Is the common dolphin the most common dolphin? Short-beaked common dolphin or common dolphin

common dolphin , also called Belobochka, is a skilled swimmer who is able to reach speeds of up to 45 km / h. Dolphins They are friendly pack animals.
DIMENSIONS
Body length: 1.7-2.6 m.
Weight: 80-120 kg.
Number of teeth: 160-200 pieces.

BREEDING
Puberty: from 4-5 years old.
Mating season: in the northern part Atlantic Ocean- October December, most of cubs are born in September and October.
Pregnancy: 10-11 months.
Number of cubs: 1.

LIFESTYLE
Habits: stay in flocks.
Food: Mainly herring and sardines, as well as fish living in coastal waters.
Sounds: squeaks, whistles, creaking sounds.
Lifespan: up to 25 years.

The common dolphin has a smooth, spindle-shaped body. The back is usually black with a brown or purple pattern, the belly is white, but the color can vary quite a lot. Every few minutes, a dolphin rises to the surface to fill its lungs. atmospheric air.
REPRODUCTION. Dolphins are not a monogamous species, so every mating season they look for new partners. But for dolphins, kindred feelings are quite characteristic. They support each other in difficult situations for example, females help other females during childbirth. 10-11 months after mating, the female gives birth to one cub. The cub is born tail first, and the female needs to immediately bring it to the surface so that the lungs of the baby are filled with air. She is usually helped by 1-2 females. "Midwives" push the woman in labor to the surface and see if a shark is swimming nearby. The female feeds the cub with milk. The baby suckles the mother quickly, with frequent breaks, emerging every few minutes to replenish the air in the lungs. Newborns are fast swimmers, but stay close to their mother for the first two weeks.
LIFESTYLE. Ordinary dolphins, or, as they are also called, common dolphins, are very sociable and friendly creatures. They are more often kept by families consisting of several generations of the same female. However, males and nursing mothers with young, as well as pregnant females, sometimes form separate temporary flocks. AT mating season sexually mature females and males gather in common shoals. Dolphins inhabiting the warm coastal waters of the North and Southern hemispheres, also appear in places where their relative, the bottlenose dolphin, lives.
The life of dolphins continues in search of food, hunting and playing. Dolphins communicate with each other in a special language, using a wide range sounds. They breathe atmospheric air, so they often float to the surface to fill their lungs with it. Most species love games and fun. Dolphins are one of the most fun animals. Dolphins like to jump out of the water in groups vertically upwards, i.e. "candle".
FOOD. The dolphin feeds mainly on sardines and herring. Since the dolphin is forced to regularly rise to the surface to fill its lungs with air, it often preys on pelagic fish that live in the upper layers of the water, as well as shrimp and cephalopods. Following schools of herring, sardines, capelin, mackerel or mullet, dolphins swim to the coast North Africa. AT cold period when the schools migrate to other places or when they are caught, the dolphins leave the region.
Dolphins communicate with each other using special language- a special set of sounds: whistles, squeaks and creaks. The sense of smell in dolphins is rather poorly developed, therefore, during a joint hunt, they communicate using sound signals. In addition, common dolphins have well-developed echolocation. Using ultrasonic waves, they find prey, determine its type, size, location, as well as the speed at which it moves.

Did you know?? An ordinary dolphin can stay under water for no more than 3-4 minutes, while a bottlenose dolphin can dive for as much as 15 minutes.
With each breath in the lungs of a dolphin, the air is updated by about 90 percent. In most mammals, only 15 percent of the air volume is replaced during inhalation.
There are no sweat glands in the skin of a dolphin, it regulates body temperature with the help of fins: blood reddened from swimming of animals through large vessels penetrating through a layer of fat flows in the fins near the surface of the skin, thus giving off excess heat to cold water.

SPEED COMPARISON. The dolphin swims quickly, but there are even more dexterous swimmers - whales and sharks.
Killer whale: 55 km / h.
Herring shark: 45 km / h.
California sea lion: 40 km / h.
Atlantic salmon: 38 km / h.
LIVING PLACE. coastal waters tropical and temperate climatic zones, large populations living in the Black and Mediterranean seas. Dolphins, which feed on fish swimming in schools, constantly wander from place to place.
Preservation. In the past, the inhabitants of the Black Sea region often hunted white flanks. Today, dolphins are dying when they get entangled in large fishing nets.

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In the white flank, the body from the sides is painted in a light color, from where the name of the animal came from. This light stripe contrasts with the grey-brown or black color of the rest of the body. This coloration is not typical for most cetaceans, so the common dolphin is one of the most colorful representatives of a large family.

Despite the great popularity of bottlenose dolphins, it is the common dolphin that people associate with dolphins in general. When a sea vessel approaches, they approach it and swim on the crests of the waves created, arranging high jumps up to 5 m.

Like all dolphins, common dolphins are very friendly with each other in the same flock. They help sick relatives, hunt fish together, protect young dolphins and, of course, play. For communication, they use sound signals - clicks, squeaks and rattles, similar to opening a rusty door. White flanks understand the "speech" of other dolphins - bottlenose dolphins and pilot whales. To do this, these animals have 5 sounds of different frequencies, timbres and tonality at their disposal.

White flanks gather in large flocks in winter, the number of individuals in which reaches several thousand. By summer, such accumulations of animals disintegrate, and dolphins disperse into small groups. In such families, the connection between family members is very close, and the behavior of dolphins in it, for many people, is an example of the "humanity" of common dolphins.

The animals have been observed to help older individuals float on the surface of the water so that they can continue to breathe. When young dolphins are in the family, adults protect them in every possible way from attack. natural enemies- large sharks and killer whales.

Like small children, white flanks do not miss the chance to frolic with any object that arouses their curiosity - a passing sea vessel or a passing whale. In general, large whales for a dolphin act as a "roller", like ships. From the stroke of a powerful tail, a large whale creates sharp streams of water in which dolphins frolic.

It is worth noting that the playfulness of dolphins in the minds of people is drawn exclusively in light colors. Watching how they chase the ball, ride people on themselves and perform beautiful somersaults, it is forgotten that the blow with the muzzle of an adult dolphin can be very strong.

In nature, not a single case of an attack or attack on a person has been recorded, but if an animal wants to play, it will not weaken the force of impact, pushing the object of the game to the surface. If a flock of dolphins chooses a simple diver as a soccer ball, then he will not be greeted, despite the fact that the animals do not even try to cripple him. A case was documented when a flock of dolphins (though they were bottlenose dolphins) so "played" with a diver that, thank God, he survived.

The common dolphin, also known as the common dolphin, is a mammal from the order of cetaceans, the suborder of toothed whales and the dolphin family.

The appearance of the white-barreled dolphin

Body length adult an ordinary dolphin lies in the range of 160 - 260 cm, and a body weight of 60 - 80 kg. In females of this species of dolphins, the body is shorter than in males by an average of 5–10 cm.

The physique of the white-barreled dolphin is slender. The relatively long beak is limited by grooves from a fat pad.

The rostrum in the skull is 1.5–2 times longer than the braincase. On the palatine side of the rostrum, there are two deep grooves running in the longitudinal direction.

From below and from the sides the dolphin is painted in White color. On the sides there is a complex pattern consisting of 1–3 gray lateral stripes directed from the genitals to the anterior part of the body, as well as two elongated gray fields. Near leading edge a dark stripe runs along the bridge of the nose from the eye to the eye. Also, a dark stripe stretches to the chin from the base of the pectoral fins.

Habitat of the common dolphin

This species of dolphin is distributed from the latitudes of Iceland, northern Norway, the southern part of the Kuril chain, Newfoundland and Washington state to the southern latitudes of Tasmania, South Africa, Tristan da Cunha Island, New Zealand.

This species is very numerous in the temperate waters of the northern hemisphere (Black and mediterranean sea, the coast of Brittany, the Gulf of Gascony, the waters of Japan, Nova Scotia, California, New Zealand and Australia. In a smaller number, the common dolphin is present in tropical waters. Here he meets from the shores of Sierra Leone, Rio de Janeiro, Bahamas, Jamaica, India and Gulf of Mexico.

In the northern hemisphere, the common dolphin is found at higher latitudes than in the southern. This species is scarce in the Norwegian Sea; rarely enters the Baltic Sea; not found in the Barents Sea. The Black Sea population of white-barreled dolphins appeared previously living here porpoises and bottlenose dolphins. She is well isolated. Black Sea individuals do not migrate to the Mediterranean Sea.

Dry the voice of the common dolphin

Common dolphin lifestyle

The common dolphin is capable of speeds up to 55 km/h. disturbed herd of dolphins high speed rushes in one direction, making jumps over water. The length of each such jump is equal to the length of the dolphin's body multiplied by 2 - 3. In the process of such movements, the distance that the dolphin overcomes in the air is much greater than that which it swims under water. The speed of normal herd transitions is slightly lower, and is approximately 2 m/s.

Ordinary dolphins live in families consisting of several generations, which were born by the same female. Pregnant females, as well as lactating females with young and males, sometimes form separate groups. During the breeding season, special mating groups are created, consisting of sexually mature females and males. Sometimes, as a rule, during feeding, single individuals of this species join herds of other species of dolphins.

White-barreled dolphins are perfectly oriented in the water. In this they are helped by their sense organs, called the echolocation apparatus. Also, dolphins have excellent hearing. Vision, in turn, is quite weak.

Common dolphin food

Like other dolphin species, the common dolphin's diet is dominated by fish. The menu also includes a small amount of cephalopods and crustaceans.

In the diet of individuals living in the Black Sea, the first place is occupied by sprats and anchovy. The second place is taken by red mullet, haddock, pelagic needles, sea cockroach idothea. In last place is bonito, mackerel, mullet, blennies herring and greens. Very rarely, the dolphin eats shrimp and shellfish.

The menu of individuals living outside the Black Sea consists of saury, mackerel pike, capelin, anchovies, herring, sardine, mackerel, sea ​​stingray, mullet, squid and flying fish.

Reproduction of white dolphins

Judging by the sex of the embryos found inside the captured dolphins, females make up 47%, and males, respectively, 53% of the offspring. The breeding season of common dolphins is extended for 6 months, and lasts from May to November. The peak of mating falls on the summer season. Childbirth, called puppies, takes place underwater. During the mating season, fights between males are apparently not uncommon. This is evidenced by numerous bites on the body of males, and the absence of such on the body of females.

The female begins to breed in the second or third year of life. Pregnancy lasts 10 - 11 months. Newborn females have a body length of 80 - 85 cm, and males 85 - 95 cm. Almost immediately after their birth, the cubs already know how to swim perfectly and feel free in the water column. Like bottlenose dolphins, female common dolphins tend to their offspring during the first few weeks of life. During this period, the females, together with the cubs, separated from the rest of the individuals, swim away far into the open sea. Breastfeeding continues for 4-6 months.

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Is a common dolphin or common dolphin. Scientists have an opinion that this dolphin was chosen and settled first in our region. The white-tailed dolphin appeared in the Black Sea long before the appearance of bottlenose dolphins and azovok. Therefore, we will assume that the common white-sided dolphin is the grandfather of the sea off the coast of Anapa.

Structure

The common dolphin got its name because of the remarkable color of its sides, they are white in the animal and are very different from the color of the back. The stripes on the sides of different dolphins are not pronounced, sometimes the difference is not noticeable at all. The fins are dark in color. The elongated muzzle, which is called the beak, is pointed and well defined.
The size of the white barrel is smaller than the bottlenose dolphin and is 160-250 centimeters. And the dolphin itself is slender and fast. Speed ​​is necessary for a dolphin to successfully hunt for its delicacy, a fish that lives in the water column. The dolphin firmly holds its prey with two hundred strong teeth that do not grind down throughout their lives. The common dolphin does not chew fish, but swallows it whole. It is noteworthy that the body temperature of the white barrel is almost the same as that of a person, 36.5 degrees, but in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe fins it can differ from the general one by 10 degrees.

Behavior of the common flank

White-barreled dolphins of Anapa live for about 30 years. They really do not like captivity, in Anapa dolphinariums and aquariums, you will not find them. There are animals in families, presumably from relatives of the same generation. Pregnant females temporarily form their own shoals, where they wait for offspring. The mother bears the cubs for 10 months, and then feeds them with milk for 5 months. During childbirth, the expectant mother is guarded by other dolphins.

Where to find in Anapa

The common dolphin practically does not approach the coastal zones of Anapa. The white dolphin can only be found on the high seas. Animals are very fond of accompanying boats and yachts. It is very easy to notice these dolphins not only on the white sides, but also along the length of the flight. The little dolphin likes to soar above the water, sometimes jumping out, flies 3 meters. While relaxing in Anapa, be sure to take boat trips and you are guaranteed to meet dolphins.

Delphinus delphis listen)) - a species of dolphins, a representative of the genus common dolphins (Delphinus).

Appearance

The back of the white-barreled dolphin has a black or brown-blue color, the belly is light. On the sides it has a stripe, the color of which changes from light yellow to gray. In general, coloration may vary depending on the region of habitat. Having a different color, the common dolphin is one of the most colorful representatives of the cetacean order. Its length can reach 2.4 m, and its weight ranges from 60 to 80 kg.

Spreading

The common dolphin is found in different parts oceans, especially in tropical and temperate latitudes. Its ranges form separate, often unrelated regions. One of the largest areas is the Mediterranean Sea with the Black Sea and the northeast Atlantic Ocean. The common dolphin is the most common member of its family around the European continent. Another large population lives in the east Pacific Ocean. In addition, they are found in east coast North and South America, off the coast of South Africa, around Madagascar, on Seychelles, off the coast of Oman , around Tasmania and New Zealand , in the seas between Japan , Korea and Taiwan .

Being inhabitants of the open sea, white-backed dolphins are only occasionally found in the immediate vicinity of the coast. These animals feel most comfortable at water temperatures from 10 to 25 °C.

Behavior

Like all dolphins, the common dolphin feeds on fish, sometimes also on cephalopods. It is the most toothy mammal (210 teeth). It is one of the fastest swimming dolphin species and often accompanies ships. Like other species, it forms complex social unions that can include more than a thousand individuals. In the summer, these huge groups separate and the dolphins continue swimming in smaller formations. Members of the same group take care of each other. Dolphins have been observed supporting injured dolphins and bringing them to the surface to breathe.

The birth of a young dolphin can last up to two hours. The tail is born first, so that the cub does not suffocate at birth. After birth, the mother brings the cub to the surface so that it can breathe for the first time. During childbirth, the mother animal is guarded by the rest of the group from possible shark attacks. Twins are born extremely rarely and usually do not survive, as there is not enough mother's milk. The cubs stay around three years with mothers, of whom they feed on milk for about a year.

Population and threats

Taxonomy

When asked how many species belong to the genus Delphinus, there is no clear answer. Most zoologists have always recognized only one species - the common dolphin. Others have identified additional species, such as the East Pacific dolphin ( Delphinus bairdii) or a dolphin Delphinus tropicalis living in Indian Ocean. All of them have not been officially recognized, although about 20 species have been described and proposed.

Since the 1990s, there has been a growing number of zoologists recognizing the second species: Delphinus capensis. It has a longer snout. Is he really separate view or simply a subspecies or variant of the same species remains a matter of controversy.

In addition to the actual Delphinus delphis delphis, a subspecies of the Black Sea common dolphin (Delphinus delphis ponticus Barabash, 1935) is distinguished.

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An excerpt characterizing the common dolphin

- Oh, fool, ugh! - Angrily spitting, said the old man. Several minutes of silent movement passed, and the same joke was repeated again.
At five o'clock in the evening the battle was lost on all points. More than a hundred guns were already in the hands of the French.
Przhebyshevsky and his corps laid down their arms. The other columns, having lost about half their men, retreated in disorganized, mixed crowds.
The remnants of the troops of Langeron and Dokhturov, mixed up, crowded around the ponds on the dams and banks near the village of Augusta.
At 6 o'clock, only at the Augusta dam, the hot cannonade of some Frenchmen could still be heard, who had built numerous batteries on the descent of the Pracen Heights and were beating at our retreating troops.
In the rearguard, Dokhturov and others, gathering battalions, fired back from the French cavalry pursuing ours. It was starting to get dark. On the narrow dam of Augusta, on which for so many years an old miller with fishing rods sat peacefully in a cap, while his grandson, rolling up his shirt sleeves, sorted through a silver quivering fish in a watering can; on this dam, over which for so many years the Moravians peacefully passed in their twin wagons loaded with wheat, in shaggy hats and blue jackets, and, covered with flour, with white wagons, left along the same dam - on this narrow dam now between wagons and cannons, people disfigured by the fear of death crowded under the horses and between the wheels, crushing each other, dying, stepping over the dying and killing each other, just to be sure after walking a few steps. also killed.
Every ten seconds, pumping air, a cannonball slapped or a grenade exploded in the middle of this dense crowd, killing and spattering with blood those who stood close. Dolokhov, wounded in the hand, on foot with a dozen soldiers of his company (he was already an officer) and his regimental commander, on horseback, were the remnants of the entire regiment. Drawn by the crowd, they squeezed into the entrance to the dam and, squeezed from all sides, stopped because a horse fell in front under a cannon, and the crowd pulled it out. One shot killed someone behind them, the other hit in front and spattered Dolokhov's blood. The crowd advanced desperately, shrank, moved a few paces, and stopped again.
Walk these hundred steps, and, probably, saved; stand another two minutes, and probably died, everyone thought. Dolokhov, who was standing in the middle of the crowd, rushed to the edge of the dam, knocking down two soldiers, and fled to the slippery ice that covered the pond.
“Turn around,” he shouted, bouncing on the ice that crackled beneath him, “turn around!” he shouted at the gun. - Keep! ...
The ice held it, but it bent and cracked, and it was obvious that not only under a gun or a crowd of people, but under him alone, he was about to collapse. They looked at him and pressed close to the shore, not yet daring to set foot on the ice. The regimental commander, who was standing on horseback at the entrance, raised his hand and opened his mouth, addressing Dolokhov. Suddenly one of the cannonballs whistled so low over the crowd that everyone bent down. Something flopped into the wet, and the general fell with his horse into a pool of blood. No one looked at the general, did not think to pick him up.
- Get on the ice! went on ice! Let's go! gate! don't you hear! Let's go! - suddenly, after the ball that hit the general, countless voices were heard, not knowing what and why they were shouting.
One of the rear guns, which entered the dam, turned onto the ice. Crowds of soldiers from the dam began to run to the frozen pond. Ice cracked under one of the front soldiers, and one foot went into the water; he wanted to recover and failed to the waist.
The nearest soldiers hesitated, the gun rider stopped his horse, but shouts were still heard from behind: “He went to the ice, that he was, go! gone!” And screams of horror were heard in the crowd. The soldiers surrounding the gun waved at the horses and beat them to turn and move. The horses started off the shore. The ice that held the footmen collapsed in a huge piece, and forty people who were on the ice rushed forward and backward, drowning one another.
The cannonballs still whistled evenly and plopped onto the ice, into the water, and most often into the crowd that covered the dam, ponds and shore.

On Pratsenskaya Hill, on the very spot where he fell with the staff of the banner in his hands, Prince Andrei Bolkonsky lay bleeding, and, without knowing it, groaned with a quiet, pitiful and childish moan.
By evening, he stopped moaning and completely calmed down. He did not know how long his oblivion lasted. Suddenly he felt alive again and suffering from a burning and tearing pain in his head.
"Where is it, is it sky high which I did not know until now and have seen today? was his first thought. And I did not know this suffering either, he thought. “Yes, I didn’t know anything until now. But where am I?
He began to listen and heard the sounds of the approaching stomp of horses and the sounds of voices speaking in French. He opened his eyes. Above him was again the same high sky with still higher floating clouds, through which a blue infinity could be seen. He did not turn his head and did not see those who, judging by the sound of hooves and voices, drove up to him and stopped.
The riders who arrived were Napoleon, accompanied by two adjutants. Bonaparte, circling the battlefield, gave the last orders to reinforce the batteries firing at the Augesta dam and examined the dead and wounded remaining on the battlefield.
- De beaux hommes! [Handsome!] - said Napoleon, looking at the dead Russian grenadier, who, with his face buried in the ground and a blackened nape, lay on his stomach, throwing back one already stiffened arm.