The spinner dolphin is usually less than 2m in length, with a long, slender beak. The dark black back and top of the head are separated from the distinct white belly by a broad grey flank band. The dorsal fin is relatively small and tends to have a darker trailing edge. Look out too, for the black-tipped beak, which is a diagnostic feature.
Spinner dolphins can offer hours of fun.
They will frequently bowride, mounting spectacular displays of leaping, spinning and somersaulting. Their habit of leaping up to three metres in the air and spinning like a barrel, before slapping back down into the water, sets them apart from all other species and gives this dolphin its common name. Spinners often school in large numbers, groups of over 300 having been seen in UAE waters. Spinner dolphins live well offshore in deep water, where they feed on small fishes, relying on speed, agility and social cooperation to hunt. The spinner dolphin's presence in the Arabian Gulf was first evidenced by skulls found on UAE offshore islands in 1995.