Types of Dolphins Out There

By Tarek Khaleel

First on the list are the beloved and the famous, one and only, bottlenose dolphin. There is literally an enormous wealth and surplus of information on this creature. It is the most well known dolphin of them all; and that is mostly due to the fact that these are the easiest dolphins to train and learn tricks and due to their overwhelmingly friendly and playful nature. They are extremely popular with both children and adults alike.  The bottlenose dolphin is arguably among the most intelligent of the dolphin order, they are on the front lines in movies, aquarium exhibitions, dolphin swims and shows, and are even utilized by the military, doing everything from tracking and hunting enemy mines to covert and secret operations with naval marines. The Bottlenose dolphins are found in warm and temperate seas worldwide, but the largest accumulation seems to be in the Atlantic according to modern marine biologists. The bottlenose dolphin sets itself apart from the other dolphins because of its unusually friendly demeanor, especially towards humans, and their capacity to learn new tricks and abilities still astounds scientists to this day. They are without a doubt the quintessential image of the dolphin community.

Next on the list is the Killer whale, or orca (Orcinus orca), less commonly, blackfish or seawolf, is the largest species of the dolphin family. It is found in all the world's oceans, from the frigid Arctic and Antarctic regions to warm, tropical seas. Killer whales are versatile and opportunistic predators. Some populations feed mostly on fish while other populations hunt marine mammals, including sea lions, seals, walruses and even large whales. They are considered the apex predator of the marine world, having no known predators. There are up to five distinct killer whale types, some of which may be separate races, subspecies or even species. Killer whales are highly social; some populations are composed of matrilineal family groups, which are the most stable of any animal species. The sophisticated social behavior, hunting techniques, and vocal behavior of killer whales have been described as manifestations of culture. Killer whales are distinctively marked with a black back, white chest and sides, and a white patch above and behind the eye. Calves are born with a yellowish or orange tint, which fades to white. Killer whales have a heavy and stocky body and a large dorsal fin with a dark gray "saddle patch" at the fin's rear. Antarctic killer whales may have pale gray to nearly white backs. Males typically range from 6-8 m long (19-26 ft) and weigh in excess of 6 tons. Females are smaller, generally ranging from 5-7 m (16-23 ft) and weighing about 3 to 4 tons. The largest killer whale ever recorded was a male off the coast of Japan, measuring 9.8 m (32 ft) and weighing over 8 tons (17,636 lb). Calves at birth weigh about 180 kg (350-500 lb) and are about 2.4 m long (6-8 ft). The killer whale's large size and strength make it among the fastest marine mammals, often reaching speeds in excess of 56 km/h (35 mph). Unlike most dolphins, the pectoral fin of a killer whale is large and rounded—more of a paddle than other dolphin species. Males have significantly larger pectoral fins than females. At about 1.8 m (6 ft), the male's dorsal fin is more than twice the size of the females and is more of a triangular shape—a tall, elongated isosceles triangle—whereas the dorsal fin of the female is shorter and generally more curved. Adult male killer whales are very distinctive and are unlikely to be confused with any other sea creature. When seen from a distance in temperate waters, adult females and juveniles can be confused with various other species, for example, the false killer whale or Risso's dolphin.

Types of Dolphins

Next up are the spotted dolphin and the Atlantic white-sided dolphin; both contain similarities and subtle differences.  First up the spotted dolphin, the coloring of the Atlantic Spotted Dolphin varies enormously as they grow. Calves are a fairly uniform gray color. When the calves are weaned, they then begin to get their spots. Juveniles have some dark spots on their belly, and white spots of their flanks. Their back and dorsal fin are a darker gray than the rest of the body. As the animal matures the spots became denser and spread until the body appears black with white spots at full maturation. While in comparison the Atlantic White sided dolphin is slightly larger than most other oceanic dolphins. It is just over a meter in length at birth, growing to about 2.8m (males) and 2.5m (females) at maturity. It weighs between 200 kg and 230 kg once fully-grown. Females reach sexual maturity at between 6 and 12 years, and males between 7 and 11 years. The gestation period is 11 months and lactation lasts for about a year and a half - both typical figures for dolphins. Individuals are known to live for up to 22 years (males) and 27 years (females). The key distinguishing feature is the white to pale yellow patch found behind the dorsal fin of the dolphin on each side. This variation in color to the Atlantic White-sided Dolphin is unique. The rest of the body's coloration is well demarcated: the chin, throat and belly are white; the flippers, dorsal fin and back are dark gray to black with the exception of the yellow patch; there is a further white patch below the dorsal fin, lying above a light gray stripe that runs from the beak, above the eye and down to the tail stock.

All in all there is a surplus of information about these and other types of dolphins around the globe, some other dolphins that were not mentioned but are also a solid part of the Delphinidae family are the the Common dolphin, the False Killer Whale, the Hector's dolphin, the Commerson's dolphin, the Black dolphin, the Atlantic Humpbacked dolphin, the Haeviside's dolphin, the Indo-Pacific Humpbacked dolphin, the Southern Right Whale dolphin, the Tucuxi, the Northern Right dolphin, the Pygmy Killer Whale, , the Melon-Headed Whale,, the Irrawaddy dolphin, the Striped dolphin, the Rough-Toothed dolphin, the Spinner dolphin, the Risso's dolphin, the Clymene dolphin, the Fraser's dolphin, the White-Beaked dolphin, the Peale's dolphin,, the Hourglass dolphin, the Pacific White-Sided dolphin and the Dusky dolphin.  To go into great detail for these astounding creatures would take an impressive amount of time and would likely fill volumes upon volumes based on empirical data and reserves from national and global databases world wide. Simply said we know a lot about dolphins but there is just so much more we can learn from these fascinating creatures, that only time will tell how much we truly comprehend.