A striking and intriguing member of the dolphin family, found in temperate and tropical waters around the world, particularly along continental slopes where deep waters meet the shore. One of their most distinctive features is the blunt, beak-less head and the tall, sickle-shaped dorsal fin. But perhaps the most visible and unique trait is their heavily scarred bodies: young dolphins begin life with smooth, dark grey skin, yet as they age they accumulate countless white rake-like marks and scratches—so much so that older individuals may appear almost entirely pale or silvery. These scars come from encounters with prey, fights with other Risso’s dolphins, or even collisions with squid prey and parasites.
Risso’s dolphins are specialist feeders on cephalopods—especially squid—and this diet drives much of their behaviour, physiology, and habitat choice. Because squid often migrate vertically through the water column at night, Risso’s dolphins make deep dives, sometimes hundreds of metres, in search of these prey items. Despite their offshore habits, they are social and engage in a variety of behaviours: they may breach, tail-slap, spy-hop (raise their heads vertically from the water), or swim alongside boats. Pods may range from small groups of a dozen to dozens, and clustering together may help in hunting, defence, and social interaction. One remarkable behaviour is their willingness to interact with other species of dolphins, and hybridisation between Risso’s dolphins and common bottlenose dolphins has been documented in both the wild and captivity.
Unlike many dolphin species, Risso’s dolphins have no teeth in their upper jaw and only a few pairs (two to seven) in the lower jaw—an unusual dental arrangement likely linked to their squid-eating lifestyle. The lack of upper teeth may help them swallow prey more efficiently while relying on suction or biting rather than chewing. Over time, the many small bites, scratches and abrasions from hunting large squids or interacting with colleagues mark their bodies, turning them from dark grey in youth to a mottled, almost white appearance in old age.
Distribution
Atlantic Ocean
Indian ocean
Pacific ocean
Black sea
Japan Sea
Mediterranean Sea
Gulf of California
Gulf of Mexico
Albania
Algeria
American Samoa
Angola
Anguilla
Antigua & Barbuda
Argentina
Aruba
Australia
Bahamas
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bermuda
Bonaire Sint Eustatius And Saba
Bosnia And Herz.
Brazil
British Indian T.
British Virgin Is.
Brunei
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Cape Verde
Cayman Islands
Chile
China
Christmas Island
Cocos Is. (Keeling)
Colombia
Comoros
Congo-Brazzaville
Cook Islands
Costa Rica
Croatia
Cuba
Curaçao
Cyprus
Côte D’ivoire
DR Congo (Kinshasa)
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
East Timor
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Fiji
France
French Guiana
French Polynesia
French Southern T.
Gabon
Gambia
Germany
Ghana
Gibraltar
Greece
Grenada
Guadeloupe
Guam
Guatemala
Guernsey
Guinea-Bissau
Guinea
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Hong Kong
India
Indonesia
Iran
Ireland
Isle Of Man
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Jersey
Jordan
Kenya
Kiribati
Korea
Lebanon
Liberia
Madagascar
Malaysia
Maldives
Malta
Marshall Islands
Martinique
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mayotte
Mexico
Micronesia
Monaco
Montenegro
Montserrat
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Nauru
Netherlands
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Nigeria
Niue
Nort. Mariana Is.
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Palau
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Peru
Philippines
Pitcairn
Portugal
Puerto Rico
Qatar
Russia
Saint Lucia
Saint Martin
Saint Pierre
Saint Vincent
Samoa
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Sint Maarten
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
Spain
Sri Lanka
St. Kitts & Nevis
Sudan
Suriname
Sweden
Syria
São Tomé & Príncipe
Taiwan
Tanzania
Thailand
Togo
Tonga
Trinidad & Tobago
Tunisia
Turks & Caicos
Tuvalu
Turkey
UAE
US Virgin Islands
United Kingdom
US Minor Is.
United States
Uruguay
Vanuatu
Venezuela
Vietnam
Wallis & Futuna
YemenAnything we've missed?
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Suggest an editGet to know me
Terrestrial / Aquatic
Altricial / Precocial
Polygamous / Monogamous
Dimorphic (size) / Monomorphic
Active: Diurnal / Nocturnal
Social behavior: Solitary / Pack / Pod
Diet: Carnivore / Herbivore / Omnivore / Piscivorous / Insectivore
Migratory: Yes / No
Domesticated: Yes / No
Dangerous: Yes / No
