An encounter with two rarely seen dolphin species off the coast of Port Macquarie

What happened: Port Macquarie’s Jodie Lowe has been photographing whales and dolphins since 2012. Last month, she captured a special sight: pods of Pantropical Spotted Dolphins and Risso’s Dolphins.

The Pantropical Spotted Dolphin sighting was a first for the marine animal photographer, and it was the first time Lowe had seen Risso’s Dolphins in Australian waters.

About the dolphins: Risso’s Dolphins are blunt-headed animals without a distinct beak and have a deep crease that runs up the forehead. What really stands out is the squiggly scarring on their skin.

• “The white markings on their bodies are scarring from teeth raking, often a result of social interactions and conflicts with other Risso's,” Lowe said.

• “They were super relaxed around us, lifting their heads up high to take in their surroundings.”

Pantro-what-ical? The slender, streamlined Pantropical Spotted Dolphins are born without their distinct spots - that look almost like sparkles – and develop them later in their adulthood.

• Pantropical Spotted Dolphins are often seen with other dolphins and, on January 29, they were spotted swimming alongside a pod of Risso’s in waters off Port Macquarie.

Lowe described them as “much smaller in comparison”.

The maximum weight of Pantropical Spotted Dolphins is 119 kg while Risso’s can weigh more than 230kg.

Pantropical Spotted Dolphins can swim rapidly and are often very acrobatic, leaping high into the air; something Lowe was lucky enough to not only see, but capture.

According to the NSW Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW), both species are not well surveyed in Australian waters with limited sighting data recorded and there is no reliable estimate for population numbers in Australia.