dolphin

Animals

2022

We explain everything about dolphins, where they live, what they feed on and how they reproduce. Also, what types of dolphins exist.

The dolphin is one of the most intelligent animals on the planet.

What are dolphins?

Dolphins are mammals aquatic life cetaceans, inhabitants of seas and rivers depending on the species, which are among the species smartest animals on the planet.

In general, when we think of dolphins we refer to the 37 species that make up the oceanic variant (of the family delphinidae), who inhabit the maritime surface and maintain frequent and friendly relations with the human being, despite the fact that they are often accidental victims of their commercial and fishing activities.

Dolphins are, from a zoological point of view, little more than toothed whales, that is, marine mammals that returned from the mainland to marine life, sometime in the Miocene, 23 million years ago, when they presented the necessary adaptations evolutionary for it. It is thought that the common ancestor between dolphins and land-based animals was a species of artiodactyls, that is, prehistoric hippos.

In most of the cultures dolphins are considered friendly and intelligent. In fact, they are sociable animals, perfectly trainable, that nowadays are a regular part of shows and water parks.

Its presence in ancient mythological accounts is common in maritime cultures, such as the Greek, in which it was said that they had been pirates, transformed into fish by the god Dionysus after they tried to sell him as a slave. In his depictions of Poseidon, god of the seas, he is often surrounded by seahorses and dolphins.

Dolphin characteristics

Dolphins can form groups of up to 1,000 individuals.

Broadly speaking, dolphins are characterized by the following:

  • They are mammals of aquatic life, that is, they have a body adapted to water (with fins instead of legs), but at the same time they breathe air and have warm blood. They are not fish.
  • They have a torpedo-shaped body, ideal for swimming at high speeds, which begins with a thin and serrated snout, and ends with a powerful tail that has a caudal fin, with which it propels itself.
  • Its skin is gray-blue, darker on the back and lighter on the belly, free of any form of fur. Different species may have characteristic colored spots and lines.
  • They have a large brain, with a highly developed cerebral cortex, compared to the average of mammals, which allows complex social interaction: playing, communicating, teaching their young, cooperating, planning and suffering.
  • Since they are capable of establishing strong social ties, they can be found in large groups of up to 1,000 individuals, where the sick are cared for and cared for.
  • They manage a complex echolocation system, emitting sounds in a burst to perceive the echoes that are returned, like a radar. In this way they can perceive potential prey and monitor the environment around them. For this they have an organ called "melon" in their heads.
  • Dolphins are capable of vocalizing a very wide range of sounds, such as hisses and clicks.

Where do the dolphins live?

Dolphins prefer the warm waters of the tropics.

Dolphins commonly inhabit the shallow regions of seas, rivers, and lakes, depending on the family and the species. They make their entire lives in the water, without the need to venture onto dry land, and they always prefer the warm waters of the tropics and regions surrounding.

What do dolphins eat?

Dolphins are intelligent hunters who isolate their prey from the shoal.

Dolphins are carnivores, and their diet consists of small fish and squid. They are intelligent hunters, who have very varied strategies to isolate their prey from the shoal or to ambush them.

How do dolphins reproduce?

As with mammals in general, the reproduction of the dolphins is sexual and of type viviparous, with fertilization internal of the female by the male.

Intercourse occurs from the front, lasts little and is repeated several times, after a courtship in which the male plays striking sounds for the female, swimming around her. The gestation of dolphins lasts about a year, although in some species it can last a year and a half, and in the end there is only one calf per birth.

How long do dolphins live?

The life expectancy of dolphins can be around 20 and 30 years, and extend further under ideal conditions of captivity. In the wild, this species does not have great predators or threats.

However, they are threatened by humans, due to the environmental pollution by pesticides, heavy metals and plastics, or bycatch amid shoals of commercial fish (such as tuna). There are also some countries in which the dolphin is part of the gastronomy traditional, as in Japan and the Faroe Islands.

Types of dolphins

Oceanic dolphins interact with humans.

There are two “types” of dolphins, with different habitats and different characteristics, since they are two different superfamilies, each one comprising a different set of species:

  • Oceanic dolphins or dolphins, typical sea dolphins, coastal inhabitants that interact a lot with humans, like the common dolphin in the movies.
  • River dolphins or platanistoids, inhabitants of estuaries and rivers, with a long trunk (almost 60 cm) and smaller body size, such as the dolphin or Amazon dolphin.
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