There are 43 species of dolphins found in the world. There are 38 marine dolphins, and 5 river dolphins. They live mainly in saltwater such as the oceans but some of them live in freshwater and they are able to do very well there. They tend to live in the shallow water by the coast and they tend to live in warmer locations. The name dolphin comes from the word womb, and it is believed to be the Greek saying for fish with a womb.
You may hear dolphins referred to by various names. The young are called calves and the female adults are cows. The male adults are bulls and a group of them is often called a pod. Sometimes, you may hear them referred to as a school. There are plenty of differences among the species of dolphins and that is why they have been broken down in to various categories.
Dolphin Species
Bottlenose Dolphin
Spinner Dolphin
Striped Dolphin
Chinese White Dolphin
Atlantic Spotted Dolphin
Clymene Dolphin
Commerson's Dolphin
Common Dolphin
Dusky Dolphin
Fraser's Dolphin
Hector's Dolphin
Indo Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin
Pacific White Sided Dolphin
Pantropical Spotted Dolphin
Risso's Dolphin
Rough Toothed Dolphin
Irrawaddy Dolphin
Pilot Whale
Killer Whale
River Dolphins
Dolphins Species
The distinctive populations of them stem from the DNA code. What has been noted is that the different species have vary different codes which sets them apart from each other far more than researchers had originally believed. The DNA code is how a discovery was made that identified a separate species of dolphin than what had been looked at before.
In 2011, a new dolphin's species was found in Big City Harbor around Australia. The Burrunan Dolphin is believed to be only in two areas at this time. There are about 100 of them in Port Phillip Bay around Melbourne and about 50 more of them in the coastal lakes of Gippsland which is about 100 miles away.
Studies also indicate that there are differences among the species of dolphins in terms of their skull size and design. When they are looked at closely, there are slight variations that have been noted. There are some other differences too including some having a curved dorsal fin instead of straight and changes to the snout. Here is some information about some of the commonly known species. It can be an interesting though to take one at a time and learn more about them.
The type of dolphin you will see in a given area depends on environmental factors such as enough food and the temperature. The time of year also is a factor due to the heavy migrational efforts of most dolphins. Perhaps the most common of all dolphins is the Bottlenose Dolphin. This is the one you often see in books, movies, and when you visit an aquarium. They are very intelligent, easy to train, and they are more likely to approach humans in the wild than other species.
River Dolphins live in freshwater, and they are found in a variety of rivers around South America and Asia. They are smaller than most dolphins, with an average size of about 8 feet when fully mature. They can be various colors too including brown, gray, or black.
The Roughed Tooth Dolphin is harder to spot out there in bodies of water because they prefer the deeper locations. They can weigh about 350 pounds and measure about 8 ½ feet long. They have a small head and feature a long beak. They are also lacking the common crease on the melon that other dolphins have.
The square shaded head of the Risso Dolphin is a telling sign of what species you are seeing. They don't have any teeth in the upper jaw but they have several peg like teeth on the bottom jaw. They are frequently found in captivity on display because they thrive in such an environment.
The Striped Dolphin gets its name from the blue and white stripes on the body. This species is believed to have the highest population as well as the biggest overall distribution of that population. If you want to be impressed by acrobatics, check out the Spinner Dolphin. People love to see them perform both in the wild and when they have been trained in captivity.
The Common Dolphin is very simple in design, but also very respected in the early cultures. Researchers have found items from the Ancient Greek and Roman times. The Dusky Dolphins tend to live in water that is cooler than the temperatures for other species of dolphins. They can be found along the coastal regions as well.
The Killer Whale is believed to be the most powerful of the dolphins due to their size and their strength. They can take down seals effortlessly which is important due to the significant volume of food that they can consume on a daily basis. The Pilot Whale can weigh up to 5,000 pounds and be up to 24 feet long. They are believed to be the most social of the dolphin species. They are also very vulnerable to pollution in their habitat
