By: Te’auna Patterson

* Tursiops truncatusBottlenose dolphins

*Body Type

*Short fat snout *Snout connects to slanted head*Jaw is similar to under bite*Upper Body is grey with hints of purple*White belly, and light grey sides*Upper Body turns black after death*76-98 teeth*Adults may reach 3.5 m*Two kinds of bottlenose dolphins

*Body Type

*White belly, and light grey sides*Upper Body turns black after death*76-98 teeth*Adults may reach 3.5 m*Two kinds of bottlenose dolphins

*Fins, Flippers, and Flukes

*Pectoral flippers are similar to land mammals fingers*Pectoral Flippers are contain thick cartilage in between the bone*Pectoral Flippers are slightly curved at the tip*Pectoral Flippers are used to steer*Pectoral Flippers are used with flukes to stop

*Fins, Flippers, and Flukes

*The blood flow in flippers helps to maintain homeostasis*Instead of giving off heat into the

environment they circulate it from arteries to veins*In order to cool down blood flow decrease

towards the core but increases towards the surface*Dorsal Fin is made of thick tissue without

bones like the flukes

*Fins, Flippers, and Flukes

*Some dolphins do not have a dorsal fin*Dorsal fins help to keep balance*Flukes are used to propel the animal*The size of the flukes is around 1/5 of the dolphins body

*Habitat/ Population

*Dolphins are NOT endangered*Live in water between 50 and 90 degrees

Fahrenheit*Some migrate seasonally*Everywhere but polar waters (tropical,

subtropical, and warm temperate)

*Habitat/Population

*Some live in deep water or shallower water closer to shore*There are about 67,000 Bottlenose dolphins in the United States’ Gulf of Mexico*In the Western North Pacific and along Japanese coasts there are about 35,000

*Habitat/ Population

*The size of the dolphin is based on its’ habitat*Smaller dolphins are Coastal*Larger Dolphins are Offshore*In the Western North Atlantic there are

about 11,700

*Food

*Diet depends on habitat*Coastal dolphins feed on invertebrates *Deep water Dolphins feed on squid and

pelagic fish*They consume 4-5% of their body weight

a day*Follow fisherman to catch discarded fish

or bait*They swallow their food whole

*Food

*They beach their prey to catch them easier*They use echolocation to stun prey*Use teeth to grab prey while tongue

moves it down the throat*In Australia, they put a sponge on their

nose to protect it as they forage for food on the bottom of the ocean

*Hearing

*Twice that of humans*Auditory part of brain is extremely developed*Frequency range of 1-150 kHz*Hear best between 40 and 100 kHz*Hear through their lower jaw

http://www.seaworld.org/animal-info/info-books/bottlenose/communication.htm

*Sight

*Can see in and out of water*See best in water*Binocular vision in air*Have binocular and monocular vision in water*Have a light reflecting portion that makes it easy to see in dim light

*Reproduction

*Female dolphins initiate courtship*May breed throughout the year*“Just before mating, a male rubs and

nuzzles a female. he may also exhibit an "S-curve" posture, in which he lifts his head up and points his tail flukes down”*Calves nurse under water*Calves nurse for a year and a half*The dolphin that helps birth the calf is the

auntie

*Fun Facts

*Dolphins hold their breath under water*Their blowhole is their way of breathing*Breathing takes about .3 seconds*Their normal breathing consists of taking

2-3 breaths per minute*Dolphins have blubber that insulates their

bodies

*Fun Facts

*Normal body temperature is 98.4'F*Spend 1/3 of their day asleep*An ongoing study says that deep sleep

occurs in one brain hemisphere at a time*Groups of dolphins are called pods*The average pod is seven animals*Pods are based on age sex and

reproduction characteristics

*Fun Facts

*On the US coast pods of mothers and newborn calves are common*Teen dolphins occur in groups with males

and females*Adult male dolphins travel alone or in

groups of 3*The deeper the water the bigger the pod*Mother-calf bonds last for a long time

*Fun Facts

*Establish dominance by fighting or smashing their tails on water*Emit bubble clouds when angry*Dolphins flirt by biting each other’s heads

and scratching teeth*Dolphins can jump 16 feet in the air

*Fun Facts

*Jumping and landing on their backs or sides is called a breach*Dolphins help each other when hurt by

bringing them to the surface to breathe*Albino Dolphins can be pink

*Works Cited

*“Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus).” The Mammals of Texas. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 July 2011. <http://www.nsrl.ttu.edu/ tmot1/ turstrun.htm>.*Jenkins, Jessica, Phil Meyers, and Tanya

Dewey. “Tursiops truncatus: Bottlenosed Dolphin.” Animal Diversity Web. U of Michigan Museum of Zoology, n.d. Web. 8 July 2011. <http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/ site/ accounts/ information/ Tursiops_truncatus.html>.

*Works Cited

*“Bottlenose Dolphins.” Sea World. SeaWorld/ Busch Gardens Animal Information Database, n.d. Web. 8 July 2011. <http://www.seaworld.org/ infobooks/ bottlenose/ home.html>.

*Pictures 1, 2, and 3 also came from this source