Our sailors are now in the Galapagos Islands. We would like to know what species of dolphins are in that part of the world. There are so many different species of oceanic dolphins that it is difficult to say what your sailors will see. Sperm whales, while not dolphins, are common around the Galapagos Islands. Some are easy to tell apart and others are very difficult to identify, even for experienced observers.
Dolphins are whales.
Technically, the toothed-whale family Delphinidae contains all of the dolphins except the freshwater species. For example, toothed whales have teeth and baleen whales have baleen. Toothed whales have one blowhole and baleen whales have two. Bottlenose dolphins are the most common near shore. While the bottlenose dolphin's skin may feel rubbery, it certainly isn't slimy.