The common dolphin or Fraser's dolphin (Delphinus delphis) is a widely distributed pelagic mammal of the family Delphinidae, order Cetacea, found in all waters of tropical and warm temperate seas. They often accompany ships and play around boats and ride the bow-waves of large whales such as the fin whale. They are distinguished by a V-shaped black or dark grey saddle with a downward-orientated apex on the sides directly below the dorsal fin and a conspicuous white thoracic patch. The common dolphin feeds on small fish including blue whiting, pilchards, whiting, pollack and lantern fish and can dive to depths of 280 metres and stay under for as long as eight minutes. They are social animals, congregating in mixed sex schools of between ten and a few thousand animals. Research Common Dolphin
Coryphaena is a genus of fishes of the mackerel family (Scomberidae). The body is elongated, compressed, covered with small scales, and the dorsal fin extends the whole length of the back, or nearly so. The dolphin of the ancients is the Coryphaena hippuris. All the species, natives of the seas of warm climates, are very rapid in their motions, and very voracious. They are of brilliant colours. Research Coryphaena
The Dolphin (formerly also known as a sea-goose) is a genus of cetaceans. The flesh is coarse, rank, and disagreeable, but is used by the Laplanders as food. Dolphins live on fish, mollusca, etc, and often may be seen in numbers round shoals of herring. The animal has to come to the surface at short intervals to breathe. The blow-hole is of a semilunar form, with a kind of valvular apparatus, and opens on the vertex, nearly over the eyes. The structure of the ear renders the sense of hearing very acute, and the animal is observed to be attracted by regular or harmonious sounds. One or two young are produced by the female, who suckles and watches them with great care and anxiety, long after they have acquired considerable size. Compactness and strength are the characteristics of the genus. Dolphins are renowned for being highly intelligent and friendly towards swimmers and ships. Research Dolphin
Flying fish is a name for several species of bony fishes in which the pectoral fins are lengthened and wing-like and serve to sustain the fish in its short flights through the air. Generally, however, the name is limited to the species of the genus Exocoetus, which belongs to the family Scomberesocidae (mackerel-pikes). The pectoral tins, which are very large, are the principal instruments in their flight, serving to sustain the fish temporarily in the air after it has acquired an initial velocity in its rush through the water. After taking off the flying fish flex their tail from side to side to provide extra propulsion. Flying fish can pass through the air to a considerable distance, sometimes as much as 180 metres, which it does to escape from the attacks of other fishes, especially the dolphin. It is most common between the tropics. The best-known species are Exocoetus volitans, abundant in the warmer parts of the Atlantic, and Exocoetus exiliens of the Mediterranean. Some naturalists subdivide the genus into several, characterized by the presence or absence of barbels. Flying fish lay their eggs on floating debris, spawning in large groups and producing masses of eggs which can sink small boats if they remain stationary for several hours. Research Flying Fish
In physiology, homologous means corresponding in type of structure; thus, the humanarm, the foreleg of a horse, the wing of a bird, and the swimming-paddle of a dolphin or whale, being all composed essentially of the same structural elements, are said to be homologous, though they are adapted for quite different functions. Research Homologous
The Iuia is a genus of Cetacea belonging to the dolphin family, containing only one known species, Iuia boliviensis, remarkable for the distance at which it is found from the sea, frequenting the remote tributaries of the river Amazon, and even some of the elevated lakes of Peru. It has bristly hairs on its snout, and is about three or four meters in length. Research Iuia
The rough-toothed dolphin (Steno bredanensis) is a pelagic mammal of the family Delphinidae found in tropical and subtropical seas. The animals have a long conical beak that is continuous with the forehead. The colouration is dark grey tinged with purple on the back and flanks, with a white underside with pink or bluff blotches. The dorsal fin in the middle of the back is sickle-shaped. Rough-toothed dolphins are attracted to fast-moving vessels, and can swim at 19 mph. Research Rough-Toothed Dolphin
Abbreviations
Research Beluga
