Dolphins are cetacean mammals belonging to the toothed whales suborder. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from 1.2 m and 40 kg, up to 9.5 m and 10 tonnes.Dolphin Dolphins are one of the most beautiful groups of aquatic mammals. Most dolphin species live in the sea water and can be found in all oceans of the world, and just few species live in the fresh water of Asia and South America. Number of dolphins decreased greatly due to commercial fishing, accidental catch (together with other fish) and because their normal source of food is seriously reduced as a consequence of the global warming. Several dolphin species can become extinct in the near future.
The Dolphins can range in size from 4-30 feet, and weigh between 90 pounds and 11 tons. Maui’s dolphin is the smallest, while orca (a large toothed whale) is the largest species of dolphin.
Dolphins have 100 teeth in their mouth. Despite large number of teeth, they don’t chew their food – they swallow their prey in one piece.
All dolphins are carnivores (meat-eaters). Smaller dolphins eat fish and squids, while large dolphins like orca (a large toothed whale) eat seals, sea lions and other type of dolphins and whales.
Dolphins use echolocation to locate the prey and detect predators. They produce clicks that travel through the water and bounce off from each object in front of them. Sound returns back in the form of echo. Dolphin can identify type and size of the object, its speed and location using echolocation.
Besides echolocation, dolphins use whistles, squeaks and squawks to communicate with each other.
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