 |
Spinner dolphins are one of the most frequently sighted species in the Muscat area |
There are a total of 81 different species of cetaceans in the world. Oman's waters therefore boast over a quarter of all cetaceans! Here is a list of them all along with their IUCN Red List statuses (see key at bottom of page).
|
Spinner dolphins are one of the most frequently sighted species in the Muscat area |
Suborder Mysticeti: Baleen whales
Common Name |
Family Balaenopteridae | Status |
| Blue whale | Balaenoptera musculus | LR:cd |
| Fin whale | Balaenoptera physalus | EN |
| Bryde’s whale | Balaenoptera edeni | DD |
| Minke whale | Balaenoptera acutorostrata | LR:nt |
| Humpback whale | Megaptera novaeangliae | VU/A1ad |
Suborder Odontoceti: Toothed whales and dolphins
Common Name |
Family Physeteridae |
Status |
| Sperm whale | Physeter macrocephalus | VU/A1bd |
| Dwarf sperm whale | Kogia simus | LR:lc |
Common Name |
Family Ziphiidae |
Status |
| Cuvier’s beaked whale | Ziphius cavirostris | DD |
Common Name |
Family Delphinidae |
Status |
| Melon-headed whale | Peponocephala electra | LR:lc |
| Pygmy killer whale | Feresa attenuata | DD |
| False killer whale | Pseudorca crassidens | LR:lc |
| Killer whale | Orcinus orca | LR:cd |
| Rough-toothed dolphin | Steno bredanensis | DD |
| Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin | Sousa chinensis | DD |
| Common dolphin | Delphinus delphis cf tropicalis | LR:lc |
| Bottlenose dolphin | Tursiops truncatus | DD |
| Risso’s dolphin | Grampus griseus | DD |
| Spotted dolphin | Stenella attenuata | LR:cd |
| Striped dolphin | Stenella coeruleoalba | LR:cd |
| Spinner dolphin | Stenella longirostris | LR:cd |
Note: The finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides) occurs in the Arabian Gulf and may stray into waters around the Musandam peninsula. The sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis) and the pilot whale (Globicephala sp.) are additionally reported off Oman, but their occurrence in Arabian waters remains unconfirmed. Fraser’s dolphin (Lagenodelphis hosei) is known from the skeletal remains of one individual found recently near Quriyat.
Classifying cetaceans
The above tables state the scientific names for the whales and dolphins as well as their common names. The science of hierarchical classification is called taxonomy and the following table explains which taxonomic groups the whales and dolphins belong to higher up the hierarchy. Within each Family the first part of the scientific name represents the Genus and the second name the Species.
| Kingdom | Animalia | |
| Phylum | Chordata | |
| Subphylum | Vertebrata | |
| Class | Mammalia | |
| Order | Cetacea | |
| Suborder | Mysticeti | Odonticeti |
| Family | ||
| Genus | ||
| Species | ||
A guide to all these cetaceans can be found at:
Note: Only categories referenced on this page are described. For a full explanation visit the IUCN Red List web site.