Are there two types of bottlenose dolphins in the Mediterranean Sea?

The Mediterranean Sea was thought to have two distinct ecotypes of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus): pelagic and coastal. However, this study showed a preference of this species for waters situated before the continental shelf boundary, meaning only the coastal ecotype is present.

Bellingeri, M., Nebuloni, A., La Manna, G., Akkaya, A., Alessi, J., Arcangeli, A., Ascheri, D., Awbery, T., Azzinari, G., Azzinari, C., Azzolin, M., Bacchetta, M., Amer, I. B., Buscaino, G., Calogero, G., Campana, I., Canadas, A. M., Carlucci, R., Castelli, A., . . . Gnone, G. (2025). Investigating the presence of different bottlenose dolphin ecotypes in the mediterranean sea. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 5526. https://10.1038/s41598-025-88605-0