Family: Coryphaenidae, DOLPHINS Coryphaena hippurus
Description: bright greenish blue above, yellow on sides, with capability of flashing purple, chartreuse, and a wide range of other colors; body tapers sharply from head to tail; irregular blue or golden blotches scattered over sides; anterior profile of head on adult males is nearly vertical; head of females more sloping; the single dark dorsal fin extends from just behind the head to the tail; anal fin margin concave and extending from anus to tail.
Similar Fish: pompano dolphin, C. equisetis. The pompano dolphin has squarish tooth patch on tongue (oval tooth patch on dolphin) and fewer dorsal rays (48 to 55 versus 55 to 65 on dolphin).
Where found: OFFSHORE in warm waters.
Size: common to 30 pounds.
Pompano Dolphin
Numerous fishermen have inquired about how to recognize the pompano dolphin. The first difference is that the pompano is more oceanic, occurring farther at sea than the common dolphin. It is commonly found around Bermuda and off the eastern Caribbean Islands. The pompano dolphin was formerly thought to comprise a large portion of the harvest in the Gulf of Mexico but little data is available to support this theory.
The pompano dolphin is smaller than the common dolphin, and seldom exceeds 10 pounds in weight. It has a much
deeper body with the greatest depth occurring at the middle of the body. The
common dolphin has its greatest body depth just behind the head. The pompano’s
dorsal fin (along the back) contains 48 to 55 supporting fin rays while the
common’s dorsal fin has 55 to 65 rays. Differences can also be found in the
shape of the tooth patch on the tongue.
LINK: Pompano Dolphin research and photos!