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COMMON DOLPHIN |
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SCIENTIFIC
NAME - Delphinus
delphis from the greek delphis + suffix -inos, dolphin.
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FAMILY
- Delphinidae
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| DIMENSIONS
- Medium lenght 2 mt, maximum 2,6 mt,
maximum weight
136 Kg. |
| ASPECT
- Streamlined
Body; small melon but very visible, rostrum long and thin;
high and arcuated dorsal fin; fins small and thin chest straps
leggermente incurvate; tail and caudal peduncle thin.
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| SKIN
and COLORATION - Back dark or black gray, caparison dark gray with clearly
passage to toracic zone grey tail cream and (the intersection of
these colors creates very distinguished dark triangle with the apex
towards the bottom), dark lines from side mouth to genital zone and
chest strap jaw, abdomen white; also the head can have the triple
dark coloration over cream to sides and white under. Dark jaws
sometimes with two clear strips; dark fins not the
dorsal that sometimes has a clearer shading.
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| LONGEVITY
- It's believed 20 years. |
| REPRODUCTION
- Reproductive season in spring-autumn, gestation of approximately 10 months. To the
birth the puppy measure approximately 80 cm. |
| TEETH
- Conical small, until 2,5 mm of diameter. |
| BREATH
- Little visible. |
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SOUNDS
- Three types of emissions:
1° click, used emissions of short
duration for the biosonar.
2° modulated whistle.
3° sounds to
impulses.
The emissions of
the number 2 and 3 constitute
the dictionary of the common dolphin, used in order to communicate.
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| FEEDING
- The diet of the common Dolphin is composed mostly from
fish (herrings sardine etc.) but also from cefalopodi (small
cuttlefishes squids etc.) (Vd. Feeding). |
| HABITAT
- Pelagic cetacean but
sometimes also coastal (like the Bottlenose
dophin), mostly loves
tropical waters, moderated.
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| SWIM
- It's a very agile cetacen, knows to be very fast 65 Km/h (35 nodes). Able of good
immersions (-300 m).
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| JUMPS
- They Carry out many spectacular jumps also high three times the length of their body, think that between the
several functions (also of communication) they serve, if made during
the swim, in order to increase the efficiency of the swim.
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MIGRATIONS
- Some groups make small movements more than migrations, others
are permanent (for ex. in the Mediterranean).
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SOCIALITY
- There aren't studies about that but it's known that forms groups in average of
12-24 individuals but sometimes exist supergroups (300.000 individuals), are
known even if as said little studied the strong social tie. Often in
the Mediterranean cohabits with striped dolphin and bottlenose dolphin.
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TEMPERAMENT
- Intelligent and not very much confiding with the man above all if
dipped, often lets to transport by the wave of prow of the boats.
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DANGER
and PREDATORY
- The great sharks can attack therefore like
the killer whale, victim also of pelagic fishing-net and of the pollution.
Sometimes subject to individual beachings but the collectives
are rarest.
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SPECIES
DIFFUSION - Do not exist esteem, it's probably the more abundant cetacean of the world. In the
Mediterranean present everywhere with prevalence to the West, but in
quick decrease (perhaps also for identification errors that in past
recognized Dolphins in place of striped dolphins).
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