How many Types of Dolphins are There?

Answer:

According to wiki species, there are 38 species of dolphins that belong to the family Delphinidae or oceanic dolphins, plus five species of River Dolphins.

However, a new species was discovered in 2011 giving a new total of 44 species.

Family Delphinidae, oceanic dolphins:

  1. Long-Beaked Common Dolphin, Delphinus capensis
  2. Short-Beaked Common Dolphin, Delphinus delphis
  3. Bottlenose Dolphin, Tursiops truncatus
  4. Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin, Tursiops aduncus
  5. Northern Rightwhale Dolphin, Lissodelphis borealis
  6. Southern Rightwhale Dolphin, Lissiodelphis peronii
  7. Tucuxi, Sotalia fluviatilis
  8. Costero, Sotalia guianensi
  9. Indo-Pacific Hump-backed Dolphin, Sousa chinensis
  10. Chinese White Dolphin (the Chinese variant), Sousa chinensis chinensis
  11. Atlantic Humpbacked Dolphin, Sousa teuszii
  12. Atlantic Spotted Dolphin, Stenella frontalis
  13. Clymene Dolphin, Stenella clymene
  14. Pantropical Spotted Dolphin, Stenella attenuata
  15. Spinner Dolphin, Stenella longirostris
  16. Striped Dolphin, Stenella coeruleoalba
  17. Rough-Toothed Dolphin, Steno bredanensis
  18. Chilean Dolphin, Cephalorhynchus eutropia
  19. Commerson’s Dolphin, Cephalorhynchus commersonii
  20. Heaviside’s Dolphin, Cephalorhynchus heavisidii
  21. Hector’s Dolphin, Cephalorhynchus hectori
  22. Risso’s Dolphin, Grampus griseus
  23. Fraser’s Dolphin, Lagenodelphis hosei
  24. Atlantic White-Sided Dolphin, Lagenorhynchus acutus
  25. Dusky Dolphin, Lagenorhynchus obscurus
  26. Hourglass Dolphin, Lagenorhynchus cruciger
  27. Pacific White-Sided Dolphin, Lagenorhynchus obliquidens
  28. Peale’s Dolphin, Lagenorhynchus australis
  29. White-Beaked Dolphin, Lagenorhynchus albirostris
  30. Australian Snubfin Dolphin, Orcaella heinsohni
  31. Irrawaddy Dolphin, Orcaella brevirostris
  32. Melon-headed Whale, Peponocephala electra
  33. Killer Whale (Orca), Orcinus orca
  34. Pygmy Killer Whale, Feresa attenuata
  35. False Killer Whale, Pseudorca crassidens
  36. Long-finned Pilot Whale, Globicephala melas
  37. Short-finned Pilot Whale, Globicephala macrorhynchus
  38. Guiana dolphin, Sotalia guianensis

River Dolphins

  1. Boto (Amazon River Dolphin), Inia geoffrensis
  2. Chinese River Dolphin (Baiji), Lipotes vexillifer (considered functionally extinct)
  3. Ganges River Dolphin, Platanista gangetica gangetica and Indus River Dolphin, Platanista gangetica minor
  4. La Plata Dolphin (Franciscana), Pontoporia blainvillei
  5. Indus River Dolphin, Platanista gangetica minor

New Species

During 2011, a new species of Dolphin was discovered, adding one to the numbers above: Burrunan Dolphin, Tursiops australis.