Although most commonly found in offshore waters, some spinner dolphin populations also use nearshore areas. Here they are a great favourite of dolphin watching tours, because of their impressive acrobatics, which include leaps and body slaps, as well as their unique penchant for spinning. They are able to spin on their lateral axis – making up to 7 full rotations in one leap. There are four recognized subspecies of spinner dolphins throughout the species’ tropical range: Gray’s spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris longirostris) which is the most common form distributed throughout the range; the Eastern spinner dolphin (S.l. orientalis) which occurs in the Eastern Tropical Pacific off the coasts of South and Central America; the central American spinner dolphin (S.l. centroamericana), found only in a narrow strip of habitat along the west coast of central America; and the Dwarf spinner dolphin (S.l. roseiventris) which is found only in southeast Asia and northern Australia1,2. There is also a large population of whitebelly spinner dolphins, which are a hybrid form S. l. longirostris X S. l. orientalis.