Circled Milkcap vs Clymene Dolphin

Lactarius circellatus compared with Stenella clymene

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Circled Milkcap	Clymene Dolphin
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Russulales (Russulales)	Cetacea (Whales & Dolphins)
Family	Russulaceae	Delphinidae (Oceanic Dolphins)
Genus	Lactarius	Stenella
Species	Lactarius circellatus	Stenella clymene

Conservation Status

Circled Milkcap

LC — Least Concern

Clymene Dolphin

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Circled Milkcap	Clymene Dolphin
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Circled Milkcap

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and United States.

Clymene Dolphin

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Norway and Venezuela.

Circled Milkcap

The Circled Milkcap (Lactarius circellatus) is a species in the genus Lactarius. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil 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.