Delphinoidea

Delphinoidea; Temporal range: 28–0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Oligocene to Recent
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Infraorder:	Cetacea
Parvorder:	Odontoceti
Clade:	Delphinida
Superfamily:	Delphinoidea ; Flower, 1865
Families
	See text

Last updated September 30, 2025

Delphinoidea are the largest group of toothed whales, including 66 genera in 6 families. The largest living member of the superfamily is the orca, which can reach 6 tons, while the smallest is the vaquita.

Taxonomy

Delphinoidea is a very diverse clade. It includes all extant oceanic dolphins, as well as various extinct species, like the unique Odobenocetops .^[2] The three extant families within Delphinoidea are Delphinidae (oceanic dolphins), Monodontidae (beluga and narwhal) and Phocoenidae (porpoises).^[3]

Based on McGowen et al., 2019^[4]

Superfamily Delphinoidea

Family †Albireonidae

Genus Albireo

Family Delphinidae

Subfamily Delphininae

Genus Delphinus

Genus Lagenodelphis

Genus Sotalia

Genus Sousa

Genus Stenella

Genus Tursiops

Subfamily Globicephalinae

Genus † Astadelphis

Genus Feresa

Genus Globicephala

Genus Grampus

Genus Orcaella

Genus Peponocephala

Genus Pseudorca

Genus Steno

Subfamily Lissodelphininae

Genus Cephalorhynchus

Genus Lissodelphis

Subfamily Orcininae

Genus † Arimidelphis

Genus † Eodelphinus

Genus † Hemisyntrachelus

Genus Orcinus

Subfamily incertae sedis

Genus † Australodelphis

Genus † Etruridelphis

Genus Lagenorhynchus

Genus † Sinanodelphis

Family †Kentriodontidae

Subfamily Kentriodontinae

Genus Belonodelphis

Genus Delphinodon

Genus Heterodelphis

Genus Incacetus ?

Genus Kentriodon

Genus Lamprolithax

Genus Loxolithax

Genus Macrokentriodon

Genus Microphocaena

Genus Rudicetus

Genus Tagicetus

Subfamily Lophocetinae

Genus Hadrodelphis

Genus Liolithax

Genus Lophocetus

Genus Platyvercus ^[5]

Subfamily Pithanodelphininae?

Genus Atocetus ?

Genus Leptodelphis ?

Genus Pithanodelphis ?

Genus Sarmatodelphis ?

Genus Sophianacetus ?

Subfamily Kampholophinae?

Genus Kampholophos ?

Family Monodontidae

Subfamily Delphinapterinae

Genus † Bohaskaia

Genus Delphinapterus

Genus † Denebola

Subfamily Monodontinae

Genus Monodon

Family † Odobenocetopsidae

Genus Odobenocetops

Family Phocoenidae

Genus † Archaeophocaena

Genus † Australithax

Genus † Brabocetus

Genus † Haborophocoena

Genus † Lomacetus

Genus † Miophocaena

Genus Neophocaena

Genus † Numataphocoena

Genus Phocoena

Genus Phocoenoides

Genus † Piscolithax

Genus † Pterophocaena

Genus † Salumiphocaena

Genus † Semirostrum

Genus † Septemtriocetus

Familia incertae sedis

Genus † Graamocetus

Genus † Miodelphis

Genus † Nannolithax

Genus † Oedolithax

Genus † Palaeophocaena

Genus † Platylithax

Genus † Protodelphinus

References

↑ The Paleobiology Database
↑ Muizon, Christian de; Domning, Daryl P. (2002). "The anatomy of Odobenocetops (Delphinoidea, Mammalia), the walrus-like dolphin from the Pliocene of Peru and its palaeobiological implications". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 134 (4): 423–452. doi:10.1046/j.1096-3642.2002.00015.x. ISSN 1096-3642.
↑ Westbury, Michael V.; Cabrera, Andrea A.; Rey-Iglesia, Alba; De Cahsan, Binia; Duchêne, David A.; Hartmann, Stefanie; Lorenzen, Eline D. (September 2023). "A genomic assessment of the marine-speciation paradox within the toothed whale superfamily Delphinoidea". Molecular Ecology. 32 (17): 4829–4843. Bibcode:2023MolEc..32.4829W. doi: 10.1111/mec.17069 . ISSN 0962-1083. PMID 37448145.
↑ McGowen, Michael R; Tsagkogeorga, Georgia; Álvarez-Carretero, Sandra; dos Reis, Mario; Struebig, Monika; Deaville, Robert; Jepson, Paul D; Jarman, Simon; Polanowski, Andrea; Morin, Phillip A; Rossiter, Stephen J (2019-10-21). "Phylogenomic Resolution of the Cetacean Tree of Life Using Target Sequence Capture". Systematic Biology. 69 (3): 479–501. doi:10.1093/sysbio/syz068. ISSN 1063-5157. PMC 7164366 . PMID 31633766.
↑ Guo, Z.; Kohno, N. (February 2023). "An Early Miocene kentriodontoid (Cetacea: Odontoceti) from the western North Pacific, and its implications for their phylogeny and paleobiogeography". PLOS ONE. 18 (2) e0280218. Bibcode:2023PLoSO..1880218G. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0280218 . PMC 9931143 . PMID 36791148.

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[TPBDB-1] The Paleobiology Database

[2] Muizon, Christian de; Domning, Daryl P. (2002). "The anatomy of Odobenocetops (Delphinoidea, Mammalia), the walrus-like dolphin from the Pliocene of Peru and its palaeobiological implications". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 134 (4): 423–452. doi:10.1046/j.1096-3642.2002.00015.x. ISSN 1096-3642.

[3] Westbury, Michael V.; Cabrera, Andrea A.; Rey-Iglesia, Alba; De Cahsan, Binia; Duchêne, David A.; Hartmann, Stefanie; Lorenzen, Eline D. (September 2023). "A genomic assessment of the marine-speciation paradox within the toothed whale superfamily Delphinoidea". Molecular Ecology. 32 (17): 4829–4843. Bibcode:2023MolEc..32.4829W. doi: 10.1111/mec.17069 . ISSN 0962-1083. PMID 37448145.

[4] McGowen, Michael R; Tsagkogeorga, Georgia; Álvarez-Carretero, Sandra; dos Reis, Mario; Struebig, Monika; Deaville, Robert; Jepson, Paul D; Jarman, Simon; Polanowski, Andrea; Morin, Phillip A; Rossiter, Stephen J (2019-10-21). "Phylogenomic Resolution of the Cetacean Tree of Life Using Target Sequence Capture". Systematic Biology. 69 (3): 479–501. doi:10.1093/sysbio/syz068. ISSN 1063-5157. PMC 7164366 . PMID 31633766.

[Guo2023-5] Guo, Z.; Kohno, N. (February 2023). "An Early Miocene kentriodontoid (Cetacea: Odontoceti) from the western North Pacific, and its implications for their phylogeny and paleobiogeography". PLOS ONE. 18 (2) e0280218. Bibcode:2023PLoSO..1880218G. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0280218 . PMC 9931143 . PMID 36791148.

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