Guidelines

What are the characteristics of the family Delphinidae?

What are the characteristics of the family Delphinidae?

The Delphinidae are generally fast, streamlined animals with a pronounced beak, or rostrum. Dolphins have cone-shaped teeth, an important characteristic that distinguishes them from porpoises. They have one blowhole, which distinguishes them from baleen whales, which have a pair of blowholes.

What is the family of dolphins?

Dolphin, any of the toothed whales belonging to the mammal family Delphinidae (oceanic dolphins) as well as the families Platanistidae and Iniidae, the two that contain the river dolphins.

Is Delphinidae a family?

Family Delphinidae (dolphins and killer whales)32 species in 12 genera.

What are dolphin characteristics?

Dolphins have smooth, rubbery skin and are usually colored in some mixture of black, white, and gray. They have two flippers, or fins, on their sides, as well as a triangular fin on the back. Like other whales, they have an insulating layer of blubber (fat) beneath the skin.

Which is more specific delphinidae or Cetacea?

Tursiops is a more specific taxon than mammalia as it is referring to only a single branch from the very large mammalian taxon. 2. Cetacea; Truncatus is more specific taxon than Delphinidae because it is referring to a species, while Delphinidae is referring to the whole family in which the Truncatus species belongs.

Are all dolphins gray?

Depending on the species, dolphins range in color from white, pearl, and pink to darker shades of brown, gray, blue, and black. A dolphin is a mammal, and needs to breathe air through its blowhole, just as whales and porpoises do. Dolphins have smooth skin, flippers, and a dorsal fin.

What are the 5 types of dolphins?

How Many Dolphin Species Are There?

  • Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncates)
  • Amazon River Dolphin (Inia geoffrensis)
  • Ganges River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica gangetica)
  • Commerson’s Dolphin (Cephalorhynchus commersonii)
  • Risso’s Dolphin (Grampus griseus)
  • Killer Whale (Orcinus orca)
  • Spinner Dolphin (Stenella longirostris)

Can dolphins be aggressive?

Despite what dolphinaria may have you believe, dolphins are apex ocean predators, capable of even killing sharks, and should be treated as such. Dolphins can be aggressive to people, other dolphins, or even self-harm. While the majority of dolphins in the U.S. are bred in captivity, they are not domesticated animals.

What is the smallest dolphin in the world?

Hector’s dolphins
Hector’s dolphins are the smallest and rarest marine dolphins in the world. They have distinct black facial markings, short stocky bodies and a dorsal fin shaped like a Mickey Mouse ear.

What is the third largest dolphin?

The third is the Kogiidae which includes the Pygmy Sperm Whale, and Dwarf Sperm Whale. The fourth family is the Monodontidae family, which includes the Beluga Whale and the Narwhal. The Superfamily Inioidea includes the four families of river dolphins, and all the species that dwell in freshwater belong to this group.

What are the five characteristics of dolphins?

What Are the Characteristics of Dolphins?

  • Physical Appearance. Dolphins range in color from light gray to dark gray on their backs, which lightens to white on their underbellies and beneath their jaws.
  • Social Behavior.
  • Playful Nature.
  • Language and Intelligence.

What are the strengths of a dolphin?

The researchers found that a dolphin’s leisurely pace generates 549 Watts, while a dolphin accelerating produces ten times as much power, more than twice as much as Usain Bolt at his top speed. Dolphins aren’t just strong. They’re exponentially stronger than even our best athletes.

What kind of animals are in the Delphinidae family?

The Family Delphinidae includes such recognizable species as the bottlenose dolphin, the killer whale (orca), the Atlantic white-sided dolphin, Pacific white-sided dolphin, spinner dolphin, common dolphin, and pilot whales. Dolphins are vertebrates and marine mammals.

What kind of teeth does a Delphinidae dolphin have?

The Delphinidae are generally fast, streamlined animals with a pronounced beak, or rostrum . Dolphins have cone-shaped teeth, an important characteristic that distinguishes them from porpoises. They have one blowhole, which distinguishes them from baleen whales, which have a pair of blowholes.

How are delphinids intelligent and what do they do?

Groups of dolphins often follow ships, riding the bow wave and sometimes making spectacular, acrobatic leaps. Several individuals in a school may leap in concert. Delphinids appear to be highly intelligent, adapting quickly and flexibly to novel situations.

How big does a Delphinid cetacean get?

Delphinids are small to medium-sized cetaceans, ranging from about 1.5 m in length and 50 kg weight to almost 10 m in length and 7000 kg. Males are usually larger than females.