Tamanend's Bottlenose Dolphin

Tamanend's Bottlenose Dolphin

Tursiops erebennus

Silhouette: Chris huh · PhyloPic

Endemic
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Miami

In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%

36 Verified sightings at Miami
169 In all 2 parks From 2019 to 2026
December Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Tamanend's Bottlenose Dolphin

Tamanend's bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops erebennus) is a species of bottlenose dolphin that inhabits coastal waters in the eastern United States. This species was previously considered a nearshore variant of the common bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus.

Tursiops erebennus was first described by Edward Drinker Cope as Delphinus erebennus in 1865. The type specimen was collected from a fisherman's seine net at the Red Bank community in West Deptford Township, New Jersey. Cope identified various physical differences between T. erebennus and T. truncatus (then known as Delphinus tursio), including a smaller size, fewer vertebrae, and fewer ribs in T. erebennus. However, T. erebennus was subsequently synonymized with T. truncatus. Future studies and stock assessments instead recognized dolphins in the region as belonging to two T. truncatus ecotypes: a nearshore coastal type and an offshore type. Genetic analyses suggested that the nearshore ecotype was genetically distinct. Costa et al. (2022) compared the morphology, mitochondrial DNA, and nuclear DNA of the nearshore and offshore T. truncatus ecotypes in the western North Atlantic. They found considerable differences... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge 🇺🇸 United States
~30%
2 Everglades National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Miami 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
2 New York City 🇺🇸 United States
<5%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Theater of the Sea 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
2 Miami Seaquarium 🇺🇸 United States In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Tamanend's Bottlenose Dolphin in Miami?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Tamanend's Bottlenose Dolphin sighting in Miami on a given day, based on 36 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 10th most-seen of the 19 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Tamanend's Bottlenose Dolphin in Miami?

December

In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Tamanend's Bottlenose Dolphin in Miami on a given day, against under 5% in January to November, the lowest months. That is one of Miami's driest months, with about 50 mm of rain against 190 mm in June.

What time of day is best to see a Tamanend's Bottlenose Dolphin?

Between 10 am and 1 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Tamanend's Bottlenose Dolphin sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Miami the best place to see a Tamanend's Bottlenose Dolphin?

Yes

Of the 2 cities where we can rate Tamanend's Bottlenose Dolphin sightings, Miami has the highest daily chance: under 5%. Next come New York City (United States, under 5%).

Where does the Tamanend's Bottlenose Dolphin sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Tamanend's Bottlenose Dolphin is recorded against all the mammals logged in Miami (36 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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