Porpoises

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1.Dall’s Porpoise

2.Finless Porpoise

3.Harbor Porpoise

4.Spectacled Porpoise

5.Vaquita Porpoise

6.Burmeister’s Porpoise

Dall’s Porpoise

Kevin Smith / Design Pics – Dall’s Porpoises swimming at the surface of the ocean Prince William Sound Whittier Southcentral Alaska USA Winter Photo Print (60.96 x 96.52 cm)

Dall’s porpoises occur throughout the North Pacific Ocean. This species is also found in the adjacent Bering Sea, Sea of Japan, and Okhotsk Sea.

Dall’s porpoises are “high strung,” fast swimming members of the porpoise family and are common in the North Pacific Ocean. They can reach a maximum length of just under 8 feet (2.4 m) and weigh up to 480 pounds (220 kg). Males are slightly larger and thicker than females, which reach lengths of just under 7 feet (2.1 m) long.

Dall’s porpoises have a relatively small, triangular head with little or no beak and a thick, robust body. The flippers are small, round, and located forward on the body. The dorsal fin is positioned in the middle of the back, triangular in shape, and often cant, or angles, forward.

These porpoises are usually found in groups averaging between 2-20 individuals, but have been occasionally seen in larger, loosely associated groups in the hundreds or even thousands of animals. They are known to associate with Pacific white-sided dolphins and short-finned pilot whales. As rapid, gregarious swimmers, they are also attracted to fast moving vessels and commonly bowride.

They feed on small schooling fish (e.g., anchovies, herring, and hake), mid- and deep water fish (e.g., myctophids and smelts), cephalopods (e.g., squid and octopus), and occasionally crabs and shrimp. Feeding usually occurs at night when their prey vertically migrate up toward the surface.

Dall’s porpoises are capable of diving up to 1640 feet (500 m) in order to reach their prey. They have 38-56 very small spade-shaped teeth on each jaw that are useful for grasping. Their brisk surfacing while swimming creates a “rooster tail” of water spray that is a unique characteristic of the species.

Dall’s porpoises become sexually mature at 3.5-8 years of age and give birth to a single calf after 10-12 months, usually between June and September. The calves are generally 3.3 feet (1 m) long. Calves are typically nursed by their mother for less than one year. These cetaceans can live up to 22 years, but their lifespan is generally 15-20 years.

Finless Porpoise

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Finless porpoises are widely distributed in the coastal waters of Asia, from the Persian Gulf, east and north to Central Japan and as far south as the northern coast of Java and the Strait of Sunda. Finless porpoises are described as a coastal, estuarine or riverine species and they are usually sighted near the coast.

Finless porpoises are slender and have no dorsal fin. In its place along the mid-dorsum is a low dorsal ridge which is covered by thick  skin.

Newborn finless porpoises are mainly black with some grey on the dorsal ridge area. These young porpoises quickly become lighter and after 4 to 6 months attain the uniform light grey colour of adults.

Both male and female finless porpoises grow to lengths greater then 1.55 m. Although there is a great deal of variability between populations of finless porpoises, males become sexually mature at 4.5 – 9 years and females at 3-7 years.

Finless porpoises are opportunistic feeders, consuming a wide variety of fishes, shrimps and cephalopods throughout their range.

Harbor Porpoise

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Harbour porpoises are found in the temperate waters of the northern hemisphere in a nearly circumpolar distribution. They generally inhabit coastal waters with a depth of less than 150 meters, and their common name is derived from their regular appearance in bays and harbours. Many populations of harbour porpoises are migratory.

The harbour porpoise is the most widespread, commonly seen and studied of all porpoises. They are very shy animals and only show their backs and dorsal fin when surfacing the water. One of the harbour porpoises names, the puffing pig, is derived from the noise of its blow when they surface the water for air. The noise makes sounds like a human sneezing or puffing.

Living in cool temperate waters the porpoise has a high metabolic rate, therefore the less choosy they are with their diet, the more successful they will be finding a meal.  Their diet consists of over 20 different species of fish, squid, octopus and shellfish.  Herring, sprat and sandeels make up a large part of the diet among porpoises around the Isle of Mull and the small Isles.  They hunt singly or in small groups, usually including 2 to 10 individuals.  They are quite accomplished divers and when feeding may surface to breathe about four times every 10 to 20 seconds before diving for up to six minutes.  They can reach depths of over 230 metres.

Of all cetaceans they have the shortest lifespan.  Capable of reaching up to 20 years, but rarely do, the average life is around ten.  Sexual maturity is reached at three to four years with females gestating for approximately 11 months.  Only one calf is born annually, which means the porpoises reproductive life is extremely short.  Calves are born at around 70 centrimetres long and have a strong bond with their mother.  Males play no part in the upbringing of the offspring.  Weaning can ocur quickly and individuals as young as six months have been known to become independent.  With such a short lifespan and reproductive life harbour porpoises are highly susceptible to sudden decreases in local populations.

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River Dolphins

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1.Baiji, or Yangtze river Dolphin

2.Boto, or Amazon River Dolphin

3.Franciscana or La plata Dolphin

Yangtze river Dolphin

Witness To Extinction: How We Failed to Save the Yangtze River Dolphin

The Baiji (Yangtze) Dolphin is a species that  is found along 1,700km from the Three Gorges to the mouth of the Yangtze River, China.

Classification: This species is the only member of this genus. The Latin, Leipo (‘left behind’) refers to the restricted distribution, whilst vexillifer means ‘to bear a banner’.

Local Names: Chinese River Dolphin; Yangtze Dolphin; Yangtze River Dolphin; Beiji; Pai C’hi; Whitefin Dolphin; Whiteflag Dolphin.

The Baiji has a very long, narrow beak, with abrupt forehead and tiny eyes set high on the sides of the head. The triangular dorsal fin has a blunt peak. They are blue-grey in colour, fading to white below. Maximum length and weight are around 2.5m and 160kg respectively.

Baiji feed upon a variety of fish.Small groups of 3-7 are most common, with occasional groups of 10 being observed. Baiji are wary of boats and difficult to approach.

Amazon River Dolphin

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They are known in Peru as “Bufeo Colorado” but the correct name is “Bufeo Rosado,” meaning pink, not red. The Amazon River Dolphin is also known as “boto”.They can be up to 9 feet long or more and usually weigh between 190-285 pounds.Their echo-location ability is excellent.During the rainy season, when the Amazon River floods, they swim amongst the rainforest trees, which are under water.

The Amazon River Dolphin can be pink or gray in color. They are a freshwater dolphin (there are 5 known species in the world) and are the largest of the freshwater dolphins. Loss of habitat has caused them to become an endangered species. Their diet consists of 43 species of 19 families of fish, this is why they have developed three stomachs to digest these bony fish, turtles, etc. They have an unfused vertebra in their spine so they can more their heads from side to side.

Unlike most dolphin species, boto does not have a dorsal fin, but has a ridge on its back.The Amazon River Dolphin is born a dark gray, but gets pinker as it gets older. Scientists are not quite sure why.They often hunt and feed alone, but are sometimes found in groups of 5-8.Baby dolphins are called “calves”.

La plata Dolphin

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La Plata River Dolphin, also known by the scientific name Pontoporia blainvillei live off the coasts of Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina in South America. La Plata dolphins are also called franciscana and Pontoporia blainvillei.

They are very small dolphins: they only grow to be 4 or 5 (less than 2 meters) feet long! They are grayish-brown and have very long beaks. They have many sharp teeth in their beaks that they use to catch fish, shrimp and squid. Every year, a new layer is added to each dolphin’s teeth.

La Plata dolphins are very hard to see in the ocean, so no one knows how many there are in the wild. Very little is known about how these dolphins behave. Sadly, they are often caught in fishermens nets and are killed.

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Marine Dolphins

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1.White Beaked Dolphin

2.Short Finned Pilot Whale

3.Risso’s Dolphin

4.Pantropical Dolphin

5.Long-Finned Pilot Whale

6.Orcas (Killer Whale)

7.Hourglass Dolphin

8.Heaviside’s Dolphin

9.False Killer Whale

10.Commerson’s Dolphin

11.Bottlenose Dolphin

12.Striped Dolphin

13.Peale’s Dolphin

14.Pygmy Killer Whale

15.Melon-Headed Whale

16.Irrawaddy Dolphin

17.Hector’s Dolphin

18.Frasier’s Dolphin

19.Dusky Dolphin

20.Clymene Dolphin

21.Black Dolphin

22.Southern Right-Whale Dolphin

23.Rough Toothed Dolphin

24.Short Beaked Common Dolphin

25.Pacific White-Sided Dolphin

26.Northern Right-Whale Dolphin

27.Long-Snouted Spinner Dolphin

28.Long-Beaked Common Dolphin

29.Indo-Pacific Hump-Back

30.Atlantic White Sided Dolphin

31.Atlantic Hump-Backed Dolphin

32.Atlantic Spotted Dolphin

White Beaked Dolphin

Photographic Print of Long-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus capensis) leaping near White Island

This species is endemic to the temperate and sub-arctic waters of the North Atlantic as far north as the White Sea and occasionally as far south as the Spanish coast. It is common off the Norwegian coast and in the North Sea and is often found in the Baltic Sea as well. Less are found in the northwest Atlantic but there are abundant populations off Labrador and they are found as far south as Cape Cod.

The white-beaked dolphin grows up to 3.1 metres and is sturdy and plump-looking. The body is mostly black or grey with a pale saddle behind the dorsal fin and white bands on the flanks. The belly is white and although called the white-beaked dolphin the beak is sometimes grey or even darker. The dorsal fin is prominent and falcate and is placed mid-way down the body. The pectoral fins are short and wide and it has a prominently keeled peduncle (the area between the dorsal fin and the tail).

White-beaked dolphins are typically seen in groups of 5 to 50 and occasionally in schools of several hundred. They are attracted by boats and often bow ride. They are very acrobatic and have a distinctive “rooster tail splash” when swimming fast. White-beaked dolphins are often seen in mixed groups with white-sided dolphins and they also associate with feeding fin whales and humpback whales. They are not well-adapted to ice formation and often get trapped in groups by new ice.

In eastern Canada the white-beaked dolphins are sometimes known as “squid-hounds”, but they also eat a wide range of fish, ranging from small schooling fish such as common herring to larger bottom-dwelling fish such as cod, whiting and haddock. They are also known to eat molluscs, octopus and some crustaceans.

Orcas (Killer Whale)

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Orcas are one of the most wide-ranging mammals on earth. They are seen more often in cooler waters, especially polar regions. They are usually found within at least 500 miles of the shore. They tend to prefer deep water but can be found in shallow bays and estuaries. Orcas are occasionally sighted in the Hebrides – sightings hotspots are the Isles of Coll and Tiree, west of Canna, the East coast of Lewis and the Sound of Harris. Many reported sightings appear to be of the same pod of about 8 animals. Adults can be individually identified by the distinctive nicks and markings on their dorsal fins.

Orcas (or killer whales) are actually part of the dolphin family. They have jet-black, brilliant white and grey markings making them quite distinctive. They have a white belly, a large white patch on the side of the head and a grey saddle patch. The adult male’s dorsal fin is huge at up to 1.8 metres making them easy to identify. Females and young males however can sometimes be mistaken for Risso’s dolphins, False Killer whales or Dall’s porpoise from a distance.

These animals are very intelligent and because of this can be very inquisitive and approachable. However, they rarely bow-ride but instead can often be seen breaching, spy-hopping (just the nose coming out of the water), flipper splashing and lobtailing (slapping their tail-fin down on the water). Powerful swimmers, they can reach speeds of 55km per hour.

In the Hebrides, killer whales are known to spend a whole day with a boat, delighting the passengers. Despite the name “killer whale” they do not harm humans in the wild and agression within a pod is rare. The life span of a wild orca is up to 60 years for males and 90 years for females – this is drastically reduced in captivity.

An opportunistic and voracious feeder, the orca is one of the ocean’s top predators, with a varied diet of fish, octopus and squid, as well as birds, seals and other cetaceans. In the Hebrides orcas have occasionally been spotted chasing and taking seal pups from beaches. They often hunt co-operatively, especially when pursuing marine mammal prey.

Bottlenose Dolphin

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Bottlenose dolphins are found world-wide in tropical and temperate waters, inshore and offshore. Scottish bottlenoses are at the northernmost extreme of the species’ range, and are seen throughout the entire Hebridean area. They are usually seen close inshore, hugging the coastline around headlands and bays. Hebridean sightings hotspots are the Isles of Mull (in particular the Sound of Mull), Iona , Coll, Tiree, and Barra – there are believed to be resident populations inhabiting these waters year-round.

The bottlenose dolphin is a stocky dolphin with a short beak. Scottish bottlenoses are somewhat special, being larger than their cousins worldwide. The colour is variable – usually dark brown or grey on the back, white on the belly and light grey on the flanks, with no distinctive markings. They are identifiable at sea by their large, dark dorsal fin and apparently uniform colouring.

Bottlenose dolphins live in small groups of up to 10 individuals (inshore) and typically up to 25 offshore. Occasionally, lone individuals (usually males) choose an inshore area to call home, often following fishing boats and swimmers.

These dolphins are usually fairly slow swimmers, traveling at about 4 km per hour, but can reach speeds of over 50 km per hour for brief periods. Famously inquisitive, active and playful, they are often seen bow-riding, and leaping high into the air.

They are sociable animals, assisting one another and hunting co-operatively to herd schools of fish to the surface of the water. They have 18- 26 pairs of conical teeth in each jaw, which are used to catch a wide variety of fish, squid and cuttlefish.

Black Dolphin

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The black dolphin is found only in Chilean waters between Valparaiso and s. Isla Navarine, just north of Cape Horn, . The most easterly sighting was in the Strat of Magellan, just east of First Narrows .There is very little overlap between the range of the black dolphin and that of the Commerson’s dolphin, but they have been seen together in the Strait of Magellan, the Beagle Channel, and Cape Horn.

The black dolphin in many ways resembles the Heaviside’s dolphin, with a small adult size of around 1.4 meters, a low, rounded dorsal fin, and dark coloration. It has a white throat and belly, a white spot behind the flipper, and a dark line on the sides running from the cranial to the caudal end. When in the water, it is described as tan, brown, lead-colored, or gray. Out of the water, it is found to be nearly black on most parts and pure white on other parts. After death, the color darkens quickly, especially if the specimen is left in the sun.

Very little is known about the black dolphin’s behaviour. It is generally not blatant or aggressive, and does not breach often. Individuals are often seen with groups of feeding sea birds. The northern stock is far more gregarious than the southern stock. While in the southern part of the range, individuals are wary of boats and very difficult to approach, those in the northern areas do occasionally approach boats and bow ride. In addition, groups in the north are much larger, sometimes reaching as many as 4,000 individuals.

Atlantic White Sided Dolphin

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The Atlantic white-sided dolphin is found in the cold waters of the North Atlantic Ocean from the tip of Greenland and around the North Cape in the north to Cape Cod and the mouth of the Mediterranean in the south. It tends to migrate in winter along with the movement of cooler waters southwards and in summer moves north. It appears to be found mostly in areas with a high seafloor relief.

Growing up to 3 metres, the Atlantic white-sided dolphin is a sturdy dolphin with a small head and a short, inconspicuous beak. The beak is clearly differentiated. The dorsal fin is mid-way down the back and is large and falcate.

The flippers are short and the tail fluke has a marked median notch. The entire dorsal surface, including the upper jaw, head and dorsal fin, is dark grey or black. The belly and throat are white and the flippers and fluke dark. Along the side, below the dorsal fin is a white flash behind which is a narrow bright yellow patch extending almost to the tail.

In the western Atlantic groups of 50 to 60 dolphins are typical and sometimes up to several hundred, but off Europe they are usually found in groups of less than 10 individuals. There appears to be some segregation in the schooling with some groups made up of juveniles. Mixed schools of white-sided and white-beaked dolphins have been observed and they are also found in association with feeding fin and humpback whales.

Atlantic white-sided dolphins are probably not deep divers with most dives being recorded as less than a minute in duration. Their major prey species are herring, small mackerel, cod, hake and several species of squid. However they also consume many other prey such as bottom dwelling fish and sand lances. They are sometimes seen co-operatively surrounding schooling fish near the surface.

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Dolphin Body Signals

The Smile Of A Dolphin: Remarkable Accounts Of Animal Emotions

Dolphins produce two kinds of vocal signals: pure tones and pulsed sounds.

Pure tones can take the form of whistles , chirps and screams.Scientists refer to these as ‘frequently modulated sounds’, which means that the pitch of the sound changes with time – rising and falling.

Scientists  have leaned that dolphins are amazing vocal mimics – able to reproduce manmade whistle structures with precise accuracy. Dolphins produce whistles during social situations, when separated from friends, when excited, when happy and when panicked.

Scientists have discovered that family groups appear to reliably produce distinct categories of whistles and other calls that are stable across time, and that appear to be taught to new members of the group. These calls are so distinct that researchers are able to distinguish different family groups just by listening to their calls.

Dolphins appear to be able to produce their own signature whistle quite reliably, but also the signature whistle of their friends. Isolated or lost dolphins appear to frantically produce signature whistles, apparently calling out to their friends.

It should be noted however that there are a number of dolphin species which do not in fact produce any whistles whatsoever. These species are thought to communicate vocally using only pulsed sounds,

Unlike whistles, pulsed sounds are brief sounds (called clicks) that occur in rapid succession at regular intervals. A series of clicks together is called a ‘click train’. By listening to the information coming back in the click echoes, dolphins can get a mental image of objects in their environment.

Burst pulses occur when dolphins release clicks so rapidly that it is not believed that they are able to gain any sonar information from the returning click echoes.Dolphins of many species release bursts pulses when they are excited or angry, and burst pulses are thought to convey information about a dolphin’s emotional state.

Burst pulses can be extremely loud, and dolphins may use them during aggressive encounters – possibly to hurt the ‘ears’ of other dolphins. Burst pulse sounds are often seen in social situation where males are herding female dolphins, where burst pulses are directed at the genital region of the fleeing females. They have also been observed when a mother emits a loud burst pulses directed at a misbehaving calf.

Different kinds of burst pulse sounds used during aggressive encounters have been given names like ‘squawks’ and ‘barks’ – these click trains are often produced so rapidly that to the human ear, they sound like a continuous sounds, but in reality that are a series of tightly packed clicks.

Dolphins also produce a number of non-vocal sounds that they use for communication.

Tail slaps (or lob tailing): Dolphins often hit the surface of the water with their tail (flukes), producing a very loud booming sound that can transmit great distances in the water. Often a tailslap is a sign of aggression, but this need not always be the case. Tail slaps may mean many things in many situations – for example, a signal that it is time to leave the area. It may simply be a means of getting the attention of friends who are some distance away. Some dolphins and whales also slap their tails as a means of hunting fish – stunning the fish with a powerful blow.

Flipper slaps: Just like they would do with their tails, dolphins slap their flippers (that is, their pectoral fins) to sound. They may slap their flippers on the surface of the water, or onto their own body (e.g., their belly). This likely produces a similar effect to the tail slap.

Jaw claps and jaw pops: Dolphins can produce extremely loud sounds by rapidly clamping their jaws together. This behavior bangs their teeth together, producing an acoustic signal that transmits large distances. Jaw claps are generally understood to be an aggressive signal, used as a threat. But jaw clapping also occurs during play – the difference between real aggression and play aggression is often very subtle, just like in the case of humans.

Chuffs: Dolphins exhale rapidly, and you can often hear the sound of an exhaling dolphin if you happen to by nearby when they break the surface. Dolphins may also exhale rapidly through their blowhole as a communicative signal, producing a loud sound called a ‘chuff’ – a chuff is another signal thought to denote aggression.

Bubbles: Dolphins often blow bubble streams and bubble clouds in a variety of social situations, and while these are primarily visual signals, the production of a large bubble cloud also produces a distinctive noise that can likely be heard over short distances.

Body coloration, spots and stripes: Many species of dolphins have evolved complicated body markings that communicate information. For example, Atlantic spotted dolphins slowly develop spots as they age, with adult dolphins being covered in mottled spot patterns – this quickly conveys information about a dolphin’s age. Many color patterns – like counter-shading and the distinctive black and white markings of orcas – are likely used for camouflage or to help when hunting prey species. However, some of the markings also help species to quickly tell the difference between animals belonging to the same or different species.

Postures:  Dolphins produce a number of visual signals. They can signal other dolphins with body postures – for example, by forming their body into an S-shape posture they convey anger or aggression. Some scientists speculate that this S posture is in fact an imitation of the S shaped posture assumed by sharks – something that also conveys aggressions for sharks. So in essence, dolphins may be pretending to be an angry shark. During aggressive encounters, dolphins will also flare out their pec fins in an attempt to make themselves look larger, and open up their jaws – a threat signal.

Gestures: Dolphins of course do not have arms or hands, and yet they produce a number of subtle movements that could be understood to be meaningful gestures. For example, a dolphin shaking its head back and forth rapidly, an open jaw, or dipping its head during a frontal approach is often a sign of aggressions. Looking or swimming away, as well as flinching may be a sign of submission.

Synchronous behavior: Dolphins have an unusual ability to imitate the behavior of other dolphins, as well as humans. In the wild it is thought that mirroring the behavior of your dolphin friends is a signal to other dolphins that  you are in a close relationship with your partners.

Aerial Displays:  These displays can be viewed both from above and below the water, and may be used to convey information about the direction of travel, location of food or general excitement levels. They may also serve to reinforce social bonds, and may also be effective in herding fish. Some have speculated that impressive aerial displays may also occur during contests – where individuals try to out-do each other.

Object Carrying: Males will collect objects and often swim out of the water holding the rocks or sticks in the air before slowly sinking back into the water. These object carrying displays may signal to the females that she has a hunky, strong male on her hands that is worth mating with.

One of the most important modes of signaling in a dolphin’s world is the use of touch. Dolphins have skin that is quite sensitive to even the lightest touch – much like the skins of human beings.

Dolphins are know to rub their bodies up against each other, but also to engage in intricate rubbing behaviors using the pectoral fins. Dolphins will rub their fins into the fins of other dolphins, engaging in a behavior that looks a lot like holding hands. They will also rub the bodies of their friends, moving their fins rapidly over the face, flank or genital region, producing what is likely to be a pleasurable sensation.

But not all contact behavior is friendly. During aggressive encounters, dolphins can body slam each other, butt heads and ram each other with their rostrums. They also smack each other with their powerful flukes, and have even been observed leaping out of the water  and slamming into each other while airborne. With sensitive skin, these kinds of aggressive contacts surely must hurt, and these are clearly aggressive signals.

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