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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).
The common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) is the most abundant cetacean in the world, with a global population of about six million. [3] Despite this fact and its vernacular name, the common dolphin is not thought of as the archetypal dolphin, with that distinction belonging to the bottlenose dolphin due to its popular appearances in aquaria and the media.
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).
The northern right whale dolphin (L. borealis) is common in the waters of the temperate North Pacific, though its range does not extend north of the Aleutian Islands or reach as far south as Hawaii; generally, the northern species is found in a band of ocean between Kamchatka (Russian Far East) and Hokkaido and Honshu (), in the west, east to the waters off of British Columbia.
The key distinguishing feature is the dolphin's coloration—a white to pale-yellow patch is found behind the dorsal fin on both sides of the body. [4] The white-sided dolphin's color variations are unique amongst the standard hues of white, grey, black and blue seen on other pelagic cetaceans. [4]
A Pacific white-sided dolphin flips out of the water in the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary off California. These dolphins keep close company. [17] White-sided dolphins swim in groups of 10 to 100, and can often be seen bow-riding and doing somersaults. [6] [18] Members form a close-knit group and will often care for a sick or injured ...
Dolphins avoid orcas by swimming into shallower water. [30] Dusky dolphins are also susceptible to internal parasitism by certain nematode, cestode, and trematode species. [43]: 67 [52] [53] Off Peru, parasites include those of the genera Nasitrema and Anisakis, and Phyllobothrium delphini, Braunina cordiformis, and Pholeter gasterophilus. [52]
In comparison to other dolphin species, the Atlantic spotted dolphin is medium-sized. Newborn calves are about 35–43 in (89–109 cm) long, while adults can reach a length of 2.26 m (7 ft 5 in) and a weight of 140 kg (310 lb) in males, and 2.29 m (7 ft 6 in) and 130 kg (290 lb) in females.