A bottlenose dolphin is an endothermic mammal that gives birth to live young. Bottlenose dolphins are the most common and well known type of dolphin. The name bottlenose describes this species of dolphin as they have a short, stubby beak (bottle-like shape). A bottlenose dolphin is a cetacean, which means it is a marine mammal. They are also one of the most-commonly studied cetacean because they live near coasts and adjust well to captivity. It’s Genus and Species names are; Tursiops Truncatus.
A bottlenose dolphin’s pectoral flippers are used to steer and stop. The lobes of the dolphin’s tail are called “flukes”. The dorsal fin helps the dolphin maintain its balance as it swims. Muscles of the back help the dolphin flow through water.
A bottlenose dolphin lives in bodies of water all around the world. They live in groups of 10-30 dolphins which are called “pods”. Some dolphins offshore have been seen in groups of several hundred, these groups are called “herds”. As you can tell bottlenose dolphins are very social.
The endangered status of a bottlenose dolphin is; not endangered. Although they are considered “not endangered” they still have their fair share of problems. Many of the issues they face are a result of human impact on the ocean environment. Such as pollution, fishing gear and boats, and hunting in Japan and Taiwan.
Bottlenose dolphins are carnivores that eat a variety of fish, squid, and crustaceans such as shrimp. They can eat up from 15-30 pounds of food a day. They hunt using echolocation. According to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary echolocation is a physiological process for locating distant or invisible objects by sound waves reflected back to the emitter from the objects. Bottlenose d...
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...r in its lungs. It opens the flap and starts to breathe just as it reaches the surface. Inhaling and exhaling takes about three-tenths of a second for a bottlenose dolphin.
Similar animals to a bottlenose dolphin include; Whales, porpoises, other species of dolphin. Some people are surprised to learn that the orca (killer whale) is considered a dolphin. There are three subspecies of bottlenose dolphin; Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, Pacific bottlenose dolphin, and the Southern Hemisphere bottlenose dolphin. There is also the pink bottlenose dolphin.
As you can tell dolphins in general are very interesting creatures. There are many different ways you can learn about them. As I mentioned in my essay dolphins are fighting pollution and many other issues, and there are ways you can fix them! So help save our oceans there are many beautiful creatures living in the water!
One of the most common dolphins that are found in southern California is the bottlenose dolphin (Kelly). The bottlenose dolphin is mainly found in coastal waters between 45 degrees north and 45 degrees south, also in Northern Europe waters. It is believed that there are two types of bottlenose dolphin regional wise: oceanic form and coastal form. This species is studied the most by biologists (Jefferson). The coastal population lives in fairly open groups with twenty or less in a pod, some groups are found to contain more in open ocean. It is not uncommon for these species to interact and breed with other species, as would a human interact with other diverse humans. The dolphins feeding behavior is adapted to the availability of resources. They sometimes are known to work together to catch fish from large schools, they also trail behind large fishing boats to catch what falls behind (Leatherwood).
A unique feature the Humpback whale has is its very big flipper or fin. It has one of the biggest whale flippers, which can be found on planet earth. The flipper is used to change
The Killer Whale is a part of the toothed whale (odontoceti) suborder. The toothed whale suborder is consisted exclusively of porpoises, whales and dolphins that are born with teeth, instead of baleen plates. The Killer Whale is the largest animal in the dolphin family and is the only known to attack sharks, whales and other marine mammals.
Orca whales are the largest members of the dolphin family. Orcas are very curious creatures, they like to sky hop, which is when they poke their heads out of the water and look around, and they can also dive to as much as a hundred feet. These social animals live in pods and stay with them for their whole lives. They are so family oriented that they can may sleep together in a tight circle and have synchronized breathing. Orcas can grow up to thirty-two feet and can weigh nine tons. They typically eat five percent of their body weight and are amazing hunters. The lifespan of an orca in their natural habitat is about fifty years. This lifestyle for them is wonderful because they can swim as far as they want to and are free. Orcas should not be held captive because the capture process is dangerous, it is not good for their health, and their trainers are at risk. Free Willy. Dir Simon Wincer. 1993.Video. Warner Bros Home Video
A bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncates, has a streamlined body. A dolphin's outer skin layer (epidermis) is about 10 to 20 times thicker than the...
Bottlenose dolphins became part of a United States Navy program in 1959 for the purpose of conducting scientific research into their sonar and hydrodynamics in hopes of getting design ideas for submarines, ship hulls and weapons. It was discovered dolphins hear and navigate in the water by using their natural sonar, which happened to be more precise than most fabricated sonar systems. In the mid-sixties, Navy dolphins were used as mail carriers to underwater laboratories in their home of San Diego, California.
A Bottle-nosed dolphin skeletal system is believed to be originated from the basic mammalian skeleton, but has gone through a number of changes. Firstly the forelimbs have been modified into flippers and the bones of the hind limbs have disappeared altogether. Such bones as the rib cage and the spin have also undergone transformation in the fact that they have cured and caved-in due to water pressure. These creatures hold their breath for about 15 minutes before having to submerge for air. The Bottle-nosed dolphin is an amazingly strong creature. Because it never stops swimming, the Bottle-nosed dolphin has a very powerful tail, which is capable of supporting its weight of about 400 kg.
“Seeing Through Sound: Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) Perceive the Spatial Structure of Objects Through Echolocation”, is a research article which explores how dolphins “see” using echoic-visual and visual-echoic matching. They took various structures made out of PVC and presented each to the dolphin either only visual or only by echolocation. Visual-only objects were displayed in the air so echolocation could not be used and echolocation-only objects were place in the box that was echoically invisible. The dolphin would have to view the object either visually or echoically and have to find its match using the alternative. There were a total of 613 visual-echoic and 606 echoic-visual trials. The results were nearly always correct except for two sets in the echoic-visual trials and 6 sets in the visual-echoic trials.
Cetaceans are thought to be some of the most intelligent species on this planet. Popular culture has embraced the idea of cetacean intelligence with shows such as the 1960s hit TV series Flipper, where a dolphin is used to help fight crime. In his comedic science fiction novels, the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, author Douglas Adams suggests that dolphins are the second most intelligent creatures on Earth, behind mice and above humans. Although most scientists would probably argue that humans are the most intelligent species, the behavior and brain size of dolphins and other cetaceans suggests that they too are intelligent. This paper will briefly describe the reason some scientists believe cetaceans are intelligent species and then give examples of scientific studies, which suggest cetacean intelligence. Since bottlenose dolphins and orcas are the most widely studied cetaceans, the survey of field studies will primarily focus on these two species. At the end, this paper provides an argument of why some scientists discredit the high degree of cetacean intelligence.
Orcas, commonly known as killer whales, are actually the largest member of the dolphin family. They were given the name “killer whale” by sailors who often observed them attacking and killing seals, sea lions, walruses, penguins, dolphins, polar bears and even other whales (Orcas).
Since fish live in an environment in which they need to move in three dimensions, buoyancy plays a significant role in determining a fish's ability to swim efficiently. Fish use a couple of different strategies to solve this problem. Denser fish use their pectoral fins to create dynamic lift, similar to planes and birds. As these fish swim, their pectoral fins are positioned in such a way as to create a difference in pressure which allows the fish to maintain a certain depth. The two major drawbacks of ...
Humpback whales breath voluntarily, unlike humans. Since they have to remember to breath, researchers believe humpbacks sleep by shutting off half of their brain at a time. Like orcas and dolphins, humpback whales have noses at the top of their head called blowholes (Animal Planet). Humpback whale calves do not stop growing until they are ten years old (National Geographic). They breed, give birth and care for their newborn calves in the warm waters of Tonga. Instead of teeth, humpbacks have baleen plates, they are brush-like strands of bristle that trap there food until it is swallowed. They have very odd mouths that curve downwards, like an eternal frown. Humpback whales are amazing marine mammals (Big Animal Expeditions)
the river. These dolphins used to be found in large groups or schools but are now
Dolphins are well known for their agility and playful behavior in the wildlife of all the oceans in the world. They have many characteristics, and also there are a variety of different types and kinds of dolphins, which make them very intelligent creatures. Dolphins are smart marine mammals and great swimmers. They are known to be very friendly to humans and other wildlife creatures, dolphins often display a playful attitude which makes them popular to human nature and the culture. They can be seen jumping out of the water,riding waves, play fighting and occasionally interacting with people swimming in the water. Dolphins love hanging along the sea shores of all beaches around the coast, where it is warm and tropical(Fun dolphin facts).Dolphins are believed to be the most intelligent animals on earth
These dolphins are the type of dolphins common people would see at the Zoo or on a T.V. programed performance. Like the Common Dolphins, the Atlantic Bottle-Nosed Dolphins are highly skillful echolocators. They can produce a range of sounds, like a click, using it to analyze any object around them in the ocean (Whitfield 114). According to Whitfield on page 114, they can produce up to 100 clicks a second. They will use these clicks to also find food. They mainly eat Bottom-dwelling fish in inshore waters or surface swimming fish. They can do many other objects with their echolocation finder and using their