Common dolphin. Common dolphin or common dolphin (Delphinus delphis)Eng

White-sided dolphin, aka - common dolphin- a mammal from the order Cetacea, the suborder of toothed whales and the dolphin family.

Appearance of a common dolphin

The body length of an adult common dolphin ranges from 160 to 260 cm, and its body weight is 60 to 80 kg. Females of this species of dolphins have a shorter body than males by an average of 5–10 cm.

The common dolphin has a slender build. The relatively long beak is limited by grooves from the fat pad.

The length of the rostrum in the skull is 1.5–2 times the length of the braincase. On the palatal side of the rostrum there are two deep grooves running in the longitudinal direction.

The dolphin is painted white below and on the sides. On the sides there is a complex pattern consisting of 1–3 gray lateral stripes directed from the genitals to the front of the body, as well as two elongated gray fields. Near the anterior edge of the fat pad, a dark stripe runs from eye to eye along the bridge of the nose. Also, a dark stripe extends to the chin from the base of the pectoral fins.

Habitat of the common dolphin

This species of dolphin is distributed from the latitudes of Iceland, northern Norway, the southern part of the Kuril ridge, Newfoundland and Washington state to the southern latitudes of Tasmania, South Africa, Tristan da Cunha Island, New Zealand.

This species is very numerous in the temperate waters of the northern hemisphere (Black and Mediterranean Sea, coast of Brittany, Gulf of Gascony, waters of Japan, Nova Scotia, California, New Zealand and Australia. The common dolphin is present in smaller numbers in tropical waters. Here it is found from the shores of Sierra Leone, Rio de Janeiro, the Bahamas, Jamaica, India and the Gulf of Mexico.

In the northern hemisphere, the common dolphin is found at higher latitudes compared to the southern hemisphere. This species is rare in the Norwegian Sea; rarely penetrates into the Baltic Sea; not found in the Barents Sea. The Black Sea population of common dolphins appeared earlier than the porpoises and bottlenose dolphins living here. She is well isolated. Black Sea individuals do not migrate to the Mediterranean Sea.

Dry out the voice of the common dolphin

Lifestyle of the common dolphin

The white-sided dolphin can reach speeds of up to 55 km/h. An alarmed herd of dolphins rushes at high speed in one direction, jumping over the water. The length of each such jump is equal to 2–3 times the length of the dolphin’s body. In the process of such movements, the distance that the dolphin covers in the air is much greater than that which it swims underwater. The speed of normal herd transitions is somewhat lower, and is approximately 2 m/s.

Common dolphins live in families consisting of several generations, which were born by the same female. Pregnant females, as well as lactating females with young animals and males, sometimes form separate groups. During the breeding season, special mating groups are created, consisting of sexually mature females and males. Sometimes, usually during feeding, single individuals of this species join herds of other dolphin species.

Common dolphins are excellent at navigating in the water. They are helped in this by their sense organs, called the echolocation apparatus. Dolphins also have excellent hearing. Vision, in turn, is quite weak.

Diet of the common dolphin

Like other dolphin species, the common dolphin's diet is dominated by fish. The menu also includes a small amount cephalopods and crustaceans.

In the diet of individuals living in the Black Sea, the first place is occupied by sprats and anchovy. In second place are red mullet, haddock, pelagic pipefish, and sea cockroach Idotea. In last place are bonito, mackerel, mullet, blennies herring and greenfinches. Very rarely, a dolphin eats shrimp and shellfish.

The menu of individuals living outside the Black Sea consists of saury, mackerel, capelin, anchovies, herring, sardines, mackerel, stingray, mullet, squid and flying fish.

Reproduction of common dolphins

Judging by the sex of the embryos found inside the captured dolphins, females make up 47%, and males, respectively, 53% of the offspring. The breeding season of common dolphins extends over 6 months, and lasts from May to November. Peak mating occurs in the summer season. The birth, called a pup, takes place underwater. During the mating season, fights between males are apparently not uncommon. This is evidenced by numerous bites on the body of males, and the absence of such on the body of females.

The female begins to reproduce in the second or third year of life. Pregnancy lasts 10–11 months. Newborn females have a body length of 80–85 cm, and males 85–95 cm. Almost immediately after their birth, the cubs already know how to swim well and feel free in the water column. Like bottlenose dolphins, female common dolphins care for their offspring during the first few weeks of life. During this period, females along with their cubs, having separated from other individuals, swim far into the open sea. Breastfeeding lasts 4–6 months.

If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter.

Delphinus delphis listen)) - a species of dolphins, a representative of the genus white sided dolphins (Delphinus).

Appearance

The back of the common dolphin is black or brownish-blue in color, and its belly is light. It has a stripe on its sides, the color of which changes from light yellow to gray. In general, coloring may vary depending on the region where it lives. Having different colors, the white-sided dolphin is one of the most colorful representatives of the cetacean order. Its length can reach 2.4 m, and its weight ranges from 60 to 80 kg.

Spreading

Common dolphin is found in different parts of the world's oceans, primarily in tropical and temperate latitudes. Its habitats form separate, often unconnected regions. One of the largest areas is the Mediterranean Sea with the Black Sea and the northeast Atlantic Ocean. The common dolphin is the most widespread member of its family around the European continent. Another large population lives in the eastern Pacific Ocean. In addition, they are found off the eastern coast of North and South America, off the coast of South Africa, around Madagascar, on Seychelles, off the coast of Oman, around Tasmania and New Zealand, in the seas between Japan, Korea and Taiwan.

Being the inhabitants open sea, white sided dolphins are only rarely found in close proximity to the shore. These animals feel most comfortable at a water temperature of 10 to 25 °C.

Behavior

Like all dolphins, the common dolphin feeds on fish, sometimes also cephalopods. It is the most toothed mammal (210 teeth). It is one of the fastest-swimming dolphin species and often accompanies ships. Like other species, it forms complex social alliances that can include more than a thousand individuals. In summer, these huge groups separate, and the dolphins continue swimming in smaller groups. Members of the same group take care of each other. Dolphins have been observed supporting wounded dolphins and carrying them to the surface so that they can take in air.

The birth of a young dolphin can take up to two hours. The tail is born first to prevent the baby from suffocating at birth. After birth, the mother carries the baby to the surface so that it can take its first breath. During childbirth, the mother animal is protected by the rest of the group from possible attacks by sharks. Twins are born extremely rarely and usually do not survive because there is not enough mother's milk. The cubs stay around three years with their mother, from which they feed on milk for about a year.

Population and threats

Taxonomy

When asked how many species belong to the genus Delphinus, there is no clear answer. Most zoologists have always recognized only one species - the common dolphin. Others highlighted additional types, such as the East Pacific dolphin ( Delphinus bairdii) or dolphin Delphinus tropicalis living in the Indian Ocean. All of them have not been officially recognized, although about 20 species have been described and proposed.

Since the 1990s, there has been a growing number of zoologists recognizing the second species: Delphinus capensis. It has a longer stigma. Whether it is truly a separate species or simply a subspecies or variant of the same species remains a matter of debate.

In addition to Delphinus delphis delphis itself, there is a subspecies of the Black Sea common dolphin (Delphinus delphis ponticus Barabash, 1935).

Write a review about the article "Snow-sided dolphin"

Notes

Links

An excerpt characterizing the common dolphin

- Eh, fool, ugh! – the old man said, spitting angrily. Some time passed in silent movement, and the same joke was repeated again.
At five o'clock in the evening the battle was lost at all points. More than a hundred guns were already in the hands of the French.
Przhebyshevsky and his corps laid down their weapons. Other columns, having lost about half of the people, retreated in frustrated, mixed crowds.
The remnants of the troops of Lanzheron and Dokhturov, mingled, crowded around the ponds on the dams and banks near the village of Augesta.
At 6 o'clock only at the Augesta dam the hot cannonade of the French alone could still be heard, who had built numerous batteries on the descent of the Pratsen Heights and were hitting our retreating troops.
In the rearguard, Dokhturov and others, gathering battalions, fired back at the French cavalry that was pursuing ours. It was starting to get dark. On the narrow dam of Augest, on which for so many years the old miller sat peacefully in a cap with fishing rods, while his grandson, rolling up his shirt sleeves, was sorting out silver quivering fish in a watering can; on this dam, along which for so many years the Moravians drove peacefully on their twin carts loaded with wheat, in shaggy hats and blue jackets and, dusted with flour, with white carts leaving along the same dam - on this narrow dam now between wagons and cannons, under the horses and between the wheels crowded people disfigured by the fear of death, crushing each other, dying, walking over the dying and killing each other only so that, after walking a few steps, to be sure. also killed.
Every ten seconds, pumping up the air, a cannonball splashed or a grenade exploded in the middle of this dense crowd, killing and sprinkling blood on those who stood close. Dolokhov, wounded in the arm, on foot with a dozen soldiers of his company (he was already an officer) and his regimental commander, on horseback, represented the remnants of the entire regiment. Drawn by the crowd, they pressed into the entrance to the dam and, pressed on all sides, stopped because a horse in front fell under a cannon, and the crowd was pulling it out. One cannonball killed someone behind them, the other hit in front and splashed Dolokhov’s blood. The crowd moved desperately, shrank, moved a few steps and stopped again.
Walk these hundred steps, and you will probably be saved; stand for another two minutes, and everyone probably thought he was dead. Dolokhov, standing in the middle of the crowd, rushed to the edge of the dam, knocking down two soldiers, and fled onto the slippery ice that covered the pond.
“Turn,” he shouted, jumping on the ice that was cracking under him, “turn!” - he shouted at the gun. - Holds!...
The ice held it, but it bent and cracked, and it was obvious that not only under a gun or a crowd of people, but under him alone it would collapse. They looked at him and huddled close to the shore, not daring to step on the ice yet. The regiment commander, standing on horseback at the entrance, raised his hand and opened his mouth, addressing Dolokhov. Suddenly one of the cannonballs whistled so low over the crowd that everyone bent down. Something splashed into the wet water, and the general and his horse fell into a pool of blood. No one looked at the general, no one thought to raise him.
- Let's go on the ice! walked on the ice! Let's go! gate! can't you hear! Let's go! - suddenly, after the cannonball hit the general, countless voices were heard, not knowing what or why they were shouting.
One of the rear guns, which was entering the dam, turned onto the ice. Crowds of soldiers from the dam began to run to the frozen pond. The ice cracked under one of the leading soldiers and one foot went into the water; he wanted to recover and fell waist-deep.
The nearest soldiers hesitated, the gun driver stopped his horse, but shouts could still be heard from behind: “Get on the ice, let’s go!” let's go! And screams of horror were heard from the crowd. The soldiers surrounding the gun waved at the horses and beat them to make them turn and move. The horses set off from the shore. The ice holding the foot soldiers collapsed in a huge piece, and about forty people who were on the ice rushed forward and backward, drowning one another.
The cannonballs still whistled evenly and splashed onto the ice, into the water and, most often, into the crowd covering the dam, ponds and shore.

On Pratsenskaya Mountain, in the very place where he fell with the flagpole in his hands, Prince Andrei Bolkonsky lay, bleeding, and, without knowing it, moaned a quiet, pitiful and childish groan.
By evening he stopped moaning and became completely quiet. He didn't know how long his oblivion lasted. Suddenly he felt alive again and suffering from a burning and tearing pain in his head.
"Where is it? high sky, which I did not know until now and saw today? was his first thought. “And I didn’t know this suffering either,” he thought. - Yes, I didn’t know anything until now. But where am I?
He began to listen and heard the sounds of approaching horses and the sounds of voices speaking French. He opened his eyes. Above him was again the same high sky with floating clouds rising even higher, through which a blue infinity could be seen. He did not turn his head and did not see those who, judging by the sound of hooves and voices, drove up to him and stopped.
The horsemen who arrived were Napoleon, accompanied by two adjutants. Bonaparte, driving around the battlefield, gave the last orders to strengthen the batteries firing at the Augesta Dam and examined the dead and wounded remaining on the battlefield.
- De beaux hommes! [Beauties!] - said Napoleon, looking at the killed Russian grenadier, who, with his face buried in the ground and the back of his head blackened, was lying on his stomach, throwing one already numb arm far away.

The bobwhite's body is colored on the sides light color, where the name of the animal comes from. This light stripe contrasts with the gray-brown or black color of the rest of the body. This coloration is not typical for most cetaceans, so the common cetacean is one of the most variegated representatives of a large family.

Despite the great popularity of bottlenose dolphins, it is the white sided dolphin that people associate with dolphins in general. When a sea vessel approaches, they approach it and swim on the crests of the waves created, creating high jumps up to 5 m.

Like all dolphins, white-sided dolphins are very friendly with each other in one pod. They help sick relatives, hunt fish together, protect young dolphins and, of course, play. To communicate, they use sound signals - clicks, squeaks and grinding sounds, similar to the opening of a rusty door. White sideds understand the “speech” of other dolphins - bottlenose dolphins and pilot whales. To do this, these animals have 5 sounds of different frequencies, timbres and tonality at their disposal.

In winter, bobwhites gather in large flocks, the number of individuals in which reaches several thousand. By summer, such aggregations of animals break up, and the dolphins disperse into small groups. In such families, the connection between family members is very close, and the behavior of dolphins in it, for many people, is an example of the “humanity” of white sideds.

It has been observed that animals help old individuals stay on the surface of the water so that they continue to breathe. When young dolphins are in a family, adults do their best to protect them from attack natural enemies - large sharks and killer whales.

Like small children, white sideds do not miss the chance to frolic with any object that arouses their curiosity - a passing sea vessel or a passing whale. In general, large whales act as a “ride” for the dolphin, like ships. From the swing of its powerful tail, a large whale creates sharp currents of water in which dolphins frolic.

It is worth noting that the playfulness of dolphins in people's minds is depicted exclusively in light colors. Watching how they chase a ball, give people rides and perform beautiful somersaults, you forget that a blow from an adult dolphin’s muzzle can be very strong.

In nature, not a single case of an attack or attack on a person has been recorded, but if an animal wants to play, it will not weaken the force of the blow, pushing the object of the game to the surface. If a school of dolphins chooses a simple diver as a soccer ball, then he will be in trouble, despite the fact that the animals do not even try to injure him. A documented case was recorded when a school of dolphins (though they were bottlenose dolphins) “played” with a diver so much that, thank God, he survived.

The common dolphin, or common dolphin, is up to two meters long and weighs from forty to sixty kilograms. Most often found on the open sea. If the end of the bottlenose dolphin's head resembles the neck of a bottle, then the white sided dolphin has an elongated snout, reminiscent of a beak. The body is blue-black, white on the sides, which is why they call the white-sided dolphin.

This species of toothed cetacean has other names - short-beaked, blubber, tyrtak, sharp-faced, common dolphin. But despite all this, it is the most widespread species in the world's oceans. Lives in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, the Sea of ​​Japan and the Baltic Sea, in open water northern latitudes, Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. It’s easier to name where it is not.

Its large population is found in the Black Sea. But far from the shores. Holidaymakers crowded onto the beach. They point their fingers animatedly at the oncoming waves. They make noise, take pictures, film something. Looking closely into the surf, you see, about thirty meters from the shore, seemingly sedate sea animals, either plunging into the water or emerging from it. These are bottlenose dolphins. They cruise along the coast in search of food. When they see a joint, they transform both externally and internally. They become fast-paced and passionate. He grabbed the fish with his sharp teeth, and it was gone - it disappeared into the mouth. And then again there was an imposing air and some kind of sedateness in swimming.
Whiteside is not like that. You almost never see it off the coast. Her element is the open sea. If you bought a ticket for one of our sea vessels, which regularly approach the piers to take you, for example, to the dolphinarium on Bolshoi Utrish or take you on an hour-long ride through the waves - here you will certainly encounter white sided whales. The ship moved a decent distance from the beaches, picked up speed, and suddenly a cheerful school of dolphins appeared in front of its bow. Beautiful, slender, fast, streamlined, somewhat similar in shape to a spindle, they look at you and people with funny, intelligent eyes and seem to ask: “Well, who’s who...” It’s impossible to keep up with them. So they will accompany you all the way to Big Utrish, their white sides sparkling, which is why they are nicknamed “squirrels”.

But they can only entertain you at sea at a speed of forty to fifty kilometers per hour. But in dolphinariums, there you go. Whitetails cannot stand captivity; they prefer freedom. That’s why bottlenose dolphins mostly perform in dolphinariums.

Let's talk a little more about white-sided beetles - since this is their most common species in our country. The length of animals from the tip of the tail to the tip of the snout is on average from one and a half to almost two meters. Although larger individuals are not excluded. They live in the world for twenty to thirty years. Their teeth are shorter, but sharper than those of bottlenose dolphins. About one hundred and twenty pieces. Males are larger than females. Mating games take place in the spring and summer. The cubs are born in water after ten or more months and are fed by their mothers with their nutritious milk for up to four months, and then get food yourself. Regular food theirs is anchovy, sprat, although they do not disdain larger schooling fish and mollusks. They can dive to more than seventy meters. They are very attentive to old relatives. They can lift them with their united efforts to the surface of the water so that they can breathe air. Sharks and killer whales will get it from them if they suddenly decide to attack their young. People are perceived as their fellow human beings. I wouldn't mind playing with them in open water. However, it is better not to contact them. In sympathy for you, they can hit you in the side with a sharp snout so painfully that it doesn’t seem like much, although they had no intention of offending you. So it is preferable to admire the white sided from the deck of a yacht or ship and from there listen to their “speech”, reminiscent of the squeaking of mice or the grinding of rusty door hinges. Having acquired offspring, they live in families. But in winter they gather in large flocks of up to hundreds or more individuals. The vision of white-sided dolphins is weaker than that of bottlenose dolphins, but they have excellent hearing. Especially in water. They can hear the school of anchovy at a considerable distance from themselves. And there will be a merry hunt...They were hunted too. Because of fat, loaded with vitamins, skins that don’t need any water. They were exterminated by the thousands in all the coastal countries of the Black Sea. Now they have practically left them alone, which is why their population is growing.

Dolphins are marine mammals that belong to the suborder of toothed whales. They are found in seas and oceans, as well as rivers that have access to the sea. As a rule, they feed on crustaceans, mollusks, fish, and some do not disdain sea ​​turtles and birds.

Where do dolphins live?

The dolphin's habitat is exclusively water bodies. The dolphin lives in almost all places on our planet, with the exception of the Arctic and Antarctic regions. Dolphins live in the sea, in the ocean, and also in large freshwater rivers(Amazonian river dolphin). These mammals love space and move freely over long distances.

Description

The length of dolphins ranges from one and a half to ten meters. The smallest dolphin in the world is Maui, which lives near New Zealand: the length of the female does not exceed 1.7 meters. Large inhabitant depths of the sea The white-faced dolphin is considered to be about three meters long. The largest representative is the killer whale: males reach ten meters in length.

It is worth noting that males are usually ten to twenty centimeters longer than females (the exception is killer whale dolphins - here the difference is about two meters). They weigh on average from one hundred and fifty to three hundred kilograms, and killer whales weigh about a ton.

The backs of sea dolphins can be gray, blue, dark brown, black and even pink (albinos). The front part of the head can be either plain or white (for example, the white-faced dolphin has a beak and the front part of the forehead white).

In some species, the front mouth is rounded and there is no beak-shaped mouth. In others, which are small in size, the head ends in an elongated mouth in the shape of a flattened “beak”, and the mouth is shaped in such a way that it seems to people watching them that they are always smiling, and therefore they often have problems irresistible desire swim with dolphins. At the same time, the impression is not spoiled even by the huge number of teeth of the same cone shape - dolphins have about two hundred of them.

Thanks to their elongated body and smooth, elastic skin, these animals hardly feel the resistance of the water while moving. Thanks to this, they are able to move very quickly ( average speed a dolphin's speed is 40 km/h), dive to a depth of about one hundred meters, jump out of the water nine meters high and five meters long.

One more unique feature of these marine mammals is that almost all species of dolphins (with the exception of the Amazon river dolphin and several other species) see well both underwater and above the surface. They have this ability due to the structure of the retina, one part of which is responsible for the image in the water, the other - above its surface.

Since whales and dolphins are relatives, like all representatives of cetaceans, they are quite capable of staying under water for a long period. But they still need oxygen, so they constantly float to the surface, showing their blue muzzle and replenishing air reserves through the blowhole, which closes under water. Even during sleep, the animal is fifty centimeters from the surface and, without waking up, swims out every half a minute.

Dolphin species

There are 17 genera in the dolphin family. Most interesting varieties dolphins:

• White-bellied dolphin (black dolphin, Chilean dolphin) (lat. Cephalorhynchus eutropia) lives exclusively on the coast of Chile. An animal with rather modest dimensions - the length of the stocky and rather thick body of this cetacean does not exceed 170 cm. The back and sides of the white-bellied dolphin are gray, while the throat, belly area and parts of the flippers adjacent to the body are completely white. The flippers and dorsal fin of the white-bellied dolphin are smaller than those of other dolphin species. This species is close to extinction and is protected by the Chilean authorities.

• Common dolphin (common dolphin) (lat. Delphinus delphis). The length of the sea animal often reaches 2.4 meters, the weight of the dolphin varies between 60-80 kilograms. In the area of ​​the back, the common dolphin is colored dark blue or almost black, the belly is white, and along the light sides there is a spectacular stripe of a yellowish-gray hue. This species of dolphin lives in the Mediterranean and Black Seas, and feels at ease in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Common dolphin can be found on east coast South America, along the coasts of New Zealand and South Africa, in the seas of Japan and Korea.

• White-faced dolphin (lat. Lagenorhynchus albirostris) – a large representative of cetaceans with a body length reaching 3 meters and weighing up to 275 kg. Distinctive feature The white-faced dolphin has a very light, sometimes snow-white muzzle. The habitat of this mammal includes the waters of the North Atlantic, the coast of Portugal and Turkey. The dolphin feeds on fish such as capelin, navaga, flounder, herring, cod, whiting, as well as mollusks and crustaceans.

• Large-toothed dolphin (lat. Steno bredanensis). Body length of this marine mammal 2-2.6 meters, weight varies from 90 to 155 kg. The height of the dorsal fin is 18-28 cm. The color of the dolphin is dominated by gray, with whitish spots scattered throughout. This species of dolphin is common off the coast of Brazil, in the Gulf of Mexico and California, and lives in warm waters Caribbean and Red Seas.

• Bottlenose dolphin ( big dolphin or bottlenose dolphin) (lat. Tursiops truncatus). The length of the animal can vary from 2.3 to 3.6 meters, and weight from 150 to 300 kg. The body color of the bottlenose dolphin depends on its habitat, but generally the species is dark brown. top part body and greyish-white belly. Sometimes a faint pattern in the form of fuzzy stripes or spots is observed on the sides. The bottlenose dolphin lives in the Mediterranean, Red, Baltic and Black Seas, and is often found in the Pacific Ocean along the coasts of Japan, Argentina and New Zealand.

• Broad-snouted dolphin (beakless dolphin) (lat. Peponocephala electra) distributed in the waters of countries with tropical climate, especially massive populations live along the coast of the Hawaiian Islands. The torpedo-shaped, light gray body of the animal is crowned with a cone-shaped head of dark gray color. The length of the mammal often reaches 3 meters, and an adult weighs more than 200 kg.

• Chinese dolphin (lat. Sousa chinensis). This member of the genus of humpback dolphins lives in the waters along the coast South-East Asia, but migrates during the breeding season, so it is found in bays, quiet sea lagoons and even rivers washing Australia and the countries of South Africa. The length of the animal can be 2-3.5 meters with a weight of 150-230 kg. Surprisingly, although dolphin calves are born completely black, as they grow, the body color changes first to light gray, with slightly pinkish spots, and adults become almost white. The Chinese dolphin feeds on fish and shellfish.

• Irrawaddy dolphin (lat. Orcaella brevirostris). A distinctive feature of this type of dolphin is the complete absence of a beak on the face and a flexible neck, which gained mobility due to several skin and muscle folds behind the head. The body color of the Irrawaddy dolphin can be either light gray with a blue tint or dark gray, while the belly of the animal is always a shade lighter. The length is aquatic mammal reaches 1.5-2.8 meters with a weight of 115-145 kg. The dolphin's habitat covers warm waters Indian Ocean, starting from the Bay of Bengal and up to the northern coast of Australia.

• Cruciform dolphin (lat. Lagenorhynchus cruciger) lives exclusively in Antarctic and subantarctic waters. The color of the dolphin is black and white, less often – dark gray. The striking white marking covers the sides of the mammal and extends to its muzzle, framing the eye area. The second mark runs longitudinally along the back of the body, intersecting with the first and forming a pattern in the form hourglass. An adult cross-shaped dolphin has a body length of about 2 meters in length, the weight of the dolphin varies between 90-120 kilograms.

• Killer whale (killer whale) (lat. Orcinus orca)- a mammal that belongs to the dolphin family, the genus of killer whale. The male killer whale is about 10 meters long and weighs around 8 tons. Females are smaller: their length reaches 8.7 meters. The pectoral flippers of killer whales have a wide oval shape. The teeth of killer whales are quite long - up to 13 cm in length. The sides and back of the mammal are black, the throat is white, and on the belly there is white stripe. There are white spots above the eyes. Sometimes completely black or white individuals are found in the waters Pacific Ocean. The killer whale lives in all waters of the world's oceans, except the Sea of ​​Azov, the Black Sea, the Laptev Sea and the East Siberian Sea.

The mystery of the speed of dolphins

In 1936, British zoologist Sir James Gray drew attention to the enormous speed (up to 37 km/h, according to his data) that dolphins can develop. Having produced necessary calculations, Gray showed that, according to the laws of hydrodynamics, it is impossible to achieve such high speeds with the muscle strength that dolphins possess. This mystery is called Gray's Paradox. The search for a solution to this problem still continues to one degree or another. IN different time various teams of researchers have put forward various explanations phenomenal speed of dolphins, but there is no clear and universally accepted answer to this question yet.

Regeneration ability

Dolphins have incredible ability to self-healing. In the event of any injury, even big size– they do not bleed or die from infection, as one might expect. Instead, their flesh begins to regenerate at a rapid rate, so that after just a few weeks, a deep wound, such as from a shark's teeth, will have almost no visible scars. Interestingly, the behavior of injured animals is practically no different from normal. This gives reason to believe that nervous system Dolphins are capable of blocking pain in critical situations.

Why don't dolphins freeze underwater?

Finally, let's find out why dolphins, being warm-blooded, do not freeze in the water. Their body temperature is 36.6 degrees. IN northern seas Animals need to stay warm. Water, which conducts heat up to twenty-five times more efficiently than air, allows you to freeze much faster than in air.

Why do dolphins perform such miracles?! This is due to a large layer of fat under the skin. They can control their blood circulation and metabolism. This makes it possible to support normal temperature bodies, as Wikipedia says.

How do dolphins breathe?

Whales and dolphins are related and can stay underwater for long periods of time without surfacing. The blowhole is closed during such periods. But, like other cetaceans, dolphins still need air underwater and periodically float to the surface to breathe.

How do dolphins sleep?

Dolphins also have another interesting physiological feature: they never sleep. Animals hang in the water column, periodically rising to the surface to breathe. During rest, they are able to turn off alternately the left and right hemispheres of the brain, that is, only one half of the dolphin’s brain sleeps, and the other half is awake.

How are they born?

Do you know how dolphins are born? The bottlenose dolphin carries the baby for about a year. It is born tail first. The cub's eyes are immediately open, and its senses are extremely developed. Moreover, a barely born dolphin already has sufficient coordination to follow in the footsteps of its mother, who helps to rise to the surface. Then comes the baby dolphin's first breath in his life. Such a trusting relationship between a child dolphin and its mother lasts approximately from 3 to 8 years.

Dolphins and people: who is smarter?

When dolphins began to be studied and trained in the middle of the last century, the first results of this work seemed so unusual, and even surprising (they talked about it a lot, wrote about it and made films) that a legend gradually developed about the unusually high intelligence of dolphins; one could often hear that they were no more stupid than a person, only their minds were different.

The brain of an adult dolphin weighs about 1,700 grams, while that of a human weighs 1,400. A dolphin has twice as many convolutions in the cerebral cortex. At the same time, there are relatively few neurons per cubic millimeter of its substance (less than in the brain of primates).

The results of studies on the behavior and physiology of the brain of dolphins are very contradictory. Some put their ability to learn at about the level of a dog and show that dolphins are very far from chimpanzees. Research on the communication methods of dolphins, on the contrary, leads to the conclusion that we have not yet come close to understanding this form of life in natural conditions and comparing the level of intelligence of dolphins and chimpanzees is simply incorrect.

One property of the dolphin brain is completely unique: it never really sleeps. They sleep - alternately - then left, then right hemisphere brain The dolphin needs to come to the surface from time to time to breathe. At night, the waking halves of the brain are responsible for this, in turn.

Dolphin communication

The language of dolphins can be divided into 2 groups:

• Sign language(language of the body) – various poses, jumps, turns, various ways swimming, signs given by the tail, head, fins.
• Language of sounds(the language itself) – sound signaling, expressed in the form of sound pulses and ultrasound. Examples of such sounds include: chirping, buzzing, squealing, grinding, clicking, smacking, squeaking, popping, squeaking, roaring, screaming, screaming, croaking, and whistling.

The most expressive whistles are those that dolphins have. 32 types. Each of them can denote a specific phrase (signals of pain, anxiety, greetings and a calling cry “come to me,” etc.). Scientists studied dolphin whistles using the Zipf method and obtained the same slope coefficient as that of human languages, that is, they carry information. IN Lately dolphins have been found to have about 180 communication signs, which are trying to systematize, compiling a dictionary of communication between these mammals. However, despite numerous studies, it has not been possible to completely decipher the language of dolphins.

Dolphins' names

Each dolphin has its own name, to which it responds when its relatives address it. This conclusion was reached by American scientists, the results of which were published in the Bulletin of the US National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Moreover, experts who conducted their experiments in the American state of Florida found that the name is given to the dolphin at birth and is a characteristic whistle.

Scientists captured 14 light gray bottlenose dolphins in the wild and recorded the various sounds these mammals made as they communicated with each other. Then, using a computer, “names” were extracted from the records. When the name was “played” for the flock, a specific individual responded to it. The dolphin's "name" is a characteristic whistle, average duration which is 0.9 seconds

Official recognition

The Indian government recently removed dolphins from the list of animals and gave them the status of "non-human persons." Thus, India became the first country to recognize the intelligence and self-awareness of dolphins. In this regard, the Ministry environment and Indian Forestry has banned any performances using dolphins and called for their special rights to be respected.

1. There are 43 species of dolphins. 38 of them are marine, the rest are river inhabitants.
2. It turns out that in ancient times dolphins were land animals, and only later did they adapt to life in the water. Their fins resemble legs. So our sea friends may once have been land wolves.
3. Images of dolphins were carved in the desert city of Petra, Jordan. Petra was founded back in 312 BC. This gives reason to consider dolphins as one of the most ancient animals.
4. Dolphins are the only animals whose babies are born tail first. Otherwise, the cub may drown.
5. A dolphin can drown if a tablespoon of water gets into its lungs. For comparison, a person needs two tablespoons to choke.
6. Dolphins breathe through an adapted nose, which is located at the top of their head.
7. Dolphins can see using sound; they send signals that travel long distances and are reflected from objects. This allows animals to judge the distance to an object, its shape, density and texture.
8. Dolphins are superior bat its sonar ability.
9. During sleep, dolphins float on the surface of the water to be able to breathe. As a control, one half of the animal's brain is always awake.
10. "The Cove" won an Academy Award as documentary about the treatment of dolphins in Japan. The film explores the topic of cruelty to dolphins and the high risk of mercury poisoning when eating dolphins.
11. It is assumed that hundreds of years ago dolphins did not have such an ability to echolocate. This is a quality acquired through evolution.
12. Dolphins do not use their 100 teeth to chew food. With their help, they catch fish, which they swallow whole. Dolphins don't even have chewing muscles!
13. IN Ancient Greece Dolphins were called sacred fish. Killing a dolphin was considered sacrilege.
14. Scientists have found that dolphins give themselves names. Each individual has its own personal whistle.
15. Breathing in these animals is not an automatic process, like in humans. The dolphin's brain signals when to breathe.