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Delphinus delphis

Delphinus delphis ( Photo: Protected Resouces Division, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, La Jolla, California. swfsc.nmfs.noaa.gov/PRD/")

Cladus: Eukaryota
Supergroup: Opisthokonta
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Classis: Mammalia
Subclassis: Theria
Infraclassis: Placentalia
Superordo: Cetartiodactyla
Ordo: Cetacea
Subordo: Odontoceti
Infraordines: Delphinida
Superfamilia: Delphinoidea
Familia: Delphinidae
Genus: Delphinus
Species: Delphinus delphis
Subspecies: D. d. delphis - D. d. ponticus

Name

Delphinus delphis Linnaeus, 1758

References

* Delphinus delphis on Mammal Species of the World.
* Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, 2 Volume Set edited by Don E. Wilson, DeeAnn M. Reeder


Vernacular names
Deutsch: Gemeiner Delfin
English: Short-beaked Common Dolphin
Français: Dauphin commun
Galego: Golfiño
日本語: マイルカ
‪Norsk (bokmål)‬: Gulflankedelfin
Türkçe: Bayağı yunus , Tırtak

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The Short-beaked Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis) is a species of common dolphin. It has a larger range than the Long-beaked Common Dolphin (D. capensis), occurring throughout warm-temperate and tropical oceans, with the possible exception of the Indian Ocean.[3] There are more Short-beaked Common Dolphins than any other dolphin species in the warm-temperate portions of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.[4] It is also found in the Caribbean and Mediterranean Seas.

Physical characteristics

The Short-beaked Common dolphin is a medium sized dolphin, smaller than the more popular bottlenose dolphin. Adults range between 1.6 and 2 metres (5.2 and 6.6 ft), long, and can weigh between 70 and 235 kilograms (150 and 520 lb), although a range between 70 and 110 kilograms (150 and 240 lb) is more common.[3] Males are generally longer and heavier.[3] The color pattern on the body is unusual. The back is dark and the belly is white, while on each side is an hourglass pattern colored light grey, yellow or gold in front and dirty grey in back.[5] It has a long, thin rostrum with up to 50–60 small, sharp, interlocking teeth on each side of each jaw.[6]

Taxonomy

The Short-beaked Common Dolphin is a member of common dolphin genus, Delphinus within the dolphin family, Delphinidae. Until the mid-1990s, the different forms within Delphinus were not recognized as separate species, but were all considered members of the species D. delphis.[3][4] Currently, there are two recognized species of Delphinus — the Short-beaked Common Dolphin and the Long-beaked Common Dolphin (D. capensis).[1] The Short-beaked Common Dolphin is generally smaller than the Long-beaked Common Dolphin and has a shorter rostrum.

Behavior

Short-beaked Common Dolphins can live in aggregations of hundreds or even thousands of dolphins.[4] They sometimes associate with other dolphin species, such as pilot whales.[4] They have also been observed bow riding on baleen whales, and they also bow ride on boats.[4] It is a fast swimmer, and breaching behavior and aerial acrobatics are common with this species.[3]

Diet

The Short-beaked Common Dolphin has a varied diet consisting of many species of fish and squid that live less than 200 metres (660 ft) deep.[4]

Reproduction

The Short-beaked Common Dolphin has a gestation period of 10 to 11 months.[4] The newborn calf has a length of between 70 and 100 centimetres (2.3 and 3.3 ft) and weights about 10 kilograms (22 lb).[3] For the Black Sea population, weaning occurs at between 5 and 6 months, but occurs later (up to about 19 months) in other areas.[3][4] Typical interbirth interval ranges from 1 year for the Black Sea population to 3 years for eastern Pacific Ocean populations.[4] Age of sexual maturity also varies by location, but can range between 2 and 7 years for females and 3 and 12 years for males.[3][4]

Maximum lifespan is 35 years, but has been estimated at 22 years for the Black Sea population.[3][4]

References

1. ^ a b Mead, James G. and Robert L. Brownell, Jr (November 16, 2005). "Order Cetacea". in Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. eds. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 723–743. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=14300045.
2. ^ Hammond, P.S., Bearzi, G., Bjørge, A., Forney, K., Karczmarski, L., Kasuya, T., Perrin, W.F., Scott, M.D., Wang, J.Y., Wells, R.S. & Wilson, B. (2008). Delphinus delphis. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 7 October 2008.
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Shirihai, H. & Jarrett, B. (2006). Whales, Dolphins and Other Marine Mammals of the World. p. 171–174. ISBN 0-691-12757-3.
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Perrin, W. (2002). "Common Dolphins". in Perrin, W.; Wursig, B. and Thewissen, J.. Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals. Academic Press. p. 245–248. ISBN 0-12-551340-2.
5. ^ Reeves, Stewart, Clapham, Powell. Guide to Marine Mammals of the World. p. 388. ISBN 0-375-41141-0.
6. ^ "The Common Dolphin". http://library.thinkquest.org/17963/genus-Delphinus.html. Retrieved 2008-07-03.

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Source: Wikispecies, Wikipedia: All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License