Common-dolphin

Slender dolphin reaching approx. 2,3 metres of maximum length.  Its dorsal colour is black with both flanks displaying an ochre or light-brown coloured patch reaching half of the body. The posterior half exhibits a grey colour and the ventral side is white. The colour pattern is "X" or hourglass-shaped in both lateral sides. This cetacean has a long beak comprising 40 to 50 conical teeth per hemi-maxilla. Common dolphins display a complex social behaviour and, in Portugal, they feed mostly on sardine (Sardina pilchardus) among other small pelagic fish. Its distribution and frequency of occurrence make it the most abundant cetacean in mainland Portugal. Records from last decades highlight this species as reoccurring in strandings from North to South of the country.