Dolphins

The mammalian dolphins are small, streamlined whales, usually with a well-defined, beaklike snout. They are often called porpoises, but that name is usually reserved for similar, but beakless, whales of the family Phocoenidae (see porpoise). Dolphins are popularly noted for grace, intelligence, playfulness, and friendliness to man. The most widely recognized species are the common and bottle-nosed dolphins (Delphinus delphis and Tursiops truncatus; see photograph); both are of the family Delphinidae and are widely distributed …

…temperate waters throughout the world. It has a large, blunt head, a tapered body, and a slender, forked tail. The male, considerably larger than the female, may attain a length and weight of about 1.5 m and 30 kilograms (70 pounds). A swift carnivorous fish, this dolphin lives alone or in schools and feeds on invertebrates and other fishes. It and the similar, though smaller, pompano dolphin (C. equiselis) are the only living members of the family Coryphaenidae.