Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Why the mammal and the fish were both called "dolphin" is uncertain, but theories include that dolphinfish communicate using high-pitched sounds similar to a dolphin, and they are about the size of a small dolphin, [2] or due to dorado (Spanish for "golden") having been purportedly used historically in Spanish for both dolphins (normally ...
A common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the clade Odontoceti (toothed whale).Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the brackish dolphins), and possibly extinct Lipotidae (baiji or Chinese river dolphin).
Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus) is a marine mammal and dolphin, the only species of the genus Grampus.Some of the most closely related species to these dolphins include: pilot whales (Globicephala spp.), pygmy killer whales (Feresa attenuata), melon-headed whales (Peponocephala electra), and false killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens). [5]
Coralling is a method where dolphins chase fish into shallow water to catch them more easily. [63] Orcas and bottlenose dolphins have also been known to drive their prey onto a beach to feed on it, a behaviour known as beach or strand feeding. [64] [65] The shape of the snout may correlate with tooth number and thus feeding mechanisms.
In southern right whale dolphins (Lissodelphis peronii), the white patch extends higher on the posterior flanks and head. Calves, which are born initially creamy-dark grey or brown, attain adult colouring by the age of one year. [7] The beak of northern right whale dolphins is short and well-defined, characterised by a straight mouthline.
Dolphins are mentioned far more often than whales. Aristotle discusses the sacred animals of the Greeks in his Historia Animalium. The Greeks admired the dolphin as a "king of the aquatic animals" and referred to them erroneously as fish. Dolphins appear in Greek mythology. Because of their intelligence, they rescued multiple people from drowning.
Mammals evolved on land, so all aquatic and semiaquatic mammals have brought many terrestrial adaptations into the waters. They do not breathe underwater as fish do, so their respiratory systems had to protect the body from the surrounding water; valvular nostrils and an intranarial larynx exclude water while
Oceanic dolphins or Delphinidae are a widely distributed family of dolphins that live in the sea.Close to forty extant species are recognised. They include several big species whose common names contain "whale" rather than "dolphin", such as the Globicephalinae (round-headed whales, which include the false killer whale and pilot whale).