This social species commonly socializes with Hawaiian spinner dolphins whose similar appearance can make them tricky to tell apart. Key features to look for include spotted patterns on mature individuals and a white-tipped rostrum. Like their spinner dolphin cousins, most feeding takes place at night where they seek out small fish and squid. During the day they have been seen chasing flying fish and encircling schools of small baitfish. In Hawaii, they are typically found in larger groups, averaging sixty individuals, though as many as four hundred have been sighted off the Big Island. A genetically distinct population has been found off the Big Island, where sighting rates peak between 1,500-3,500m depths