Blainville’s Beaked Whale vs Clymene Dolphin

Mesoplodon densirostris compared with Stenella clymene

Key Differences

• Blainville’s Beaked Whale is Data Deficient while Clymene Dolphin is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Blainville’s Beaked Whale	Clymene Dolphin
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Mammalia (Mammals)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order same	Cetacea (Whales & Dolphins)	Cetacea (Whales & Dolphins)
Family	Hyperoodontidae	Delphinidae (Oceanic Dolphins)
Genus	Mesoplodon	Stenella
Species	Mesoplodon densirostris	Stenella clymene

Evolutionary Relationship

Blainville’s Beaked Whale and Clymene Dolphin share a common ancestor at the Order level: Cetacea. (Whales & Dolphins)

Conservation Status

Blainville’s Beaked Whale

DD — Data Deficient

Clymene Dolphin

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Blainville’s Beaked Whale	Clymene Dolphin
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Blainville’s Beaked Whale

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Portugal, Sweden, and Taiwan.

Clymene Dolphin

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Norway and Venezuela.

Blainville’s Beaked Whale

The Blainville’s Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon densirostris) is a species in the genus Mesoplodon. It is currently classified as Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Clymene Dolphin

The Clymene dolphin, Stenella clymene, is a small cetacean endemic to the tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean, ranging from the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea south along both the western and eastern Atlantic margins to approximately 20 degrees south latitude. Often called the short-snouted spinner dolphin, it is the only known naturally occurring cetacean hybrid species, believed to have originated through hybridization between the spinner dolphin (S. longirostris) and the striped dolphin (S. coeruleoalba). Clymene dolphins are acrobatic and frequently perform spinning leaps similar to but less elaborate than their spinner relatives. They travel in schools typically ranging from 10 to several hundred individuals, sometimes associating with other dolphin species. The species inhabits deep offshore pelagic waters and is rarely observed close to coastlines. It feeds primarily on fish and cephalopods, foraging at night when mesopelagic prey move into shallower waters. Clymene dolphins measure approximately 1.7–2 meters in length and display a distinctive tripartite pattern of dark cape, lighter grey flanks, and white or pale yellow belly. The species is assessed as Least Concern by the IUCN due to its relatively wide range and no evidence of major population-level threats.