Dolphin

Dolphin is the common name for the cetaceans odontocetes belonging to the subfamily Delphinina of the Delphinidae family.

File:Common dolphin noaa.jpg

Common dolphin (Delphinus delphis)

They are agile and graceful aquatic mammals, characterized by a slender profile with a triangular dorsal fin, a distinctive beak-like snout, and extraordinary intelligence. The best-known and most studied members of the family are the great bottlenose dolphins, or bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), which are distinguished by their characteristic short-beaked snout. The common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) is one of the most widespread species: 1.5 to 2.5 m long and weighing up to 75 kg, it is black on its back and white on its belly, with a black spot around its eye that extends into a stripe on its snout. Found in all the world's warm and temperate seas, including the Mediterranean, it lives in large groups, feeding on fish it catches at the surface.

The subfamily also includes six species belonging to the genus Lagenorhynchus, commonly known as white-sided dolphins, all characterized by a shallow beak and a relatively large dorsal fin. Dolphins classified in the genus Stenella, on the other hand, have a long, thin beak, slender fins, and a large, hooked dorsal fin. The species "Grampus griseus," known as Risso's dolphin, is now extinct. The only member of the subfamily to lack a beak, it was approximately 3.5 m long, had a tall, pointed dorsal fin, and was gray in color, becoming lighter on the belly.

"Scientific classification": Dolphins constitute the subfamily Delphinina of the family Delphinidae, suborder Odontoceti, order Cetacea, class Mammalia, subphylum Vertebrata, phylum Chordata.