Among dolphins, the bottlenose dolphin and Risso’s dolphin share the title of heaviest, both reaching 500 kg. Fraser’s dolphin ranks second at 210 kg, while the common dolphin is the lightest at just 135 kg. Compared to Odontoceti whales, dolphins are considerably smaller, but the size variation within the group is equally significant — the bottlenose dolphin weighs almost four times more than the common dolphin.
Chart Data Table
Species
Maximum weight (kg)
Atlantic spotted dolphin
143
Bottlenose dolphin
500
Common dolphin
135
Fraser’s dolphin
210
Risso’s dolphin
500
Rough-toothed dolphin
160
Striped dolphin
160
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Meta title (≤60 chars): Dolphin Maximum Weight by Species | Madeira Whale Watching (60 chars)
Meta description (≤155–160 chars): How much do dolphins weigh? Compare maximum weight across 7 species, from the 135kg common dolphin to the 500kg bottlenose and Risso's dolphins. (147 chars)
References (with hyperlinked sources)
Silva, M. A., Chevallard, P., & Pérez-Jorge, S. (2022). Atlantic Spotted Dolphin Stenella frontalis. In Handbook of the Mammals of Europe. Springer International Publishing. (no public DOI/URL found)
Perrin, W. F. (2009). Atlantic spotted dolphin: Stenella frontalis. In Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals (pp. 54–56). Academic Press. (no public DOI/URL found)
Barratclough, A. et al. (2023). How to estimate age of old bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Frontiers in Marine Science, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1135521
Perrin, W. F. (2018). Common Dolphin: Delphinus delphis. In Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals (pp. 205–209). Academic Press. (no public DOI/URL found)
Hartman, K. L. (2018). Risso’s dolphin, Grampus griseus. In Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals (3rd ed., pp. 824–827). Elsevier. (no public DOI/URL found)
Baird, R. W. (2009). Risso’s dolphin Grampus griseus. In Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals (2nd ed., pp. 975–976). Academic Press. (no public DOI/URL found)
Louella, M. & Dolar, L. (2009). Fraser’s Dolphin, Lagenodelphis hosei. Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals (2nd ed.), pp. 469–471. (no public DOI/URL found)
Kerem, D. (2022). Rough-toothed dolphin Steno bredanensis. In Handbook of the Mammals of Europe. Springer International Publishing. (no public DOI/URL found)
Roca-Monge, K. et al. (2022). Age and Sexual Maturity Estimation of Stranded Striped Dolphins. Oceans, 3, 494–508. https://doi.org/10.3390/oceans3040033
MBM (2021). Fichas de identificação de cetáceos no Arquipélago da Madeira. 66p. (no public URL — recurring, per tracker)
Freitas, L., Dinis, A., Alves, F., Nóbrega, F. (2004). Cetáceos No Arquipélago Da Madeira. Museu da Baleia, Funchal. (no public URL — recurring, per tracker)