Dolphins: Anatomy, Characteristics, Types, Habitat and Sensory Superpowers

Dolphins are one of the smartest marine mammals on earth. There are around 40 species of dolphins around the world that are grouped into 6 different families. They do not have gills and use their lungs to breathe. These fascinating creatures have many unique adaptive features that allow them to hold their breath for long inside water. Let’s explore some more amazing facts about dolphins, their unique characteristics and habitats.

Table of Contents

• Anatomy of Dolphins
• Where do Dolphins Live
• What do Dolphins Eat
• Sensory Superpowers
• Fun facts about Dolphins

Anatomy of Dolphins

Dolphins are not fishes, they are mammals just like humans. They swim to the water surface and use their blowhole to breathe through their lungs. Once they go back into the water this hole closes and dolphins can stay in water for up to ten minutes before coming back to the surface. Their dorsal fins and flippers help them swim. The special muscles inside dolphins eyes help them adjust to seeing objects both above and below water. The movement of their eyes is independent of each other and this allows them to see two different views from each eye simultaneously.

Where do Dolphins Live 

Dolphins inhabit various types of aquatic habitats including both saltwater and freshwater. They are highly adaptive mammals that can survive in icy arctic water and topical coral reefs. They are found in oceans, seas, rivers and lakes. A few species of dolphins live in fresh river water such as the dolphins in amazon river. These dolphins are called boto. Some other types and species of dolphins are bottlenose dolphin, spotted dolphin, snapfin dolphin and orcas. These dolphins live and hunt in a group. The group of dolphins are called pods. The adults in the pods protect their little ones. The dolphins in pods communicate with each other through special sounds like squeak, whistle and clicks.

What do Dolphins Eat

Dolphins are carnivorous animals that eat small fishes, squids, jelly fishes and other invertebrates. They have unique hunting abilities to catch leaping fishes outside the water surface. Their sharp teeth allow them to easily catch slippery fishes in water. But dolphins don’t chew their meals, instead they swallow them. An average dolphin eats 4 to 9% of their total body weight. Bottlenose dolphins eat 8 to 15 Kgs of fishes per day.

Sensory Superpowers

Echolocation is one of the most amazing features of dolphins that helps them navigate safely and locate their prey under water. Dolphins produce a high frequency sound wave that travels in water and bounces back as echo after hitting an object or a creature. By listening to these sounds dolphins can see their environment at night or in murky water. It allows them to hunt at night and protect themselves from other animals like sharks. This is how dolphins can prey on squids and jellyfishes at night. The dolphins echolocation clicks range from 40 t0 150 KHz. Dolphins echolocation is similar to sonar used by some other animal species like bats. Many ships use sonar devices that work very similar to the dolphins echolocation system to navigate safely in oceans and detect shipwrecks. 

Fun Facts about Dolphins

• Dolphins are not fishes. They are mammals that have lungs and come on the water surface to breathe through a blow hole on their head. 
• They have a special night vision that allows them to sense danger and hunt in the dark or murky waters.
• A thick layer of fat, called blubber, acts like a jacket to keep them warm and helps them float. It protects the dolphins from cold ocean temperatures.
• Bottleneck dolphins produce whistling sounds that resemble the sound of creaking doors.
• The killer whale commonly, called orca, is a type of dolphin which grows up to 26 meters and weighs over six tons.