclear at this time. 

3 

1.23 Subspecies 

No subspecies are recognized. 

1.24 Standard common names, vernacular names 

The names capitalized are official or in more common use. 

Compiled from Quiznard (1973) and Okiyama'. 

Country 

Algeria 

Cuba 

Cyprus 

France 

French Polynesia 

Greece 

Israel 

Italy 

Japan 

Korea 

Lebanon 

Libya 

Malta 

Monaco 

Morocco 

Philippines 

Spain 

Sri Lanka 

Syria 

Tahiti 

Taiwan 

Thnisia 

United States 

Hawaii and 

eastern Pacific 

North Vietnam 

South Vietnam 

Yugoslavia 

1.3 Morphology 

Coryphaena Coryphaena 

hippurus equiselis 

Common dolphin Pompano dolphin 

Limbug 

Dorado 

Dakaunomoutas 

Coriphene 

Mahimahi 

Kynigos 

Raaman 

Lampuga 

Toohyaku Ebisu-shiira 

Man-sae-gi Jul-man-sae-gi 

Uimbukeh 

Lambuka 

Lampuka 

Lampuga 

Msi'a amerikano 

Dorado 

LJampuga 

Rad hava Diya vannava 

Bakhti bakhti 

Mahimahi 

Fei Niau Fu 

Lambouqa 

Dolphin, 

dophin-fish 

Marumahi 

Ca nucheo 

Ca Duo 

Pucinka 

pompano, blue 

dolphin 

''The other 

mahimahi" 

1.31 External morphology 

The coloration of the body and the shape and placement of 

fins are described in section 1.2. The change in number of fm 

rays has been well documented by Potthoff (1978), and tables 

on dorsal and anal fm development are given for the two species 

(Tables 1, 2). Coryphaena equiselis is always more advanced 

than equal sized C. hippurus during development of fin rays. 

Gibbs and Collette (1959) presented detailed information on the 

head spination, coloration, meristic characters, and relative 

growth of the two species, utilizing a large amount of data from 

young specimens. 

'M. Okiyama, Ocean Research Institute, University of Tokyo, 15-1, l-Chome, 

Minamidai, Nakano-Ku, Tokyo, 164 Japan, pers. commun. June 1980. 
Table 1.- ummary of dorsal fin "'y developmenl lor 211 CQryphaena h/ppurus (5.0 mm '--172 mm 

SL) and 161 C equlse/Is (6.S mm NL-230 mm ~L) Ir(lm P(llIholl (1978). 

Dorsal fin rays 'il andard error Number of 

Length range mean of the mean 

mm SL Ch. .e, Ch Ce Ch Ce. 

0 0 0 

6 0-4 12 0.8 0.8 

7 0-21 20-34 11.0 27.0 1.9 7.0 11 2 

8 19-38 3644 297 39.2 3.2 16 6 5 

9 26-48 43-50 35.7 466 3.4 1 2 6 

10 38-49 43-SO 44.4 482 J.J 1. 1 7 6 

11 33-50 47-51 46.0 48 .9 2.2 04 7 10 

12 47-52 49-51 SO.3 508 1.7 08 3 4 

13 47·55 53 52.0 1.4 6 I 

14 50-57 52 52.2 1.0 6 

15 52-56 50 53.4 0.6 7 I 

16 55-57 50-53 56.0 51 5 04 04 5 6 

17 53-57 51-54 55.3 52. 06 0.6 6 4 

18 54-61 53-55 56,7 53.8 09 0.5 6 4 

19 56-58 5253 57.3 52.7 03 03 6 3 

20 56-61 576 0.9 

21 56-61 52·57 58.0 550 06 0.9 g 5 

22 57-60 54-56 59.0 547 10 0.6 3 3 

23 56-61 54-56 586 55.0 0.7 0.6 6 

>23 58.{,6 52·59 61 3 550 0.2 0.2 99 97 

(') <!Mi5 48-60 58.4 526 0,3 01 121 195 

'Data from figure 4 of Gibbs and olleuc C 1959) 

Table 2. ummllJ') of anal fin "'y de'elopm.DI for 210 onphama hippurus eCh., 5.0 mm :-'1 - 172 

mm L) and 159 C equiseli.! (Ce., 6.5 mm "'L-230 mm LJ from pouhorr (197 I. 

Anal fin ray' landard error Length range mean mm 

NL or SL Ch, Ce. C.h e. 

5 0 0 0 

6 0-12 14 8,4 2.1 5 

7 8-22 20-23 15.0 21 5 1.3 1.5 11 

8 21-25 22-25 235 23 J 0.7 0.6 6 4 

9 23-25 25-26 242 25A 0,4 02 6 5 

10 24-28 24-26 257 25.2 0.5 0.3 6 

II 23-28 25-27 26.4 26.0 0.6 0.1 7 10 

>11 25-31 23-29 28.0 260 0.1 0.1 165 131 

C') 25-30 23-29 27.3 ~5 .7 0.1 0.1 127 ill 

'These counts were taken from Gibbs and Colleue C 1959) table I . The lengths were not &i'en b) Ihe 

authors but are assumed to be 12 mm SL and larger 

1.34 Internal morphology 

Gregory (1933) described the skull of C. hippurus, Collette et 

al. (1969) reported on the number of vertebrae, and Potthoff 

(1980) described the development of fill rays and fin supports. 

Potthoff's (1980) account is a very detailed and complete 

description of the development of the fin rays and supports and 

should serve as a guide for further studies in that vein. 

2 DISTRIBUTION 

2.1 Total area 

Dolphins are fast-swimming, primarily oceanic fishes, 

distributed worldwide in tropical and subtropical waters (Briggs 

1960; Beardsley 1967; Rose and Hassler 1968a; Johnson 1978). 

Pompano dolphin are rarely captured in coastal waters; 

4 

however, common dolphin are occasionall) found in estuaries 

and harbors (Johnson 1978). In the western Atlantic, common 

dolphin have been reported as far north as Georges Bank, O\a 

Scotia (Vladykov and McKenzie 1935; Tibbo 1962), and as far 

south as Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Ribeiro 1918; Shcherbache 

1973) (Fig. 3). They are rarely found, however, above lat. 41 "N 

(Tibbo 1962) and are generally restricted by the 20°C isotherm 

(Gibbs and Collette 1959). There are few data on distribution of 

pompano dolphin; however, their distribution is probably 

similar to that of the common dolphin. Mather and Day (1954) 

stated that pompano dolphin are generally not found in waters 

with surface temperatures < 24 0c. 

Common dolphin are abundant in the Gulf of Mexico 

(Baughman 1941; Springer and Bullis 1956; Pew 1957; Springer 

and Pirson 1958), in the Florida Current (Anderson et al. 1956 

a, b; Beardsley 1967), off Central America (Migdalski 1958; 

Hunter and Mitchell 1967), Puerto Rico, and throughout the 

Caribbean Sea (Erdman 1956). When the Gulf Stream comes 
Figure 3.-Distribution of adult Coryphaena hippurus (1, 3) and C. equisetis (sic) (2, 4); 1) SL more than 350 mm; 2) SL more than 150 mm; 3, 4) published data (from 

Shcherbachev 1973, fig. 4 and caption). 

close to the continental United States, sports fishermen catch 

them in large numbers. In North Carolina, Rose and Hassler 

(1969) felt that the common dolphin was the most important 

species in the offshore fishery and Ellis' found that the common 

dolphin was taken on more charter boat trips off Florida's east 

coast and in greater numbers than any other species. 

The more pelagic pompano dolphin has been recorded off 

North Carolina (Linton 1905; Mather 1954; Migdalski 1958; 

Rose and Hassler 1968b), Florida (Beardsley 1964), Bermuda 

(Woods and Kanazawa 1951), and in the central tropical Atlantic (potthoff 1971). Springer and Bullis (1956) recorded 

numerous captures of pompano dolphin throughout the Gulf of 

Mexico and Caribbean on research cruises by the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service's RV Oregon. Erdman (1956) also stated that 

pompano dolphin are numerous off San Juan, Puerto Rico. 

In the eastern Atlantic, the common dolphin is found between 

the Bay of Biscay and the mouth of the Congo River (Shcherbachev 1973) and has been reported as far south as the southern 

tip of Africa (Barnard 1927). The common dolphin inhabits the 

Mediterranean (Murat 1933; Shcherbachev 1973; Bannister 

1976) and is common around the Balearic and Madeira Islands 

off the coast of Spain (Lowe 1849; Cabo 1961). In the Mediterranean, the common dolphin is one of the main fish taken in the 

"Kannizzati" fishery off Malta (Galea 1961). 

Pompano dolphin are recorded in the eastern Atlantic from 

the Azores (Hilgendorf 1888), the Canaries (Steindachner 1868), 

Madeira (Lowe 1849), and Senegal (Cadenat 1950). They have 

also been reported from the Mediterranean (Shcherbachev 

1973). 

In the eastern Pacific, the common dolphin has been recorded 

off Oregon (Gosline and Brock 1960), California (Barnhart 

1936; Berry and Perkins 1966), around the Galapagos Islands, 

along the shores of Peru (Shcherbachev 1973), and in Panama 

Bay (Meek and Hildebrand 1925; Hildebrand 1934). 

Occurrences of pompano dolphin in the eastern Pacific between California and (approximately) lat. 5 oS (south of the 

Galapagos) and in the Peru Current around lat. 17 "20 'S have 

been reported by Nichols (1909), Clemens (1957), Hida (1973), 

'Ellis, R. W. 1957. Catches of fish by charter boats on Florida's East Coast. 

Univ. Miami, Mar. Lab. Mar. Fish. Res. Spec. Ser. Bull. 14, 6 p. Rosenstie1 

School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, 

33149. 

5 

and Shcherbachev (1973). Pompano dolphin are common in 

Hawaiian waters (Gooding and Magnuson 1967; Magnuson and 

Heitz 1971). The largest numbers of juvenile pompano dolphin 

are taken in catches in the western and central areas of the 

Pacific and some adult fish are also found there but catches are 

infrequent (Shcherbachev 1973). Rothschild (1964) indicated 

that pompano dolphin occurred in the North Pacific Central 

and California Current Extension water types and further indicated that the pompano dolphin may be more abundant in the 

California Current Extension than in the North Pacific Central. 

In the western Pacific, common dolphin are more widely 

distributed than pompano dolphin and are found between lat. 

46 °N and 38"S (Shcherbachev 1973). Common dolphin have 

been reported around the Philippine Islands by Herre (1945), 

along the 18 °-19°C isotherm in the Sea of Japan (Kojima 1955), 

in waters adjacent to eastern Taiwan and the northeastern part 

of Batan Islands (Wang 1979), and in the Sea of Okhotsk (Birman 1965). 

Pompano dolphin have been recorded as far north as Japan 

(around lat. 38 oN) and as far south as New Zealand and the 

New Hebrides and farther eastward through a wide latitudinal 

band to (approximately) long. 140 oW (Shcherbachev 1973). Kojima (196Oa) listed the pompano dolphin as one of the species attracted to the bamboo rafts fishery. 

Common dolphin have been collected off the coasts of 

Tanganyika and Kenya (Morrow 1954; Williams and Newell 

1957) and throughout the northern and central Indian Ocean. 

Shcherbachev (1973) also reported the occurrence of common 

dolphin around the tip of Africa, even below lat. 35 "S. 

Gallotti (1972-73) reported the occurrence of pompano 

dolphin in the Red Sea. Deraniyagala (1952, 1956) recorded the 

species from Guilifalu Island and the Maldive Islands. According the Shcherbachev (1973), the pompano dolphin is found 

throughout the northern and central areas of the Indian Ocean 

but does not penetrate beyond the southern tropics. 

2.2 Differential distribution 

2.21 Spawn, larvae, and juveniles 

Larvae of both species occur in the tropical regions of all the 

oceans (Clemens 1957; Gibbs and Collette 1959; Kojima 1964a; 

Jensen 1967; Shcherbachev 1973) (Figs. 4, 5). 
Figure 4.- Distribution of Coryphaena hippurus Illn'ae and }oung: I) L up 10 15 mm; 2) '>L up 10 3SO mm; 3) publbh~ data (from b hnbacbn 1m. nco S aDd caption). 

Figure 5.-Distribution of Coryphaena equisetis (sic) larvae and )oung: I) L up 10 15 rom; 2) L up 10 ISO rom; 3) publbbed data (from bcbero.cb~ 1m. rtg. 6 and aption). 

In the Atlantic, Gibbs and Collette (1959) found young 

dolphins in the Florida Current at all seasons of the year but at 

peak abundance in early summer. Beardsley (1967) noted that 

young common dolphin were taken from November through 

May and in August off Florida and from July to September off 

the North Carolina coast. Anderson et al. (1956 a, b) collected 

dolphin < 102 mm in length off Cape Fear, N.C., in March and 

May, and Anderson and Gehringer (1957) collected dolphin of 

similar size south of Cape Fear in October. Juvenile dolphin are 

plentiful around Beaufort, N.C., in late summer (La Monte 

1952). Pew (1957) reported captures of juvenile common 

dolphin in sizes from 32 to 73 mm TL (total length) off 

Rockport, Tex., during the summers of 1954-56 while Springer 

and Pirson (1958) collected juveniles in Sargassum off Port 

Aransas, Tex., in July. Gibbs and Collette (1959) found young 

common dolphin were not as easily obtained from the Gulf of 

Mexico as either adults or juveniles of the pompano dolphin. 

Fahay (1975) collected larvae and juveniles of both common 

and pompano dolphins with surface-towed meter nets in the 

South Atlantic Bight between May 1967 and February 1968, and 

Potthoff (1971) collected juvenile pompano dolphin in February 

in the tropical mid-Atlantic. Gibbs and Collette (1959) felt that 

the young and intermediate-sized specimens of pompano 

dolphin were taken more commonly than larger ones in the 

6 

Atlantic. They further noted that \\ hereas larger specimens of 

common dolphin are relatively easy to obtain and those of pompano dolphin are seldom seen, the young just reverse this picture. Potthoff (1971) noted this same apparent dichotomy in 

distribution in the tropical mid-Atlantic. He reported that large 

numbers of adult common dolphin aggregated at night around 

the research vessel; however, only juveniles of pompano dolphin 

were caught under the night light. 

Small common dolphin have been reported in the eastern 

Pacific in Panama Bay by Meek and Hildebrand (1925) and 

Hildebrand (1934). Mito (1960) described egg development and 

hatched larvae from collections made around Kyushu in the 

western Pacific. Wang (1979) reported that common dolphin 

larvae occurred in eastern Taiwan waters annually. Shcherbachev (1973) showed the distribution of common dolphin larvae and juveniles in the Pacific and Indian Oceans (Fig. 4). He 

found the largest numbers of juvenile pompano dolphin were 

taken in catches in the western and central areas of the Pacific 

(Fig. 5). Takahashi and Mori (1973) collected pompano dolphin 

nearly year-round in the western Pacific. The smallest sizes 

(11-85 mm SL) were collected from November through 

February and the larger juveniles and adults from June through 

September. Gallotti (1972-73) reported two (40 and 42 mm) 

pompano dolphin from the Red Sea. 
2.22 Adults 

Dolphins are generally year-round residents over most of their 

range; however, pronounced seasonal variations in abundance 

and distribution are evident in most areas. 

Rose and Hassler (1969) noted that common dolphin were 

caught from May through October off North Carolina with 

99070 of the catch landed during June, July, August, and 

September. Off Florida's east coast, based on 443 charter boat 

trips from February 1956 to January 1957, common dolphin 

were taken more often and in greater numbers than any other 

species (Ellis footnote 5). Erdman (1956) noted that dolphin 

were most abundant off Puerto Rico in February and March. 

In the Gulf of Mexico, dolphin are caught almost exclusively 

during the summer months and catches show very sharp peaks 

during August (Springer and Pirson 1958). These peaks, 

however, may indicate migrations where fish are present in large 

numbers for short periods of time while they pass through a 

given area. 

Galea (1961) found evidence that the common dolphin may 

be widely distributed in the Mediterranean and it is caught in appreciable quantities from August to November. 

In the Pacific, Kojima (1960a) found that common dolphin 

made up 93-96% of the total catch in the "Shiira-zuke" fishery 

during the fishing season from June to October with larger 

dolphin less apparent in the catch as the season progressed. He 

felt the seasonal variation in size may be caused by ecological 

differences between the spawning schools (older fish) and the 

feeding schools (young fish). 

In east African waters, common dolphin are caught from 

November to June; however, January to June is the main fishing 

season and March to May appears to be the period of maximum 

abundance (Williams and Newell 1957). 

2.3 Determinants of distribution changes 

In the Atlantic, Gibbs and Collette (1959) gave the 20°C 

isotherm as the normal boundary in the Northern Hemisphere, 

and Beardsley (1964) found dolphin most numerous in late 

spring and summer when surface water temperatures reached 

26°-28°C. Erdman (1956) reported peak abundance off San 

Juan, Puerto Rico, in February and March when surface 

temperatures were about 25 °C. Common dolphin did not occur 

in the tropical Atlantic in waters whose surface temperatures 

were below 21°C, while pompano dolphin were found only 

where surface temperatures exceeded 24 °C (Mather and Day 

1954). Dolphins appeared in Balearic waters when the water 

temperatures are from 25 ° to 26°C (July), and they disappeared 

in October or early November when water temperatures fell to 

18°-20°C (Cabo 1961). 

In the Pacific, Kojima (1955, 1964a) suggested that dolphin 

occur year-round in the area within lat. 30 ON and 30OS. He noted 

that where dolphins were caught, the surface water temperatures 

ranged from 21 ° to 30°C, salinities were 31.0%0, and the water 

color in the 0-10 m layer influenced the catch. Birman (1965) 

noted the occurrence of dolphin in the Sea of Okhotsk in 

August when surface water temperatures were 16.I°C. 

Although this is an unusually low temperature for dolphin to be 

recorded, Birman felt that this might be a regular phenomenon 

with the fish moving into the Sea of Okhotsk from the Sea of 

Japan through the Straight of Laperuz. Wang (1979) reported 

that over 70% of the catch of common dolphin in the Taiwanese 

longline fishery was recorded where surface temperatures were 

26°_27°C. 

Off the east African coast, Williams and Newell (1957) found 

March to May to be the period of maximum concentration of 

dolphin when surface water temperatures approached 29°C and 

low salinities occurred. The migration period is between 

November and early June. They also noted that the occurrence 

of dolphin may be connected with the onset of seasonal 

plankton blooms; thus, the periods of dolphin occurrences coincided with the period of greatest fertility off the coastal waters. 

Wheeler and Ommanney (1953) noted a similar migration occurred in the Seychelles Islands. 

2.4 Hybridization 

In Hawaii, Hagood and Rothwell" hybridized female pompano dolphin with male common dolphin and got viable eggs 

and larvae. The hybrid larvae demonstrated faster growth than 

either normal C. hippurus or C. equise/is larvae under similar 

conditions. The authors suggested that this might be indicative 

of hybrid vigor. 

3 BIONOMICS AND LIFE HISTORY 

3.1 Reproduction 

3.11 Sexuality 

Dolphins are heterosexual. Sexual dimorphism is expressed in 

both species in the shape of the head in profile-males have a 

very steep forehead and females have a more gently descending 

and streamlined forehead. Shcherbachev (1973) noted that sexual dimorphism in the pompano dolphin is noted only at a 

length of more than 35 cm SL and that at smaller sizes, males 

and females are externally indistinguishable. Beardsley stated 

that male common dolphin start to develop the "bullhead" appearance at approximately 400 mm FL (fork length). 

3.12 Maturity 

According to Beardsley (1967), in the Straits of Florida female 

common dolphin begin to mature at about 350 mm FL and at 

550 mm FL 100% are mature. He found that the smallest male 

common dolphin with milt present in the testes was 427 mm FL 

and felt that female dolphin began to mature at a slightly smaller 

size than males. Both sexes reach sexual maturity in the rust year 

of life (Beardsley 1967; Shcherbachev 1973). Williams and 

Newell (1957) stated that common dolphin reached maturity at 

< 535 mm SL in East African waters. 

Takahashi and Mori (1973) examined ova diameters of two 

females and the gonad indices of 30 males and 55 females of the 

pompano dolphin and suggested that the species rust spawns at 

a size of about 200 mm SL with gonad indices over 18 for 

ovaries and a maximum of 8 for testes. 

3.13 Mating 

Nakamura' stated that pairing of the sexes during spawning is 

'Hagood, R. W., and G. N. Rothwell. 1979. Sea Grant interim project report 

1979. Aquaculture in tropical ocean-Coryphaena sp. Oceanic institute, 

Makapuu Point, Waimanalo, Hi 96795. 

' Nakamura, E. L. 1971. An analysis of the catches and the bIology of big 
well known for dolphins, and Soichi (1978) stated that common 

dolphin held in aquaria spawn in pairs, although often the pair 

was accompanied by one to three others. 

See section 3.16. 

3.J4 Fertilization 

Fertilization is external. 

3.15 Gonads 

Beardsley (1967) described the gonads of common dolphin as 

follows: "The testes of immature fish are thin and unbroken, 

but the testes of mature males are marked with deep fissures 

which give a segmented appearance. The diameter of the ovaries 

is 3-4 mm in immature females and increases at maturity to 

40-50 mm. The lumen extends the length of the ovary, opening 

to the exterior through a short oviduct and urogenital orifice. 

The ovaries unite posteriorly; the left ovary is slightly the 

longer. " 

Beardsley (1967) also classified the ovaries into the following 

maturity stages: 

I Immature. Ovaries long, thin, hollow tubes; diameter 

3-4 mm; eggs microscopic; ovary wine-red to pink. 

II Early maturing. Ovary slightly enlarged; diameter 10-15 

mm; eggs visible to the naked eye through the ovary wall, but 

no distinct size groups distinguishable; pale yellow. 

III Late maturing. Ovary much enlarged; at least two distinct size groups of eggs easily visible to the naked eye; bright 

yellow to orange. 

IV Ripe. Ovary distended, half filling the body cavity; 

lumen full of large, clear eggs which give the ovary a speckled 

appearance. 

V Spent. Ovaries flaccid, hollow tubes; a few remnants of 

ripe ova may remain in the lumen or folds of the ovary, usually 

visible by microscopic examination; dull red and discolored, 

particularly at the posterior end; numerous blood clots. 

Beardsley (1967) gave the following two stages for testes: 

I Immature or resting. Testes small, firm to the touch; 

no milt extruded after cutting and squeezing. 

II Mature. Testes enlarged; milt extruded after cutting and 

squeezing. 

Schuck (1951a) estimated the number of eggs produced by an 

8.5 kg fish to be 6,090,000 and the average for six females to be 

2,655,500 eggs/fish with a weight range from 3 to 8.5 kg. 

Although the authors did not so state, we believe that their 

estimates included all of the eggs in the ovary rather than the 

most mature group. Beebe and Tee-Van (1928) estimated that a 

2.7 kg dolphin contained 500,000 eggs, and that about one-third 

of these were noticeably larger than the rest. Beardsley (1%7) 

found that fecundity increased sharply with size and assuming 

three spawnings a year, estimated that total egg production 

would vary from about 240,000 to almost 3 million eggs/yr for 

fish ranging in size from 500 to 1,100 mm FL. Shcherbachev 

game fishes caught by the New Orleans Big Game Fishing Club, 1966-70. Mimeogr. rep. available from NMFS, 3500 Delwood Beach Rd., Panama City, FL 32407. 

8 

(1973) determined the individual fecundity of two specimens of 

the common dolphin (700,000 and 730,000) and three specimens 

of the pompano dolphin (66,000, 132,000, and 180,000). 

Hagood and Rothwell (footnote 6) conducted spawning experiments on both C. hippurus and C. equise/is in Hawaii. Between October and 30 December, five separate spawnings were 

recorded for C. hippurus and nine spawnings for C. equiselis. 

The number of eggs released at each spawning was estimated. 

These estimates and additional data pertaining to these experiments are given in Table 3. 

Table 3.-Spawning dalJl for common and pompano dolpbin. (Adapted from 

Hagood and RotbweU (text footnote 6).J 

Spawn Tank Population No. of 

Fertilization Hatching 

no. Date no. male female eggs rale rate 

Common dolplun 

8/ 6 3 0 2 NA 0 0 

2 8/7 3 2 40,000 5"7. < 1"7. 

3 8/ 8 2 45,000 90"7. 70"7. 

4 8/ 9 2 40,000 9001• 70"7. 

5 8/ 10 3 2 20,000 40"7. A 

6 8/ 17 2 4 20,000 10"1. NA 

7 8/ 18 2 <t 40,000 9001• 70"1. 

8 8/ 19 2 I 4 30,000 < 5"1. A 

9 10129 2 2 < 1,000 501• NA 

10 10/ 30 2 2 < 3,000 60'" 11 01• 

II 10/ 31 2 2 < 3,000 40 01• NA 

12 I I I I 2 2 10,800 50". 75"1. 

13 11 12 2 2 27,000 1"1. 50"1. 

Pompano dolphin 

10129 14 < 2,000 1"1. 27"1. 

2 10/ 30 14 < 2,000 500J0 2001• 

3 10/3 1 14 5,000 5001. 25 01• 

4 1112 14 2,000 NA NA 

5 11 /5 14 32,000 50"7. 30"7. 

6 11 / 6 13 24,000 500J0 30"7. 

7 11 / 14 II 30,000 30"7. 50"7. 

8 11 / 15 II 10,000 50"7. 40"7. 

9 11 / 16 II 3,000 50"7. 60"7. 

'Not available. 

3.16 Spawning 

Dolphins have an extended spawning season and multiple 

spawning may be common among both males and females 

(Beardsley 1967; Johnson 1978). Soichi (1978) reported spawning under laboratory conditions occurred mainly at the surface 

and that spawning occurred between 1535 and 1745 h. 

However, Hagood and Rothwell (footnote 6) recorded 20 

separate spawnings from dolphin held in aquaria in Hawaii 

and an spawnings were at night. Shcherbachev (1973) stated 

that dolphins were intermittent spawners which apparently 

spawn year-round in tropical waters but on the periphery of 

their range confine spawning to the warm period of the year. 

The occurrences of young dolphin in the Florida Current also 

indicate that spawning may be almost year-round (Gibbs and 

Collette 1959; Beardsley 1%7; Shcherbachev 1973; Fahay 1975). 

Rose (1966) stated that spawning was most intense off North 

Carolina during June and July in the offshore waters of the Gulf 

Stream, and Schuck (1951a) reported on dolphin that appeared 

to be ripe in May and June off the same coast. Gibbs and Col-
lette (1959) noted ripe dolphin off Ocean City, Md., in July and 

August and stated that dolphin caught in the Gulf Stream in 

June were ripe or nearly ripe. 

Beardsley (1%7) indicated that the spawning season in the 

Florida Current extends over '9 mo (November-July) with peak 

spawning in January, February, and March. He also suggested 

that fish which are spawned early in the season are maturing by 

the end of the spawning season, although they may not actually 

spawn until the following winter. Anderson et al. (1956a, b) indicated that in the Florida Current most dolphins caught by 

trolling in April and May were very close to spawning condition, 

whereas those caught in July and August were not. Dooley 

(1972) also felt that common dolphin spawn in late November 

and late March in the Florida Current based on the smallest 

specimens captured. 

Erdman (1956) found common dolphin ovaries with eggs in 

the most advanced state of development in February in Puerto 

Rico. Migdalski (1958) reported small common dolphin off Bermuda in September and October, and he stated that spawning 

took place in the spring in the West Indies. Johnson (1978) said 

spawning probably occurs in response to rising surface water 

temperatures and thus takes place earlier in the Caribbean than 

in the Florida Current or Gulf Stream. However, there are 

reports of ripe fish off the Virgin Islands as late as August 

(Mather as cited in Gibbs and Collette 1959). 

Gibbs and Collette (1959) collected a ripe pompano dolphin 

(205 mm SL) in March in the Atlantic. Erdman (1956) reported 

catches of pompano dolphin in August off San Juan, Puerto 

Rico, that had well-developed gonads and well-formed eggs in 

the ovaries. Potthoff (1971) inferred from size data of larvae 

and juveniles that pompano dolphin spawn in the tropical midAtlantic during January and February. Gibbs and Collette 

(1959) believed that the pompano dolphin spawns in the Gulf of 

Mexico throughout the spring and summer. They felt, however, 

there was some evidence of spawning of pompano dolphin at all 

seasons including winter in the Florida Current and the 

Bahamas region. They also stated that the species did not breed 

within the immediate influence of the Gulf Stream, but that the 

fall influx of young into the Gulf Stream comes from another 

breeding ground. 

In the Pacific off southern Japan, the common dolphin 

spawns in July and August (Okada 1955). Based on the occurrence of eggs and larvae and the examination of gonads, Mito 

(1960) felt that the spawning season around Kyushu seemed to 

extend from late May to late August. Kojima (1955) reported 

that dolphin caught at the beginning of the season (Jung, July) 

in the raft fishery in the Sea of Japan were large (80-120 cm) and 

almost all had mature eggs. The smaller fish occurred in August 

and September; however, October brought a mixture of large 

and small fish. He deduced from the distribution of the mature 

fish before and after the spawning season and the fact that 

juveniles were collected 48-65 km offshore, that dolphin spawn 

not only in southern waters but also in the western part of the 

Sea of Japan and that the season is from July to September. 

Soichi (1978) recorded 20 spawnings under laboratory conditions from common dolphin from April to July in water that 

was controlled between 15.4° and 22.8°C. Based on frequency 

distribution, Wang (1979) indicated two spawnings each year, 

one in April and one in September, off eastern Taiwan. 

In the western Pacific, based on the presence of different 

stages of ovarian eggs, Takahashi and Mori (1973) suggested 

that pompano dolphin spawn more than once during a given 

season. 

9 

In the Indian Ocean, Williams and Newell (1957) gave March 

to early June as the spawning season for dolphin in East African 

waters and suggested that the eggs ripen and are spawned inshore. Williams (1953), referencing unpublished data of 

Wheeler and Ommanney, stated that ripening females occurred 

in March based on samples from a Mauritius-Seychelles fishery 

survey. In the western Indian Ocean, the spawning period coincides with the time of lower salinities (April and May) according 

to Williams and Newell (1957). 

3.17 Spawn 

Mito (1960) described the ova of common dolphin as 

buoyant, colorless, spherical, measuring 1.2-1.6 mm in 

diameter, with a single yellow oil globule measuring 0.3-0.4 mm 

in diameter (Fig. 6a, b, c). Soichi (1978) indicated that ripe ova 

were 1.4-1.65 mm in diameter and that hatching occurred within 

60 h after fertilization at a water temperature of 24 °-25 °C. 

Hassler and Rainville' noted that in early stage eggs neither the 

melanin pigment nor the segmentation of the yolk is obvious; 

however, in older stage eggs both the embryo and oil globule are 

mottled with melanophores and the yolk is segmented. Hagood 

and Rothwell (footnote 6) conducted experiments on both C. 

hippurus and C. equiselis under controlled conditions in large 

aquaria. A detailed account of the development of the egg and 

embryo for both species is presented in Tables 4 and 5. 

3.2 Preadult phase 

3.21 Embryonic phase 

According to Mito (1960), during the course of egg development many melanophores and xanthophores appear on the embryonal body, yolk, and oil globule (Fig. 6c, also see Tables 4, 

5). 

3.22 Larval phase 

See section 3.23. 

3.23 Adolescent phase 

Dolphin gradually metamorphose from larvae to adults; 

therefore, all descriptive phases will be discussed as a single section. The development of the fertilized egg to the juvenile is 

displayed in Figure 6. The newly hatched common dolphin larvae (Fig. 6d) were described by Mito (1960) as "3.95 mm in total 

length, with the oil globule situated at the posterior part of the 

yolk and the anus opened somewhat posteriorly to the middle of 

the body. The myotome number was 17 + 15 = 32. , .. 

Melanophores and xanthophores were scattered nearly all over 

the body, yolk and oil globule, but on the marginal fin there 

were observed only the xanthophores. Soon after hatching, the 

chromatophores became larger and approached each other, and 

the xanthophores on the marginal fill shifted to its margin. In 4 

days after hatching, the yolk and oil globule were entirely consumed and the larva attained 5.70 mm [TL]. The xanthophores 

of the marginal fin became faint. The myotome number and the 

position of the anus remained unchanged . . . " 

' Hassler, W. W., and R. P. Rainville. 1975. Techniques for hatching and 

rearing dolphin, Coryphaena hippurus, through larvae and juvenile stages. Univ. 

North Carolina Sea Grant Program Pub!. UNC-SG 75-31, 17 p. 
A B c 

3.9 nun TL 

D 

E 

~ . t.:: :· nun TL 

F 

.. 

6 5.7 mrn TL 

Figure 6.-Eggs and larvae of common dolphin, Coryphaena hippurus. A) Egg, 

5.3 hrs after capture; B) egg, 8.3 brs after capture; C) egg, 19.3 hrs after capture; 

showing developed embryo witb melanophores and xantbophores; D) yolk-sac larvae, newly hatched, 3.9 mm TL; E) yolk-sac larva, 5-7 brs after hatching, 4.3 mm 

TL; F) yolk-sac larva, 1 day after hatching, 5.8 mm TL; G) larva , 4 days after hatching, 5.7 mm TL (from Mito 1960, fig. 1 and caption). 

Hassler and Rainville (footnote 8) described l-d-old common 

dolphin larvae reared under laboratory conditions as " approximately 3 mm long, with melanin blotches scattered over the 

body and yolk. The yolk sac is large and conspicuous. A single 

fm extends dorsally from the head and ventrally from the yolk 

sac posteriorly around the caudal tip of the body. " They further 

described 15-d and 30-d-old dolphin: "At 15 days, dolphin larvae are approximately 15 mm long. The blunt snout characteristic 

of the adult is already evident. Distinct dorsal, anal, caudal, pectoral, and pelvic fms are present. The dorsal fin arises posterior 

10 

Table 4.-Coryphaena hlppuru.l embryonk dndopment at 26 "C. IAdapted from 

Ha~ood and Rolhwell (text footnote 6).\ 

Stage 

Fenili7cd 

egg 

2 cell 

4 cell 

8 cell 

16 cell 

32 cell 

64 ccll 

128 cell 

Blastula 

Gastrula 

Neurula 

Developmg 

e m bryo 

Free laryae 

h 

o 

o 

o 

I 

2 

2 

3 

6 

7 

10 

12 

13 

17 

18 

26 

~ 

30 

37 

40 

mm 

00 

40 

50 

10 

30 

00 

30 

00 

00 

30 

10 

cnlral ma\s pr=nl, yolk with fi\slon hnes 

'cll ..rrangement Ifregulilf; cdl me red uced 

Ula: todl5C well formed. bl ... tulation underv.ay 

Cell organllcd. dark pot under cell rna: 

Germ nng present; sa lrulatlon begInnmg 

Head fold prC'>Cnt, invagination of blastomere 

complete 

00 Neural groove present 

00 Tad expandc-d; somatl ~gmentatlon begJnmng 

00 Lmbryo length approximately II clrcumfercm.e of 

00 

00 

egg. UptlC vesIcle present, 13 14 sumatl segment 

melanophores present on yolk sac 

Melanophores present on dor..u and lateral urfULes of embryo 

De-cloplng larvae nollo V, CIrcumference of egg. 

body movement \)('ginning; optic vesicle "'ell 

dL",el(lped ; fin Jold~ present; hean begJnruns 

\oJ>eat 

00 Till I Iree 01 }olk 

00 Trul near head, embryo changing pos'tion m egg 

00 Tad overlaps head, mo\Cment com mo n 

40 

Table 5.- Cof)phama equiJe/u embn oruc deHlopmenl al 26 . I dJlPt~ from 

Hagood and Rolh", . U (Ie I footnote 6).\ 

Stage 

Feniliz~ 

egg 

2 cell 

4 cell 

8 cell 

16 cell 

32 cell 

64 cell 

128 cell 

Blastula 

Gastrula 

Late gastrula 

Neurula 

Developing 

embryo 

Free larvae 

Time 

(h) 

o 

0.4 

0.5 

0.7 

1.0 

1.25 

1.75 

2.25 

4.5 

9.0 

11.5 

12.5 

15.0 

15.7 

17.0 

18.0 

23 

27.5 

31.0 

37.0 

38.0 

Des.."Iiplion 

entral ma\S. oil droplet, yolk .... ilh fission 

hnes 

Firs, cell di'ision 

Egg diamcter 1.35 mm 

CeU arrangement 1= regular; cells reduced 

10 size 

Blastodisc well form~; blastulation beginning 

Cells orgaruzed; dark spot under cell mass 

Germ ring present; gastrulation beginning 

Head fold present 

Neural groove present 

Blastopore almost closed; optic lobe fo nning 

Blastopore closed; somatic segmentation 

beginning 

20 somatic segments 

Head 10 tail 50"1. egg circumference 

Melanopho res present on yolk sac and embryo 

hean beginning to beat; body movements 

staning . 

Body approximately J" circumference of egg; 

body movement common; melanophores 

numerous 

Tail almost to head and free of yolk sac; body 

twisting in egg 

Tail overlaps head; movement frequent 
to the head and ends just before the caudal fin. The anal fin 

begins Just posterior to the anu and also runs to the caudal fin. 

Musculature is evident throughout the body. The eye and mouth 

are prominent and fully developed. Melanin chromatophore 

form approximately 13 lateral bands whlch continue onto the 

dorsal and anal lins and give the larva a brown appearance. The 

30-day dolphin are approximately 30 mm 10 length and very 

similar to the 15-day larvae. The lateral banding is not as distinct 

on the body except during times of excitement. The Juveniles appear brown although a few silver-colored individuals were 

noted. The eye is very large, and the caudal lin is more distinctly 

forked .... " 

Gibbs and Collette (1959) felt that juveniles of the common 

and pompano dolphins are so distinctly patterned that identification is possible without reference to counts or 

measurements within the 9 to 200 mm size range . The principal 

differences are in the pattern of the sides and of the dorsal, anal, 

pelvic, and caudal lins. They describe them as follows: 

Juvenile common dolphin "tend to have the entire sides of 

the body marked with a pattern of alternating dark and light 

bars. Thls is particularly evident at very small sizes (10-20 mm 

standard length), where specimens with erected dorsal and anal 

fins resemble minature feathers. The bars are continued onto 

the dorsal and anal fins, except for the rear rays of each, where 

the dark coloration forms a more or less solid patch [Fig. 7] 

... At larger sizes, however, the bars become more obscure, and 

are lacking in many specimens." 

Juvenile pompano dolphin "when very small tends to be 

uniformly dark on the sides [Fig. 7]. The fins, while sometimes 

displaying weak bars, never show these as prominently as C. 

hippurus. Ordinarily the dorsal fin is relatively cl~ar. often having, in addition to any weak bars, a concentration of pigment 

near the middle of the fin and in the posterior membranes. The 

anal lin is quite clear except for a posterior darkened area. The 

pelvic fin of C. hippurus is usually dark, while that of C. 

equiselis is clear .... In young of C. hippurus the [caudal] fin is 

pigmented except for the tips of each lobe. In C. equiselis the 

unpigmented region extends in a band along the entire margin of 

the fork." 

3.3 Adult phase 

3.31 Longevity 

Common dolphin grow rapidly throughout their hfe (Beardsley 1967; Ro e and Hassler 1968a) and their mlWmum life span 

i about 4 yr (Beard ley 1967). Ob ervation on pecimen in artificial enclo ure aI 0 indicated that the life pan ma} be < 5 )T 

(Hinton 1962). In a ample of 738 common dolphin off onh 

('arolina, no fi h were found that were older than age 3 (R se 

and Hassler 1968a). Ta recoverie add little additional mformation. In the Atlantic, only three tagged and released dolphin 

have been recaptured; the maximum time at large was 56 d 

(Mather as cited in Ro e and Hassler 196 a). In the Pacilic. Kojima (1965) reponed that 36 recaptures \\ ere rec rded from 132 

release; 94.5lJ1o of the recaptures vvere made v\llhin 20 d of 

release. There i n informatlOn on the I ngev1lv of pomp no 

dolphin; however, 11 i likel} that theIr hfe pan I even Ie than 

the common d Iphin' . 

3.32 Hardin 

ot much i known ab ut th hardine .. of th tw 

dolphm . Pr um bl . dult d Iphm 

chan~ 

and temperature r'.1O In 

Hogarth 19 ). 

3. 3 ompetltor 

Dolphins pr umabl) ~u!l1pete \\lth ther pel 

for the same organi!l1 If\ th food ham. here I 

tion, however, on the df t thl ompellll n 1 

vival. That effe~t i probabl not \ef} 

capable of feeding on a vamt) 01 flod p 

top-level predator . 

3.34 Prcdators 

All the life stage of dolphin ern pre for 

mcluding members of their own bnd ( ' 0)101 I 

1971; Shcherbac.hc\ 1973; Ro c and Ha ler 197 

Oceam. 

3.35 Par 

e 

rtuna II 
h~ure 7.-l pper 1"0, C. hippurus. Lo .. er two, C. equiselis. Upper figure of each species was dl1lwn with modifications from specimens ca. 15 

mm ,Isodaro len~lh from M/\ Oregon station 1298 io the northern Gulf of Mexico; lower figures from specimens ca. 35 mm from Oregon station 

\J 13 in Ihe northern Gulf and from 12 "00' . 76 "00 'W (RiV Crawford coUection), respectively (from Gibhs and CoUette 1959, fig. 1 and caplion). 

tremat de as o-:-:urring 10 common dolphin and one nematode, 

on ~e lOde, even trematodes, and two parasitic cope pods as 

o curnng on pompano dolphin. 

In the traJt\ 01 Florida, Burnett-Herke (1966,1974) studied 

p r He from the gill and buccal areas of 145 common dolphin. 

He fund ne pecie 01 digenetic trematode and seven different 

peel of pepod. He noted that as host size increased there 

'" al II n m reu e in para\ite mix, incidence, and intensity of 

I tI n He I 0 tound no Ignificanl relationship between 

lh ndlllon Ind the C 01 the ho~t. He found the plerocer12 

cus stage of the order Trypanorhyncha occurring in 53 % of 

common dolphin caught by fishermen off Miami, Fla. Manter 

(1947) listed the following digenetic trematodes found in the intestines, stomach, and body cavity of common dolphin sampled 

at Dry Tortugas, Fla.: Stepanostomum coryphaenae, Dinurus 

tornatus, D. breviductus, D. /ongisinus, D. barbatus, 

Hlrudtnella ventricosa, and Tetrochetus coryphaenae. 

Greer (1976) reported a hemiurid trematode, Lecithocladium, 

and a larval tapeworm (Order Trypanorhyncha) taken from the 

tomach of a pompano dolphin in the Atlantic. 

------~------------~------~----
cnlr I 

qualOld hark, lSI IIUS bra,\ll/ /1\ 

ard Ie found Ihal raler ,""ound ar rclam I) mm n on 

olphm in the Allanli off '·lorida, 

Marko,"" ki (1971) fir I d rihcd Bothm ('pha/us Jamk./I 

rom r>eClmen collccted from th toma h of d Iphm u ht 

n the 1925 D/\cm't'rI' rUI at lal. 24 ) , , I 

Author' nOle: Ihi, mu t be an error in Ih Ie tlon and 

cad long. 15°46 'W, which would he in the 1uth .:clltr. I,\tlanie.) Dcvi (1975) al 0 reported Ihis p cudl ph)lhdcan t d 

curring in Ihe intestine!) of Ihe common dolphin In the B 

ngal. Data on par ile of common and p 1mpano d Iphm 

hown in Tahle 6, 

SUlUki et ai, (1973) reported head dd()rrmtl~ 111 mmon 

olphin kepI in aquaria. They further Wted thaI mg, 

itarnin deticien.: " "" ter no,,", nd urt.1 c rca l f the t nk 

la cd import anI role in mMpholo i al abn rm.1I1I1 of fi h 

r d in lank" 

l.36 Physiology and hiochetTll tn 

There arc nurnefOU, reterence in the hlCl ture ( II 

eumann 19 0: Hu he~ 1970: O\.:h r)\ 19,0: \1 

III n nl I 10 

Ulnliol1 and rll\o\1h 

l.41 fC't'dm 
Parasite 

Monogenetic trematodes 

Caps /~ laevis 

Tentacularia blcolor 

T. coryphaena 

Digenetic trematodes 

Barhycotyl coryphaenae 

Benedenia hendorffi 

Dinurus barbatus 

D. brevi{ IIctus 

D. conphaenae 

D. longismus 

D. notatus 

D. fUrnatus 

Didymozoides sp. 

He/icometrma mmia 

Hirudmella sp. 

Hirudmella clavata 

H. spinulosa 

H. ventncosa 

Stepanostomum coryphaenae 

Tetrochetus coryphaenae 

Thoracoctyle coryphaenae 

Nematodes 

Contracaecum sp. 

Anisakis sp. 

Anisakis salaris 

lsopods 

Ani/ocara physodes 

Idothea metalliea 

Livoneca ovalis 

Cestodes 

Bothriocephalus janikii 

Dibothriorhynchus attenuatus 

D. claviger 

D. stenocephala 

Plerocercoides lonchophorus 

Scolex polymorphus 

Acanthocephalans 

Rhadinorhycyus katsuwonis 

R. p ristis 

Copepods 

Branchiella coryphaenae 

Ca/igus belones 

Table .- Pllr1lSlt~ of common and pompano dolphin . 

Atlanllc 

Brazil 

Atlantic 

Atlantic 

AtlantIc 

Japan 

Georgraphic region 

Gull of Mexico 

Straus 01 Flonda 

Chile 

Cura~o 

Gulf of I>k IcO 

Ghana 

Ghana 

Gulf of lexico 

Cura~o. Jamaica 

Ghana. Senigal 

Senegal 

Pacilic 

Gulf of Mexico 

Puerto Rlw 

Hawaii 

Mediterranean 

Gulf of Me\Jw 

Gulf of Panama. Bunini 

Cura~o 

Ghana 

Ghana 

Gulf of Aden 

eastern Pacllic 

Cura~o 

Atlantic 

Europe 

Gulf of 1eXlco 

Gulf of Mexico 

Ghana 

Tema. Ghana 

Gulf of Mexico 

Hawaii 

Pacilic 

Atlantic 

Fonnosa 

Pacilic 

Pacilic 

Mediterranean 

Atlantic 

Atlantic 

Atlantic 

Bay of Bengal 

west of Azores 

west of Azores 

west of Azores 

west of Azores 

Pacilic 

Japan 

ura~o 

Gulf of Mexico 

Woods Hole 

USSR 

Mediterranean 

Pacilic 

Atlantic, 

Straits of Florida 

Common dolphin 

gi lh 

skin 

Site of inle>.tation 

pentoneum. mc!>Cntary 

\lomach. alimentary C.lOal 

intestinc 

glih 

gill filaments 

'~IO 

tomach 

tomach 

Momach 

stomach 

... Ioma..:h 

stomdch 

... t(lm'h:h 

stomach 

stomach 

stomach 

stomach 

gut 

stomdd, 

stomach 

tomach 

'toma h 

"omach 

IOtcsllnc 

IOtestlOC 

IntestlOc 

IOtestlOe 

stomach 

in Ie tlnt! 

mtestme 

small intestine 

bod~ C,HIl) 

gills 

body surface 

mouth 

intestine wall 

stomach 

intestine wall 

intestine wall 

small intestine 

gills 

inner surface operculum 

14 

SII.I (1%7) 

(.Ulart (11J35) 

II", (1%7) 

Sila (1%7) 

(.Ulan (1915) 

Yama ull (19J8) 

parks (195 • I%{)) 

Reference 

Burnell Her~es. Jr (1%6, 1974) 

I lOst 0'"' 

ahh and ( ble II ) 

lanta (1947) 

I LSChlhal (1'172) 

FLSChthaJ and Thoma (1972b) 

"!.tnta (1947) 

ahh and able (19I>t) 

II ·hlhal (1972) 

f lSChlhal and I hom:!.: f1972bl 

Io..u and hen (1968) 

ldJ1ter (1'J47) 

<;Idd'ql and Uible (1960) 

Yama ull (1\170) 

Dollr (1927) 

lanler (1947) 

gandarcs Bernal (l959} 

~.. and <..able (I~} 

I-LSChthaJ (1972) 

II hlhaJ and Thoma (I 92/b} 

:-;,kola",a (1965) 

Mal (1%2) 

ahhas and Cable (I~) 

\Iurph) (1914) 

,Ia (1967) 

\ lanter (1947) 

\Ianler (1947) 

Fis.:hthaJ (1972) 

FbchlhaJ and Thoma" (197201) 

" Ianter (1947) 

YamagutJ (1970) 

Yamagu .. (1938) 

Ro,e (1966) 

'I)el" and Io.. untz (1962) 

Sakaguchi and Kalarnme (197 1) 

Yamagutl (1934) 

Cabo (1% 1) 

Murphy (191 4) 

Rose (1966) 

MarkoYoSki (1971) 

Devi (1975) 

Guian (1935) 

Guian (1935) 

Guian (1935) 

Guian (1935) 

Yamaguli (1934) 

Kamegai (1963) 

Cable and Linderolh (I %3) 

Pearse (1952) 

Wilson (1932) 

Markewitsch (as cited in Burnett-Herkes, Jr. (I 

Delmare·Deboutteville and Nunes·Rwvo (1958) 

Yamaguti (1958) 

Burnett-Herkes. Jr. (1966, 1974) 
Table 6.- Continued. 

Parasite 

C. bonito 

C constrictus 

C. coryphaenae 

C. patu/us 

C. productus 

C. quadratus 

Charopinopsis quaternius 

E/ytrophora coryphaenae 

Euryphorous nordmanni 

E. nympha 

Lernacenicus /ongiventris 

Pseudocycnus appendicu/alus 

P. thynnus 

Other parasites 

Eutyphis Jaba 

Dinurus /ongisinus 

D .. lOrnalus 

Lecithochirium microstomum 

Tentacu/aria bic%r 

Euryphorus nordmanni 

Caligus be/ones 

C. proJuctus 

C. quadralus 

Order Trypanorhyncha 

'As cited in Sproston (1946). 

Georgraphic region Site of infestation Reference 

Straits of Florida inner surface operculum Burrrett-Herkes, Jr. (1%6, 1974) 

Yamaguti (1%3) suggested Wilson (1937) misidentified his specimens Richiardi (1880) 

Atlantic 

Atlantic, Pacific 

Indian, Mediterranean 

Formosa 

Straits of Florida 

Indian Ocean 

Straits of Florida 

Atlantic, Pacific 

Mexico 

Mediterranean 

Straits of Florida 

Indian Ocean 

Pacific, Atlantic 

Indian 

Pacific 

Straits of Florida 

Indian 

Gulf of Mexico 

Straits of Florida 

Gulf of Mexico 

Indian Ocean 

Atlantic, Pacific 

Indian Ocean 

Pacific, Indian Ocean, 

Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic 

Formosa 

South India 

Pacific 

Straits of Florida 

Louisiana 

N.W. Atlantic 

Atlantic 

Atlantic 

Atlantic 

France 

France 

France 

Atlantic 

Indian Ocean 

Indian Ocean 

Indian Ocean 

Atlantic 

body surface 

Brian (1899; 1903; 19(6) 

Richiardi (1880) 

Steenstrup and Uitken (1861) 

Brian (1899; 1903; 19(8) 

Yamaguti (1936) 

Heegaard (1949) 

Pearse (1952) 

Capart (1959) 

Shiino (l959a, b, c; 1960; 1963) 

Ho (1963) 

buccal cavity, operculum skin, gills Burnett-Herkes, Jr. (1966, 1974) 

Lewis (1%7) 

external surface Lewis et al. (1969) 

inner surface of operculum 

inner surface of operculum 

gill cavity 

operc1e 

branchial cavity 

buccal cavity, gill 

filaments, inner surface 

operculum 

gill cavity 

gills 

gills and gill filaments 

inside operculum 

gill cavity 

inner surface operculum 

branchial cavity 

skin 

inner surface of skin, 

gills, operculum 

gills 

gills 

mouth 

Pompano dolphin 

peritoneum, mesentary 

stomach, alimentary canal 

gill cavities 

gill and buccal cavity, 

external surface 

stomach 

15 

Burnett-Herkes, Jr. (1966, 1974) 

Shiino (1959a, b, c) 

Causey (1960) 

Yamaguti (1963) 

Burnett-Herkes, Jr. (1966, 1974) 

Lewis (1%7) 

Lewis et al. (1%9) 

Shiino (1954b; 1959b, c; 1960) 

Pillai (1964) 

Kabata and Gusev (1%6) 

Burnett-Herkes, Jr. (1966, 1974) 

Lewis (1%7) 

Lewis et al. (1969) 

Wilson (1936) 

Silas and Ummerkutty (1967) 

Burnett-Herkes, Jr. (1%6, 1974) 

Lewis (1%7) 

Pearse (1952) 

Lewis et al. (1969) 

Milne-Edwards (1840) 

Steenstrup and Lutken (1861) 

Shiino (I954a, 1958, 1959b) 

Silas and Ummerkutty (1964) 

Ho (1963) 

Pillai (1964) 

Kabata and Gusev (1966) 

Burnett-Herkes, Jr. (1966, 1974) 

Silas and Ummerkutty (1%7) 

Rose (1%6) 

HeUer (1865) 

Silas and Ummerkutty (1%7) 

Silas and Ummerkutty (1%7) 

Murphy (1914) 

Hutton (1964) 

Hutton (1964) 

Hutton (1964) 

Silas (1967) 

Lewis et al. (1969) 

Wilson (1905) 

Lewis et al. (1%9) 

Lewis et al. (I %9) 

Greer (1976) 
12% 

EXOCOETIDAE 

24% 

SCOMBRIDAE 

22% 

Figure 8.-Stomach contents of 373 dolphin (common) showing important groups 

of food items by relative weight (from Rose 1966, fig. 26 and caption). 

ocean sunfish, Mola lanceolata, were found in one stomach, 

and a small octopus (suborder Octopoda) in another. 

In the Mediterranean, Bannister (1976) found flyingfish, 

mackerels (Scombridae), other smaller dolphins, pilot fish 

(Carangidae), crustaceans, and unidentified species of medusae 

in the stomach contents of common dolphin. Off the Balearic 

Islands, Cabo (1961) reported flyingfish, Sardinella aurita, 

Engraulis encrasicholus, and Trachurus trachurus as the main 

food items of common dolphin. 

In the central Pacific, Rothschild (1964) confirmed that common dolphin are piscivorous. Flyingfish were not only the most 

numerous organism found in the stomach contents, but also 

comprised a large portion of the total volume. He noted other 

important food items were gempylids and penaeid shrimps. 

Tester and Nakamura (1957) further verified the importance of 

flying fish both in volume and occurrence. In addition, they 

noted cephalopods and crustaceans together formed < 3 % of 

the total volume of stomach contents in common dolphin 

caught off Hawaii. 

In the Pacific off Japan, Suyehiro (1942) noted common 

dolphin were not only carnivorous but very voracious (swallowing whole large flyingfish), and when dolphin did not come in 

contact with their prey in the open ocean, they fed on species 

that are found on and around logs and floating objects. 

Kojima (1955; 1956; 1960a, b; 1961; 1963a, b; 1964a, b; 1965; 

1966a, b, c; 1967) and Uchida and Shojima (1958) studied the 

biology and ecology of dolphin sampled from anchored attracting devices called "tsuke" rafts in the western Sea of Japan. 

One investigation (Kojima 1961) examined stomach contents of 

1,103 adult common dolphin ranging in length from 35 to 105 

cm. Fishes made up 85% of the food items in frequency of 

occurrence and 95% by weight. He also noted that the food 

items ranged in length from 1 to 34 cm but appeared for the 

most part to fall into two groups: 2-4 cm and 10-15 cm. 

Shcherbachev (1973) felt that crustaceans were an appreciable 

part of the diet of pompano dolphin in the Pacific and Indian 

16 

_~""""'''''U" .................... _ ............ _ , .... .... ~ . ~------ 

pompano dolphin and found bramids were the most common 

item in the stomachs. However, he noted that 39 dolphins from 

the sample were taken from the same school and stomach contents might not be representative. He further noted, in contrast 

to common dolphin, that flying fish were not a common item in 

the diet of this species. 

3.43 Growth rate 

Growth in common dolphin appears to be rapid and its life 

span short. Both Beardsley (1967) and Rose and Hassler (1968a) 

examined scales from common dolphin taken from the western 

North Atlantic. Beardsley (1967) examined 511 common 

dolphin taken off southern Florida ranging in size from 475 to 

1,525 mm FL. He found 121 l-yr-olds ranging in size from 475 

to 1,175 mm FL (x = 725 mm), 9 2-yr-olds ranging from 1,025 

to 1,325 mm (x = 1,175 mm), 1 3-yr-old (1,425 mm), and 14-yrold (1,525 mm). Both authors believed that the maximum life 

span was about 4 yr. The 4-yr-old specimen examined by Beardsley (1967) weighed 35 kg, at that time the all-tackle sport fishin~ 

record. Larger dolphin have been taken, however, and in 1979 a 

male dolphin weighing over 46 kg was captured off Puerto Rico 

(Florida Sportsman 1979). Beardsley (1967) believed that the 

wide size range of yearling dolphin resulted from the extended 

spawning sason (possibly all year long) combined with rapid 

growth. 

Rose and Hassler (1968a) examined scales from 738 cOl1lll1on 

dolphin taken off North Carolina during the summer months. 

They found 593 age 0 dolphin ranging in size from about 400 to 

725 mm FL (x = 572 mm), 117 l-yr-olds ranging from about 650 

to 1,100 mm FL (x = 868 mm FL), 20 2-yr-olds ranging from 

about 900 to 1,300 mm FL ex = 1,108 mm FL), and 8 3-yr-olds 

ranging from about 1,100 to 1,430 mm FL ex = 1,269 mm FL). 

Although he did not state how ages were determined, Kojima 

(1966c) indicated that in the Pacific, common dolphin reached 

about 38 cm FL in length the fust year, 68 cm FL the second 

year, 90 cm FL the third year, 108 cm FL the fourth year, and 

122 cm FL the fifth year. 

Additional evidence for rapid growth in common dolphin is 

available from various sources. Herald (1961) reported that two 

common dolphin grew from approximately 0.7 to 14.5 and 16.8 

kg in about 7.5 mo in a large aquarium at Marineland in 

Florida. Beardsley (1967) reported on a male dolphin that 

weighed about 0.5 kg when placed into a large aquarium at the 

Miami Seaquarium. Eight months later, at its death, this fish 

weighed 16.3 kg. Soichi (1978) held 36 common dolphin (35-50 

cm TL) collected off Japan in September-October 1975 in a 

large aquarium. Eleven specimens survived until April 1976, at 

which time they had increased in length to about 100 cm. Wang 

(1979) indicated a growth rate of 10 cm/mo FL with l-yr-old 

common dolphin off eastern Taiwan. 

Hassler and Hogarth (1977) conducted feeding experiments 

on common dolphin held in pens in estuarine. waters in North 

Carolina. Two separate experiments resulted in food conversion 

ratios of 3.54 and 3.44 (wet weight). Another experiment 

resulted in an average weight gain of 0.39 kg/wk with a range of 

0.14-0.59 kg/wk. They noted that growth was rapid at water 

temperatures from 23.9 0 to 29.4 °C. Feeding decreased at 

temperatures below 23.0°C and ceased entirely at temperatures 

of about 18.3°C. Both Beardsley (1967) and Rose and Hassler 

(1968a) believed that the check marks on dolphin scales that 

they interpreted as annuli were caused by a decrease in growth 
rate associated with a decrease in water temperature in the 

winter months. 

Beardsley (1967) and Rose 3f1d Hassler (1968a) indicated that 

males were heavier than females at almost all lengths and this 

difference increased as length increased. Rose and Hassler cited 

a 1,268 mm FL female that weighed 12.1 kg compared with 

a 1,256 mm FL male that weighed 21.6 kg. Gibbs and Collette 

(1959), however, felt that there were no sexual differences in 

weight up to about 900 mm, but that males were heavier than 

females above this size. 

The length-weight relationships for male and female common 

dolphin are shown in Table 7. 

3.44 Metabolism 

Lipskaya (1974) studied the metabolic rates in some juvenile 

tropical fish species, including both species of dolphins, and 

concluded that high metabolic rates were a feature of pelagic 

fishes of the epipelagic zone such as dolphins. A clear relationship was established between metabolic rate and body weight 

using an exponential equation of the type Q = awk and differences in metabolic levels were associated with the different 

mode of life of the fishes investigated. 

3.5 Behavior 

3.51 Migrations and local movements 

There is little published information about migrations of 

either the common dolphin or pompano dolphin. Mather (as 

cited in Rose and Hassler 1968a) reported on the recapture of 

three tagged dolphin off the Florida coast. One was recaptured 

on the same day, one was recaptured 97 km north 2 d after tagging, and one was recaptured 56 d after release, having traveled 

260 km to the north. Beardsley (1967) felt the possibility was 

strong that common dolphin migrate northward during the 

spring and summer. Gibbs and Collette (1959) concluded from 

data of Mather (as cited in Gibbs and Collette 1959) in the 

Virgin Islands and Erdman (1956) in Puerto Rico that the 

spring abundance of common dolphin in the Caribbean may be 

a pres pawning migration, mainly of females. 

In the Pacific, Kojima (1965) reported that 132 dolphin were 

tagged and released in 1962 and 1963 from the "Shiira-zuke" 

fishery off Japan. By January 1964, 36 recaptures had been 

recorded. Seventy-two percent of the recaptures were made 

within 10 d of release, and 800/0 of the recaptures were made 

< 160 km from the release point. All of the recaptured dolphin 

were caught from beneath floating bamboo rafts or other 

floating objects. Kojima believed that dolphin in the Sea of 

Japan make a northward migration until September and then 

return to the south. 

Williams and Newell (1957) noted that common dolphin make 

a migration into East African coastal waters between November 

and early June each year. Wheeler and Ommanney (1953) noted a 

similar migration occurring in the Seychelles Islands. 

Indications are that occasionally migrations and movements 

of dolphin may be controlled by the movement of drifting objects on the high seas with which dolphin are closely associated. 

Beardsley (1967) stated that large groups of young dolphin have 

been reported to follow Sargassum concentrations northward 

from the lower Florida Keys to Palm Beach, a distance of about 

376 km. Greer (1976) reported pompano dolphin following a 

sailboat for 19 d as well as one "marked" pompano dolphin 

that traveled 1,690 km with the vessel. Gooding and Magnuson 

(1967) also commented on dolphin staying with a raft while it 

was towed 48 km down the coast and then set adrift. 

3.52 Schooling 

Rose and Hassler (1974) noted differential schooling behavior 

1t an early age among small common dolphin with small females 

more predominantly associated with tide lines where clumps of 

~argassum were present. However, the sex ratio was not so 

jefmitely in favor of females when small dolphin were captured 

Table 7.-Length-weight relationships of common dolphin, Coryphaena hippurus. Sexes are combined unless otberwise noted. The form of the equation is Y = axb. 

Author Measurement Range in length n A b 

Schuck (1951 a) Fork length (cm) 

(western Atlantic) Weight (Ib) ca. 66-97 18 14.4 x 10 - 6 3.231 

Morrow (1954) Fork length (cm) 

(Indian Ocean) Weight (lb) 58-82 14 9.82x 10 - 8 3.67 

Williams and Neweil (1957) Standard length (cm) 

(Indian Ocean) Weight (lb) ca. 55-105 64 8.86 x 10 - 6 3.164 

Tester and Nakamura (1957) Fork length (cm) 

(pacific) Weight (lb) 41-121 133 1.573 x 10 - 4 2.7111 

Kojima (1%&) Fork length (cm) 

(pacific) Weight (k) 2-29 9,799 3.9x 10- 2 2.688 

Beardsley (1967) 

(western Atlantic) 

2.62 x 10- 4 Males Fork length (mm) 550-1,300 19 2.66570 

Females Weight (kg) 500-1,225 40 2.35x 10- 4 2.62796 

Rose and Hassler (I 968a) 

(western Atlantic) 

0.5x 10- 7 Males Fork length (mm) ca. 275-1,350 176 2.75 

Females Weight (kg) ca. 310-1,275 325 1.27 x 10- 7 2.59 

Bannister (1976) 

(Mediterranean) 

1.637 x 10- 5 Males Fork length (mm) 222-543 169 2.952 

Females Weight (gm) 224-545 251 2.094 x 10- 5 .919 
In the open ocean away from tide lines. They hypothesized that 

mall female dolphin congregate around tide lines, while males 

of the ame length tend to be found in the open ocean along 

-jth larger males and females. 

Dolphin al 0 tend to segregate by sex as well as by size (Gibbs 

and Collette 1959; Kojima 1966b; Beardsley 1967; Nakamura 

footnote 7). Kojima (l966b) felt the easonal variation in the 

ize of a dolphin s hool may be caused by the ecological differences bet'" cen the spa,"ning schools (adults) and the fceding 

chools (young fi h). He further noted that older dolphin 

d rea ed In number and young fish replaced them in the catch 

as the Ii hing eason progressed. 

Beard ley (1964) noted that adult pompano dolphin were collected in a large school of common dolphin, indicating that the 

two species at least occasionally form mixed schools. Shcherbache (1973). however. felt that pompano dolphin shun common dol hin and used as an example an experience aboard the 

re earch \es el Baikal when a large school of pompano dolphin 

that had tayed close to the vessel immediately disappeared at 

the approach of a fe," common dolphin. 

3.53 Response to stimuli 

Common dolphin show no fear of boats (Beardsley 1967), 

and one of the aspects of the ecology of dolphins is the close 

as Liatlon thev maintain with floating and drifting objects on 

the high cas. Early research by Kojima (1956) suggested that 

dolphins took helter under floatmg objects be-:ause of the 

great~r availability of food. In later research (l964b, 1966c, 

19(7), ho\\ ever. he felt dolphins were attracted to floating object by factor~ other than food. Hunter and Mitchell (1%7) felt 

it \\ a possible that young dolphins were attracted to drifting 

material because the objects function as schooling companions 

and prm ide \ isual stimulation in an optical void. 

dult dolphin commonly chafe again t the bottom of rafts, 

kiff , and other floating objects (Heyerdahl 1950; Roig and 

1aI~ 1952, (,oodmg and Magnuson 1%7; Hunter and Mitchell 

1967). Thl beha\ ior could remove parasites or relieve skin irntatlon (Gooding and lagnuson 1%7). 

\\ ilham and N('\\cll (1957) felt that temperature might act as 

an environmental stimulus since common dolphin appeared in 

coastal waters off East Africa and shallow waters around the 

Seychelles during periods of maximum surface water 

temperatures (29°-30OC). They felt that common dolphin moved 

north and south with the surface isotherms over the year. The occurrence of dolphin may also be connected with seasonal 

plankton outbursts, i.e., the period of greatest fertility of the 

coastal water. They also felt there may be a connection between 

the appearance of dolphin and the period of maximum 

Sargassum accumulation. 

4 POPULATION 

4.1 Structure 

4.11 Sex ratio 

Rose and Hassler (1974) noted that sex ratios of common 

dolphin caught off Hatteras, N.C., changed according to size. 

Males constituted a majority (61010) of dolphin in the 801-1,275 

mm FL group; no significant deviation from a 1: 1 sex ratio occurred in the 601-800 mm FL group, while females made up a majority (71 %) of dolphin between 450 and 600 mm FL and constituted the bulk of the dolphin catch each year (Table 8). The~ felt that observed sex ratios lent credibility to the hypothesis 0 

differential schooling and feeding patterns between small and 

large dolphin. Gibbs and Collette (1959) found essentially a 50:50 

sex ratio in the Gulf Stream while Mather's data (as cited in Gibbs 

and Collette 1959) from winter records in the Virgin Islands indicates a preponderance of females, about a 65:35 ratio. 

Nakamura (footnote 7) sampled dolphin catches b 

recreational anglers in the Gulf of Mexico from 1966 to 1970 

and found that males predominated in the catch. He suggested, 

however, that this may be a sampling artifact since males ar 

more frequently brought in by anglers for weigh-ins becaus 

male dophins attain greater weights than females. If it is not 

artifact, Nakamura felt this may indicate differences in school 

ing behavior between sexes or a difference in migrational pat 

terns between sexes during nonspawning periods. 

hhl K Relatlon,hlp t>~t"t· • .'n..." rallo and len~th' of 1,249 dolphin captured b} Irolling in Ihe western AlJanlic Ocean off Hatleras. N.C.. 

r n I ngll' 

(mrr) 

dunn~ 1961-o.J, and chi- Quare anal)""" le-.lin~ Ihe h)POlhe;,b of a 1:1 sex ratio (Rose and Hassler 1974). 

"'umber ot _ peclmen\ Expccled number 

of each sex 1961 I%~ 1963 Total assuming a Chi-square 

I-cmalc 'laic Female laic Female Male 1:1 sex rallO values' 

224 94 ~II 4'1 ~50 138 685 281 483.0 168.12" females 

45 33 21 II 17 97 85 91.0 0.66 n, 

11 13 L I> 11 J'1 62 50.5 479' males 

·n.:c or ab Il,'e of a \('f1lCal frontal profile Sc of small dolphin was delernlln mal thalia ~cd a \crtl al profile) 10 r~ull' oblalned b) e lema] ob,cnatlon. The corunng bct",,,,n bOl- ) mOl "ere In age-group I. 

labul.1tcd ,hI-square \ lu (or a 0 O~ ~rror rate and a I 

1 I ~ r lIulS Indl aled In lh~ 450 600 mm icnglh group 
In a study carried out between August and December 1974 in 

the Mediterranean Sea around the Maltese Islands, Bannister 

(1976) sampled 420 common dolphin: 169 were males and 251 

were females. Cabo (1961) reported a very slight preponderance 

of females to males (47070 females, 45% males, and 8% immature) for common dolphin around the Balearic Islands. 

In Hawaiian waters, Tester and Nakamura (1957) stated that 

common dolphin showed a significant deviation from the 1: 1 

sex ratio, with males (28.5%) much less numerous than females 

(71.5%). They also noted there was a considerable diversity in 

the proportion of males and females between schools. Kojima 

(1966c) stated that during the early part of the fishing season in 

the western Pacific, females outnumbered males. However, 

during the spawning season later in the year, sex ratios were 

about equal. 

Off East Africa, Williams and Newell (1957) reported a sex 

ratio of 1:4 (19 males and 79 females) in samples taken from 

Janaury 1952 to December 1965. Williams (1956) showed a male 

to female ratio of about 1: 15 from personal observations in 

Zanzibar fish markets from 1952 to 1954. He also reported 

(Williams 1953) on a study from September 1951 to August 1952 

which had a catch of 24 females and 3 males. Morrow (1954), 

sampling off Kenya, reported catches of 8 males, 14 females, 

and 2 immatures. 

4.12 Age composition 

Beardsley (1967) and Rose and Hassler (1968a) used interpretations of markings on scales to estimate the age of common 

dolphin. In the Florida Current, Beardsley (1967) found only 11 

fish out of 511 examined with two or more annuli. Five females 

and 4 males were in age-group II, 1 male in age-group Ill, and 

1 male in age-group IV (Fig. 9). In North Carolina waters, Rose 

and Hassler (1968a) segregated 738 dolphin by sex into 50 mm 

length intervals (176 males and 325 females) and found all of the 

3-yr-old and 15 of the 2-yr-old fish were males. Sexes were 

equally represented in age-group I, while females predominated 

in age-group 0 (Fig. 10). 

4.13 Size composition 

Length-weight relationships for common dolphin have been 

reported by numerous authors (Schuck 1951a; Morrow 1954; 

Williams and Newell 1957; Tester and Nakamura 1957; Kojima 

1966c; Beardsley 1967; Rose and Hassler 1968a; Bannister 1976). 

These relationships are summarized in Table 7. 

Gibbs and Collette (1959) combined their own data, that of 

Mather which included pompano dolphin, and that in the 

literature (Bonham 1946; Schuck 1951a, b; Morrow 1954; 

Anderson et al. 1956a, b) and stated that in common dolphin up 

to 950 mm in length there appeared to be no apparent difference 

in weight by sex (Fig. 11). Above that size, males were heavier 

than females and weight varied considerably as shown by two 

large males, 1,180 and 1,175 mm FL, which weighed 18.2 and 

13.9 kg, respectively. In the Atlantic, Rose and Hassler (1968a) 

plotted lengths and weights for 176 male and 325 female common dolphins and found males were heavier than females 

throughout their length range (Fig. 12), and this phenomenon 

was most apparent in large fish: a 1,268 mm female weighed 

12.1 kg while a 1,256 mm male weighed 21.6 kg. Beardsley 

(1967) measured 59 dolphin from the Florida Current and found 

the fitted curve indicated that males were heavier than females at 

all lengths down to about 450 mm, the lower limit of the data . 

19 

20 

15 

>- 10 

Q 

Z 

UJ 

=> 

o 

UJ 

a::: 

u... 

n=1 

I n = 121 

X =125 MM 

525 625 725 825 925 1.025 1,1251,2251,325 ~42S L,525 

Figure 9.-Length-frequency distribution of four age groups (e~cluding a~e-group 

0) of common dolphin coUected off Florida (number of nsh rep.--nled IndiCliled 

on ngure) (from Beardsley 1967, ng. 5 and caption). 

1400 

1300 

1200 

1100 

1000 

900 

n:20 

800 

700 

600 n :117 

500 

400 

300 n:593 

o I II III 

AGE GROUP 

Figure 1O.-L~ngtb ciblribulJ n of 

the orth Carolina co""'. Jun. Juh . 

the ran ; lh Ii bl reclAD It rrp 

tan I rep~nl> I .. 0 standard trTO 

borizoollll lin (from R~ and 

n :8 
Figure 11.-Length-weight relationship in Coryphaena (principally C. 

hippurus). Dashed line emphasizes the difference in weight of males 

and females over 1,000 fork length (from Gibbs and CoDette 1959, fig. 

11 and caption). 

f/) 

.0 

40 

30 

10 

FEMALE-. 

HIPPURUS MALE --0 

UNKNOWN-V 

EQUISELIS ----+ 

o 

00 • 

. o 0 •• 

o 

I 

l' 

/ 

• 0 

•• .0 

~o 

o o~ • 0 •• 0.00 

: oyo o ••• g.. 

0°0 • 

00 .. w • -r/ ••• 

o .~-: 

.00 o g ...... 

o .0 .. 

v :+:"'"'" .- ••• 0 

. 

o 

o 

0/ 

/ 

/ o / • 

, . o~ • • 

I. 

0L-JL..J--1--1---1---1--L-L-L-L-L-L~~~~-L--~ 

700 1000 

(i) 

::< 

« 

a: 

c:J 

0 

-' g 

I-

:r: 

W '" 3< 

22 

20 

1B 

16 

14 

12 

10 

B 

6 

4 

2 fo 

0_ Males 

• - Females 

100 200 300 400 500 600 700 BOO 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 

FORK LENGTH (MILLIMETERS) 

Figure 12.-Length-weight relations for male and female dolphin (common). The 

curves represent the calculated weights and the dots the empirical weights (from 

Rose and Hassler 1968a, fig. 1 and caption). 

He also noted that this difference in weight for a given length 

seemed to increase gradually with an increase in length. 

Bannister (1976) plotted lengths and weights for 169 male 

common dolphin and 251 female dolphin captured in the 

400 

20 

FORK LENGTH , mm 

Mediterranean ranging in length from 222 to 545 mm FL. He 

found no obvious trend for males to be heavier than females. 

In Hawaiian waters, Tester and Nakamura (1957) studied 

length-weight relationships of common dolphin (Fig. 13). They 

examined 133 specimens and felt that beyond 68 cm in lengt 

(2.7 kg), males tended to be heavier for a given length th 

females. 

Williams and Newell (1957) plotted lengths and weights for 64 

common dolphin captured in the Indian Ocean and found tha

males were significantly heavier than females at a given length

Hassler and Rainville (footnote 8) determined a length-weight

relationship for larval and fingerling common dolphin grown in 

aquaria. Body weight of dolphin increased exponentially be

tween the 15th and 83d day of growth. This increase i

represented by the expression: 

Log W = 3.4852 log X -2.7358 

where log W = log to the base 10 of the weight in milligram

log X = log to the base 10 of the age in days. 

The length range was from 15 to 107 mm and the weight range 

was from 34 to 9,255 mg. 

Rothschild (1964) and Potthoff (1971) studied pompano 

dolphin in the central Pacific and tropical Atlantic, respectively

and plotted size frequencies (Figs. 14, 15). 
38 

36 

34 

32 

30 

28 o FEMALES 

• MALES 

26 • SEX UNDETERMINED 

2. 

- 22 

'" 0 

z 

5 20 

~ 

.... 

:I: 18 C> 

W 

~ 16 

I. 

12 . . 10 

oLv~---~L-~---L--~~~~ro~~~~~~~~n~~7~6--~OO~~M~~~~~9~2--~%~~~~~~~~~--~~'22 

LENGTH (CENTIMETERS) 

Figure 13.-Weigbt-length relation of dolpbin (common) (from Tester and Nakamura 1957, fig. 9 and caption. Authors' 

note: length is fork length). 

LENGTH FREQUENCY (CM) 

Figure 14.-Length-frequency distribution (FL) of 53 C. equiselis taken in central 

Pacific, January-February 1963 (from Rothschild 1964, fig. 1 and caption). 

4.14 Sub populations 

In the Pacific, Kojima (1966c) stated that because the 

seasonal migrations of common dolphin in the Southern 

Hemisphere show a reverse tendency to that in the Northern 

Hemisphere, there are apparently two stocks of dolphin 

separated by the Equator. 

21 

>-

u 

Z 

w 

::> 

C 

w 

'" .... 

" 

'0 

N=78 

10 ]0 . 0 KI 60 10 .0 90 100 110 110 1]0 1. 0 1~ 130 

STANDARD LENGTH (mm) 

Figure 15.-Size-frequency distribution of Coryphaena equiselis which .. ere attracted to the night light aDd caught in dip net during ATEX aboard the RlV 

Discoverer, February 1969 (from Poll hoff 1971, fig. 3 aDd caption). 

4.3 Natality and recruitment 

4.31 Reproduction rates 

Common dolphin have an extended spawning season, a very 

early age at maturity, a voracious appetite, a cosmopolitan diet, 
and a very short life span (Beardsley 1967; Rose and Hassler 

1968a). These conditions in their life history would indicate a 

high reproductive rate. There is little information on pompano 

dolphin, but one might expect a similar condition. 

4.4 Mortality and morbidity 

4.41 Mortality rates 

Based on age and growth studies by Beardsley (1967) and 

Rose and Hassler (1968a), common dolphin have a very high 

mortality, and maximum life span is probably around 4 yr. 

Beardsley examined 511 dolphin and found that 750/0 were < 1 

yr old and 98% were < 2 yr old. Dolphin are highly cannibalistic 

and also serve as prey to a wide range of ocean predators at all 

stages in their life history. They form close-knit schools and are 

easily caught by both commercial and sport fishing gear. These 

characteristics are not conducive to longevity. 

5 EXPLOITATION 

5.1 Fishing equipment 

5.11 Gears 

Various types of fishing gear are used to capture dolphins. In 

several fishenes such as the "Kannizzati" fishery of Malta 

(Galea 1961), the "Matas" fishery of the Balearic Islands (Cabo 

1961), and the "Shiira-zuke" fishery of Japan (Kojima 1956; 

1960a, b; 1965; 1966a, b, c; 1967), attracting devices such as 

floating bundles of bamboo reeds or cork planks are used to accumulate dolphin before the nets are set. Other fisheries use 

various types of hook and line gear, taking advantage of the 

dolphin's eagerness to strike almost any type of lure and its 

schooling behavior, which on occasion permits catches in 

substantial numbers. 

5.12 Boats 

Vessels used in fishing for dolphins include a wide range of 

sIzes and types powered by both sail and engine. Galea (1961) 

described the vessels used in the "Kannizzati" fishery of Malta, 

and Rybovich (1965) presented a good description of a typical 

sport fishing vessel used in the United States. 

5.2 Fishing areas 

5.21 General geographic distribution 

See section 5.22. 

5.22 Geographic ranges 

Within the distributional range of common dolphin, the areas 

of maximum fishing effort may be correlated with the density of 

the neighboring human population and mayor may not coincide with the areas of greatest density of dolphin. 

Fisheries for common dolphin are located around the edges of 

the continental shelf in most tropical and subtropical areas of 

the world. Important fisheries in the Atlantic are concentrated 

off North Carolina and southeastern Florida, the Bahamas and 

Caribbean, and along the coast of Spain. Other important 

fisheries are located in the Gulf of Mexico, in the Mediterranean 

" 

around Malta, in the Pacific around Hawaii and Japan, an 

along the East African coast in the Indian Ocean. 

5.23 Depth ranges 

Dolphins are caught by both commercial and sport fisheril 

over a wide range of ocean depths. Kojima (1966c), howeve 

noted that dolphins rarely try to escape by diving downwar( 

and that their vertical distribution is probably limited from tt 

surface to about 30 m. 

5.3 Fishing seasons 

5.31 General pattern of seasons 

Dolphins are caught during almost all seasons of the yea 

especially in the tropic zones of the oceans. 

5.32 Dates of beginning, peak, and end of seasons 

The common dolphin fishing season off North Carolina con 

mences in early May and lasts until the end of September (Ro: 

and Hassler 1969). Ninety-nine percent of the catch was land~ 

during June, July, August! and September. In all areas, rna 

imurn catch per offshore day occurred durirIg middle and la 

summer and coincided with the appearance of large schools ( 

young-of-the-year dolphin. Gentle (1977) reported dolphin \yel 

more common in sport catches off southern Florida durir 

March through August than during September throull 

Feburary. Erdman (1956) stated that common dolphin wei 

especially abundant in Puerto Rican waters in January-Marc 

with February and March being peak time. Few are caugl 

during the summer from June to September. In the Gulf ( 

Mexico, dolphin appear from April to December with May ar 

August being peak months (Springer and Pirson 1958). 

In the Mediterranean off Malta, common dolphin appe. 

from August to December (Galea 1961; Bannister 1976), whi 

in the Balearic Islands, they appear in July and August ar 

disappear in October or early November (Cabo 1961). 

Dolphin are taken throughout the year in Hawaiian wate 

but with a peak of availability durirIg the summer montI 

(Tester and Nakamura 1957). Off Japan, the fishing sease 

begins in May and ends in mid-November with a slack perie 

from mid-July to mid-August and a peak from August to tl 

middle of October (Kojima 1955, 1966c). 

The capture of common dolphin in East African waters 

limited to the months of November-June with January-June tt 

main fishing season and March-May appears to be the period ( 

maximum abundance (Williams and Newell 1957). 

5.33 Variations in date and duration of seasons 

Williams and Newell (1957) felt it was most probable that a 

environmental factors contribute in varying degrees to an e; 

planation of the seasonal occurrence of common dolphin sine 

all are interlinked, no one factor being independent of tt 

prevailirIg oceanographic conditions. They noted that the perio 

of maximum abundance of common dolphin off East Afrie 

coincided with the time of high surface temperature and 10 

salinity, that the southeast monsoon season and its variation il 

fluenced plankton growth, and this could also influence the 01 

currence of dolphin while the northern monsoon and i 

associated Sargassum windrows could also contribute. 
7 CULTURE 

Common dolphin appear to be an excellent animal for 

mariculture and in recent years significant advancements have 

been made in holding and rearing both common and pompano 

dolphins. Dolphins are a highly desirable food fish , spawn 

almost all year long, have a rapid growth rate (captive dolphins 

have an even greater growth rate than wild specimens), can be 

harvested in 3-4 mo, and are easy to handle. 

7.1 Procurement of stocks 

In 1972, Hassler and Hogarth (1977) captured juvenile common dolphin off Hatteras, N.C., and held them in pens in 

estuarine waters. The first pen was 3 m square and 1.5 m deep 

and made of plastic-coated screen wire (2.5 cm bar mesh). A 

larger pen was later constructed of 2.5 cm bar stainless-steel 

chain-link fence attached to 15 cm diameter creosoted pilings 

and was 6 x 9 m in area. Plastic-coated fencing extended 2.1 m 

above the water to prevent loss of fish by jumping. Initially, the 

juveniles were fed fresh fish which had been filleted and cut into 

cubes. Later, artificial pelleted food soaked in fish oil was offered . Eventually, the fish fed on unadulterated pellets. Growth 

and food conversions are shown in Table 9. 

In a second experiment in 1972, Hassler and Hogarth (1977) 

captured 21 common dolphin which they held for up to 73 d. 

Gains in weight ranged from 80070 (22 d) to 300% (34 d, see 

Table 10). Average gain in weight for all of the dolphins was 

0.390 kg/wk, and the range was 0.141-0.585 kg/ wk. Fish grew 

rapidly at water temperatures between 23.9 ° and 29.4 °C and 

tolerated sa1inities ranging from 16 to 26 'YooHagood and Rothwell (footnote 6) captured 18 common 

dolphin for broodstock culture in Hawaii. All fish were caught by 

hook and line and ranged in size from 35 to 70 cm FL. Fish that 

were hooked through the mouth or jaw, brought in quickly, and 

placed in temporary holding tanks with minimal handling usually survived capture and transportation. Newly captured fish 

were isolated and treated with either Furacin (2-3 ppm) or 

Furanace (0.5-1 ppm) for 1 h on 3 consecutive days to prevent 

bacterial epizootics. Fish carrying parasitic copepods were 

treated with Dylox (0.25 ppm) for 1 h on 3 consecutive days. 

Water flow in the covered, plastic-lined pools (3.6 m and 7.2 

m diameter) was 20 liters/ min. A water depth of 1 m was adequate. Temperatures ranged from 26.0 ° to 28.5 °C, salinity was 

31 % 0 , and dissolved oxygen was usually at saturation or greater 

because of algal oxygen production (8 ppm). Broodstock diet 

consisted almost exclusively of frozen squid which produced a 

growth rate of 3-4 mm/ d. A gelatin bond supplemental diet 

(55% fresh squid; 18% MR-20, a dry commercial diet; 25% 

water-gelatin; a multivitamin mix; and Furanace at 4 mg/ kg 

fish) was fed three times weekly in place of one-third to one-half 

of the normal squid diet. Fish were fed daily to satiation 

(feeding rate was 5-8% body weight/d). However, small fish 

weighing approximately 2 kg have consumed over 350 g at one 

feeding. 

Adult dolphin were handled with clear plastic net-bags or 

black plastic transfer slings which minimized injury and stress. 

Most mortalities among adult brood stock (60%) were the result 

of management failures, fish jumping out, or fish being stranded when a standpipe came loose. Only one mortality was due to 

parasites and other mortalities were attributed to capture stress 

and injuries and usually occurred shortly after capture. 

Table 9.-Growtb and food con\ er\ion of dolphin. ( "ryphaena hlppuru, 

1970-7 1. adapted from HIl;.\I r and HnRart h (1977). 

Initial Number Final \\elght ~oud Food 

weight of weight gam led \,;on 

(kg) days held (kg) (kg) (kg) "'~Ion 

0.397 32 I 843 1A46 3.969 :!7 

0.397 45 1.956 1.559 6.500 oj 17 

0.397 45 2.126 1.729 6.500 3 6 

0.567 7 0.794 0.227 0.603 2.h 

Total for 1970 4.961 17 '72 354 

1.588 18 3.289 I 701 3.856 2.12n 

2.041 42 5.330 3.289 10.773 327 

2.04 1 42 5.330 3.289 11.539 3 '0 

2.268 48 5.216 2.948 11.226 3.811 

2.268 48 5.556 3.288 12.614 J.83 

Total fo r 197 1 14.515 50.008 J.+l 

'Authors' note: actual value hould be 2.66. 

Table IO.-Growth of dolphin, CorJphaena hippurus, 1972 (from H",,,,le r and 

Hogarth 1977). 

Initial Number Final \\cl~hl 

weight of days ",eight gam 

Sex (kg) held (kg) (kg) 

Female 1.247 73 4.763 3. 1 S 

Female 1.02 1 67 3.402 2 3~ 1 

Male 1.589 45 4.763 J 17, 

Female 1.247 45 4.649 3402 

Male 1.361 45 4.082 ~ 722 

Male 0.907 38 2.893 1 9~7 

Female 0.680 38 2.495 1 14 

Male 0.794 34 3.175 2 35 

Female 0.454 34 1.134 0.61\0 

Female 1.134 34 3.856 2. 22 

Female 1.021 34 3.629 2.61 

Female 1.021 34 3.175 2 1,5 

Female 0.680 3d 2.495 I. 14 

Female 1.134 31 2.041 0907 

Female 0.680 22 2.495 1 814 

Female 0.907 22 2.041 I 134 

Female 0.680 22 1.415 0.'35 

Female 0.680 22 1.474 0-94 

Female 0.680 22 2.041 1 361 

Female 0.907 22 2.041 : 114 

Female 0.680 22 2.041 I 3M 

'Authors' note: actual value should be 2 381 

In later experiments (Hagood et aI. in press), growth rates of 

hatchery spawned and reared common dolphin averaged 1,303,5 

g for the F I generation over a grow-out of 85 d and 1.144 g for 

the F, generation over a grow-out period of 65 d. 

7.3 Spawning 

Soichi (1978) collected 36 common dolphin 35-50 m TL 

during September and October 1975 off the coast of Japan. 

They were kept in a large tank (17 m x 12 m 3.5 m). The 

water temperature was controlled bety, een 22, 0 and 25,4 

Eleven specimens survived to about 1 cm TL y, hen pay, nmg 

behavior was observed . TWenty spawnings occurred from U 

April to 13 July 1976, with spawning ta k.ing pia e at the ter' 

surface by a pair of adults. Fertilized eggs hatched out about 

h after fertilization at 24 0_25 OC After 4 d, the lanae an to 

eat Branchionus plicatllis. but all died ",ithin 9 d after hat hln . 

Hagood and Rothwell (footnote 6) reponed 13 p nm of 

common dolphin from August to December 19;9, and rune 
pompano dolphin spawnings (Table 3). All spawnings occurred 

at night (approximately 03(0). Five of the common dolphin 

spawnings occurred from four fish (two males and two females) 

and three of the fish were > 70 cm FL; the fourth was a 45 cm 

FL female. The pompano dolphin (26.2 cm FL average) spawned in 6ctober and November and produced eggs with multiple 

oil globules. In December, however, three female pompano 

dolphin were placed in a tank with a male common dolphin and 

six spawnings occurred which produced fertilized eggs and 

hatched viable larvae. 

Rearing 

Hassler and Rainville (footnote 8) collected naturally spawned common dolphin eggs in plankton tows made off Miami, 

Fla., in March and April 1974 and off Hatteras, N.C., from 

May to September 1974. Larvae were reared in 38 liter and 76 

liter all-glass aquaria in semistatic and subgravel filtered tanks. 

Water changes of lOOJo /d were done while the dolphin were still 

in the larval form. Anacystis sp. algae were also used to aid in 

water conditioning and removal of waste products. The rearing 

tanks were continuously aerated and illuminated. Larvae were 

initially fed wild zooplankton, and the size of the food organism 

was increased as the dolphin larvae increased in size. By the 25th 

day, they were being fed small mosquito fish, Gambus/Q a/finis 

holbrookii. Temperatures ranged from 24 ° to 29°C and salinity 

was maintained at 35 % 0 • The larvae were successfully reared 

for 83 d. 

Hagood and Rothwell (footnote 6) reared common and pompano dolphin as well as a hybrid cross in Hawaii. Eggs were incubated in 400 liter cylindroconical rearing tanks with continuous water exchange (40 liters/h) and light aeration. Water 

temperatures were 26.5 °-27.5 °C, salinity 30-31 %0, pH 8.1, and 

dissolved oxygen at 7.5-8.3 ppm. Larvae were initially fed 

rotifers, Branchionus plicatilis, cultured in static seawater, and 

fed dry yeast. Rotifers were introduced to larval tanks at 10-15/ 

ml 24 h before larval feeding commenced. The diatom, 

Chaetocerus, was also added at a density of 40-100,000 cells/m!. 

The algae aided in maintaining water quality and also served as a 

food source for rotifers. Artemia nauplii were offered on day 

9-10 at a density of 4-6/ml until day 20 when adult Artemia 

were used. Other foods offered were tubifer worms, copepods, 

mosquito larvae, and small mosquitofish . Partial water changes 

were done from day 10 until the end of the rearing trial. 

Biological filtration was also employed. Descriptions of embryonic development for common and pompano dolphins are 

shown in Tables 4 and 5. 

Hagood et al. (in press) described grow-out experiments on F, 

and F, generations. Grow-out was conducted in circular pools 

varying in diameter from 4.5 to 14.0 m and in depth from 0.7 to 

4.0 m. Grow-out of the F, generation took place between May 

and August and the F, generation between October and 

December. 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

The authors thank Alexander Dragovich, Garbielle Ranallo, 

and Luis Rivas of the National Marine Fisheries Service, Miami 

Laboratory, for assisting in the translations; Jessie Ostroff of 

the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agriculture 

Library, and Roger Cressey of National Marine Fisheries Service, Systematics Laboratory, for assisting in the compilation of 

the parasite information. 

Special thanks go to Bruce Collette of the National Mari 

Fisheries Service, Systematics Laboratory; Randy Hagood 

the Oceanic Institute, Makapuu Point, Waimanalo, Hawa 

Muneo Okiyama of the Ocean Research Institute, University 

Tokyo, Japan; and Shumpei Kojima of the Shimane PrefectUJ 

Fishery Experimental Station, Number 1, Shimane, Japan, f 

their constructive and thorough review of the manuscript. 

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