bottlenose dolphin facts
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http://goo.gl/SsO3Y -Bottlenose Dolphin Facts (Tursiops Truncatus)The most well known and loved of all dolphin species is the Bottlenose Dolphin. They are attractive because they always seem to be smiling. - Visit us: http://goo.gl/ZkZz7Facebook: http://facebook.com/bioexpeditionTwitter: http://twitter.com/bioexpeditionYoutube: http://youtube.com/bioexpeditionPinterest: http://pinterest.com/bioexpeditionTRANSCRIPT
Bottlenose Dolphin Facts Tursiops Truncatus
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Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)
•The bottlenose dolphins are the most common and well-known of all members of the family delphinidae.
•Bottlenose dolphins are well known as the intelligent and charismatic stars of many aquarium shows.
•The genus Tursiops first appears in the fossil record about five million years ago.
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Anatomy
•Adult males are usually between 96 and 150 inches long, and weigh about 1100 kg.
•Adult females are typically between 89 and 145 inches, and weigh about 550 lb.
•A bottlenose dolphin has a sleek, streamlined and fusiform body.
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Anatomy
•Their skin has neither hair nor sweat glands.
•The rounded region of a dolphin's forehead is called “the melon”. This contains fat and plays an important role in dolphin echolocation.
•Bottlenose dolphins have 18 to 28 conical teeth on each side of each jaw.
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Habitat
•The Tursiops are found in temperate and tropical waters around the world with surface temperatures between 50 and 90° F. They aren't found in the Polar Regions.
•They live in a variety of habitats, from coastal waters to the open ocean, including bays, estuaries and open shorelines.
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Behavior
•They have a sophisticated echolocation system and communicate via a sophisticated range of sounds.
•They are very sociable animals.
•They typically live in groups between 10 and 100 individuals.
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Behavior
•They are very active animals and can swim up to speeds of 19 miles per hour.
•The bottlenose dolphin can make up to 1,000 clicking noises per second.
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Feeding
•Bottlenose dolphins eat shrimp, squid and a variety of fishes. They may dive to more than 1,600 feet.
•Adult bottlenose dolphins eat about 5% of their body weight in food per day.
•Bottlenose dolphins employ multiple feeding strategies, including "fish whacking," where they catch fish in the air.
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Reproduction
•They are polygamous and their sexual maturity varies by population and geographical ranges from 5-13 years for females and 9-14 years for males.
•Gestation lasts about one year and each pregnancy produces only one calf.
•The young are born in shallow water, sometimes assisted by a "midwife" or rarely a male.
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Threats
•They use evasive strategies to outswim their predators; however, some large shark species and killer whales prey on the bottlenose dolphin. The calves are the most captured.
•Fishing injuries, pollution, biotoxins, hunt and commercial operations, are the greatest threats to the Bottlenose dolphin.
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Threats
•Their future is stable because of their abundance and adaptability and are not endangered, however, we have to reduce pollution to keep it this way.
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Credits
•Copyright© Bioexpedition.com 2012
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