Mr. Dolphin's Close Relatives

Dolphins are closely related to whales.

  

Picture from The Original Dolphin Watch

Dolphins and whales are members of the same scientific order, Cetacea.  There are a total of 36 species in the dolphin family, including the largest dolphin which is actually the killer whale.  The most well known dolphin however is the bottlenose dolphin.

The scientific order, called Cetacea, includes dolphins, whales, and porpoises. The dolphin family Delphinidae has 36 species in all. It can get confusing at times, because some members of the dolphin family have the word whale in their common name. In fact, the largest dolphin is the killer whale! Depending on the species, dolphins range in color from white, pearl, and pink to darker shades of brown, gray, blue, and black. - See more at: http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/dolphin#sthash.ZnXYIEFB.dpuf

The scientific order, called Cetacea, includes dolphins, whales, and porpoises. The dolphin family Delphinidae has 36 species in all. It can get confusing at times, because some members of the dolphin family have the word whale in their common name. In fact, the largest dolphin is the killer whale! Depending on the species, dolphins range in color from white, pearl, and pink to darker shades of brown, gray, blue, and black. - See more at: http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/dolphin#sthash.ZnXYIEFB.dpuf

High-Flying Spinner Dolphins

Though not as recognizable as their larger bottlenose cousins, spinner dolphins are one of the most playful and entertaining to watch of all dolphin species.

There are four recognized subspecies of spinner dolphins inhabiting tropical and subtropical oceans throughout the world. At only 50-200lbs fully grown, spinner dolphins are quite small, but make up for their lack of size with amazing athletic ability. The species gets its name from its ability to leap out of the water and perform up to five and a half longitudinal spins in mid-air.

Hawaiian spinner dolphins usually live in pods of up to 200 individuals, with some in the Costa Rican region living in groups of 1,000 or more. Most spinner dolphins are nocturnal feeders and travel offshore each evening to hunt a variety of fish, squid and crustaceans. During the daylight hours the pod will return to the warm, shallow waters near the coast to play and rest. Although spinner dolphins are quite friendly towards people, tourists are often asked not to disturb resting groups during the day.

Conching - The Dolphin Version of a Spork?

It’s well documented that dolphins are among the smartest animals in the world, but bottlenose dolphins in Australia’s Shark Bay may be taking tool use to a whole new level.

Photo: Murdoch University

The picture above shows a dolphin doing what scientists call “conching”. Basically, the dolphins will turn over these large conches on the sea floor, making an attractive habitat for small fish. Once the fish swims inside, the dolphin will carry the conch to the surface and tilt the shell back, emptying the water out and dropping the fish directly into its mouth.

Though this hunting technique has been observed for several years, the frequency at which it is happening has increased dramatically since last May, leading Murdoch University researchers to believe that more dolphins are learning how to do it from watching their friends. If this is the case, it would be the first documented case of a learned behavior spreading this quickly in marine mammals.

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