COMMON NAME: Common Dolphin from the Latin delphinus for "dolphin, porpoise;"from the Greek delphinus for "dolphin"

DISCOVERED: Linnaeus, 1758

EXTERNAL ANATOMY:

V-shaped black/ dark gray saddle with downward oriented apex on sides directly below dorsal fin -- light gray of flanking sweeping over dorsal section of the tail of stock
Hourglass effect on side -- tan, yellow
Prominent dorsal fin
Nearly black from the flipper to the lower jaw and blackline from the eye forward to the junction of the forehead and the base of the beak
Black ring encircles the eye
Long neck defined
Black beak tipped with white
Predominantly dark flippers, flukes and fin
Maximum size: 2.6 m, 75 kg or less (male) 2.3 m, 75 kg or less (female)

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION:

Widely distributed- tropical waters
Both coastal and offshore waters
Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Red Sea
Enters bays, occasionally rivers
Many follow warmer waters beyond normal range, mainly offshore

NATURAL HISTORY:

HABITAT:

Pelagic, offshore creature
Generally preferring surface temperatures greater than 10 degrees C

FOOD & FEEDING:

Fish, squid or octopus, anchovies, herring and pilchards
Small feeding groups will scatter in late afternoon to await ascension of the deep scattering layer
Frequently adopt cooperative techniques to capture prey ex: herds may dive below a school of fish and drive it to the surface

LIFE CYCLE:

Gestation period: 10-12 months
Calving peaks in spring and fall
Calf nursed 14-19 months
Sexual maturity: 12-15 years, 1.7-2 m (male) 6- 7 years, 1.6-1.9 m (female)

BEHAVIOR:

Various flips and somersaults
Highly vocal- whistles pulse sounds for communication and ecolocation
Strandings not particularly common
Large active schools - 1000-100,000 or greater
Friendly, but not easily trained
Sometimes split up into small groups at night
Reassemble to rest and socialize during the day
Active and boisterous
Whole school can be completely out of water
Bow riding favorite activity - ride off ships and pressure waves created by whales - may stay with vessel long time
Appears to be some sexual segregation- some evidence of nursery schools consisting of large portions of pregnant and nursing females
Dive to depths of at least 280m as long as 8 minutes

WORLD POPULATION:

Total wolrd population unknown
Southern and Baja neritic:

500,000 northern stock
250,000 central stock
500-100,000 southern stock
28,000-285,000 in Black Sea

HUMAN INFLUENCES:

Exploitation by man
Entanglement in fishing nets
Hunting/ Whaling
Pollution
Human disturbance