Dolphin

Dolphins are part of the toothed whales. Generally, they are among the smaller whales. Most live in salt water oceans, but there are also river dolphins. They are mammals, not fish.  

Dolphins are usually between  and  long. The largest dolphin, the orca (killer whale), can be up to  long. 

 Name 
The dolphin was first thought to be a fish with a womb. For this reason, it was named "dolphin," which comes from the Ancient Greek word δελφίς (delphis), meaning "with a womb". Today, though, dolphins are known to be highly intelligent mammals, not fish. 

 Description 
Dolphins breathe air. A dolphin's nose is on top of its head so the dolphin can easily breathe on the surface of the water. 

The skin of a dolphin is gray, smooth, soft, and rubbery. It has no scales. It is very firm, because dolphins are very muscular. 

 Social animals 
All dolphins live in groups called "pods". They are social animals at all stages of their lives. Pods travel together, hunt together and defend each other. Dolphins have fought off sharks by ramming them over and over again with their snouts and heads. 

Sharks look after the young when the mothers need to leave their calves to hunt for food. The young need to breathe more often than the adults, and the food may be in deeper waters.

Dolphins "porpoise" in and out of the water when traveling at high speed. Scientists do not know for sure why they do this. It may be the fastest movement they are capable of. BBC footage of dophins at top speed. 

 Diet 
Dolphins are carnivores and eat fish. They use echolocation to find their food.

When they chase fish, the fish go into a "bait ball" to self-protect. In turn, the dolphins attack in a group and eat as many fish as they can.

 Habitat 
Oceanic dolphins are marine animals living in the sea. They live in all of the oceans.

Three of the four species of river dolphins live in fresh water rivers. The La Plata dolphin lives in saltwater estuaries and the ocean. Water pollution and the loss of habitat are a threat to some dolphins, especially those living in rivers and estuaries.
 Sleep 
Dolphins (and other cetaceans) sleep in the water.Lyamin et al 2004. Relationship between sleep and eye movement in cetaceans and pinnipeds. Archives Italliennes de Biologie 142: 557568. There is danger from animals that eat dolphins.Gill, Victoria 2012. Slowest Greenland shark hunts sleeping prey. BBC Nature   To guard against danger from animals that eat dolphins, they have two sides of their brain. One side sleeps, while the other side stays awake.  

Dolphins do things while asleep: 

 Dolphins will keep one eye open to watch for animals that eat them while they sleep. 
 Dolphins also swim in circles when they are sleeping to look around for danger.
 Dolphins get their nose out of the water to breathe. 

Dolphin groups or species have their own way of sleeping. Pinnipeds, like seals, can sleep like dolphins.

 Senses 
The brain of a dolphin is like a human brain in size and development. Dolphins have reasonable eyesight. They can watch a thing in the water, and they can see colors, too. They can also see in dark places.

A dolphin's hearing is better than their sight. Small holes behind the eyes are the dolphin's ears. Dolphins can hear a sound underwater. They can know the direction of the sound very well and use echolocation to hunt.

 Dolphins and humans 
 Mythology 

Dolphins have long played a role in human culture. They are common in Greek mythology, and there are many coins from ancient Greece which feature a man, boy, or deity riding on the back of a dolphin. The Ancient Greeks welcomed dolphins; spotting dolphins riding in a ship’s wake was considered a good omen.Eyers, Jonathan 2011. Don't shoot the Albatross!: nautical myths and superstitions. A&C Black, London, UK.  

In Hindu mythology, the Ganges River Dolphin is associated with Ganga, the deity of the Ganges River.

 Cuisine 

Dolphin meat is eaten in a few countries, including Japan and Peru (where it is referred to as chancho marino, or "sea pork"). Japan may be the best-known and most controversial example, but worldwide, eating dolphin is not common.

 Dolphin therapy 
Dolphin therapy is sometimes used for people with mental or physical disabilities. It involves contact with trained dolphins. 

Scientists do not agreed on whether dolphin therapy is any better than the usual treatments. Scientists continue to study this treatment method.

 Taxonomy 
 Oceanic dolphins (Delphinidae) 
Some examples:
 Genus Delphinus
 Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis)
 Genus Tursiops
 Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)
 Genus Orcinus
 Orca (Orcinus orca)
 Genus Feresa 
 Pygmy killer whale Feresa attenuata
 Genus Pseudorca
False killer whale Pseudorca crassidens
 Genus Globicephala
Long-finned pilot whale Globicephala melas
Short-finned pilot whale Globicephala macrorhynchus
 Genus Peponocephala
 Melon-headed whale Peponocephala electra

 River dolphins 
 Amazon river dolphin or Boto (Inia geoffrensis)
 Chinese river dolphin or Baiji (Lipotes vexillifer) (likely to be extinct)
 La Plata dolphin (Pontoporia blainvillei)
 South Asian river dolphin Platanista gangetica
 Indus river dolphin (Platanista gangetica minor)
 Ganges river dolphin (Platanista gangetica gangetica)

 Gallery 

References

 Other websites 

 https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/common-bottlenose-dolphin
 https://uk.whales.org/whales-dolphins/facts-about-dolphins/

Category:Toothed whales
Category:National symbols of the Gambia