Iceland is to the north of the main range of the short-beaked common dolphin in the North Atlantic Ocean. The species, however, is occasionally seen off the west coast of Iceland.

Their numbers in certain areas indicate that the species may be the most common cetacean species in the world. Over 3 million are believed to be in the tropical seas of the Pacific Ocean.

The common dolphin generally makes short dives to shallow depths of 5–30 metres but can dive to 200 m. They seldom dive more than 3 minutes at a time, although they have been observed to dive for up to 8 minutes.

Short-beaked common dolphins are fairly slim and are the smallest of the dolphin species found in Icelandic coastal waters. The body is cylindrical and narrows toward the tail.

The short-beaked common dolphin can often be found with other dolphin species as well as in the company of larger whales such as blue whales, fin whales and humpback whales.