The scientific name depends on the species. There are several different species of dolphin split into three different families.
The most familiar dolphin that we see a lot in the media and TV is the Bottlenose Dolphin. The scientific name for Bottlenose Dolphin is tursiops truncatus.
Here is the full list of dolphin species and their scientific names:
Delphinidae family (ocean dolphins)
- Steno bredanensis - rough-toothed dolphin
- Sousa chinensis - Indo-Pacific hump-backed dolphin
- Sousa teuszii - Atlantic hump-backed dolphin
- Sotalia fluviatilis - tucuxi
- Tursiops truncatus - bottlenose dolphin
- Stenella longirostris - spinner dolphin
- Stenella clymene - clymene dolphin
- Stenella frontalis - Atlantic spotted dolphin
- Stenella attenuata - pantropical spotted dolphin
- Stenella coeruleoalba - striped dolphin
- Lagenodelphis hosei - Fraser's dolphin
- Lagenorhynchus albirostris - white-beaked dolphin
- Lagenorhynchus acutus - Atlantic white-sided dolphin
- Lagenorhynchus obliquidens - Pacific white-sided dolphin
- Lagenorhynchus obscurus - dusky dolphin
- Lagenorhynchus australis - Peale's dolphin
- Lagenorhynchus cruciger - hourglass dolphin
- Cephalorhynchus commersonii - Commerson's dolphin
- Cephalorhynchus heavisidii - Heaviside's dolphin
- Cephalorhynchus eutropia - black dolphin
- Cephalorhynchus hectori - Hector's dolphin
- Lissodelphis borealis - northern right whale dolphin
- Lissodelphis peronii - southern right whale dolphin
- Grampus griseus - Risso's dolphin
- Peponocephala electra - melon-headed whale
- Feresa attenuata - pygmy killer whale
- Pseudorca crassidens - false killer whale
- Globicephala melaena - long-finned pilot whale
- Globicephala macrorhynchus - short-finned pilot whale
- Orcinus orca - killer whale
- Orcaella brevirostris - Irrawaddy dolphin
Side note: (Yes, "killer whales" or Orcas are actually large dolphins).Platanistidae family (river dolphins)- Platanista gangetica - Ganges river dolphin
- Platanista minor - Indus river dolphin
- Inia geoffrensis boto - Amazon river dolphin
- Lipotes vexillifer baiji - Yangtze river dolphin
- Pontoporia blainvillei franciscana - La Plata dolphin
Phocoenidae family (porpoises)- Phocoena phocoena - harbor porpoise
- Phocoena sinus - vaquita
- Phocoena dioptrica - spectacled porpoise
- Phocoena spinnipinnis - Burmeister's porpoise
- Neophocaena phocaenoides - finless porpoise
- Phocoenoides dalli - Dall's porpoise
Further reading:Dolphins World - Types of dolphins
Everything Dolphins - Dolphin species
Dolphin Ear - Dolphin species and scientific names
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