Bottlenose dolphins are 8 feet long. They weigh 190 pounds.
Bottlenose dolphins are gray. They may have green or brown on their backs, and white on their belly. These colors help a dolphin hide from predators and prey.
Dolphins have a covering of very thick skin.
Bottlenose dolphins are mammals. They breathe air in and out through a part of their nose called the blowhole, which is located on the top of their head. When resting, their blowhole remains tightly shut.
Dolphins make clicking sounds in their nose chamber. These are sent out into the water around them. The sound waves then bounce off of objects and are received by the dolphin’s lower jaw as an echo! This is called echolocation. It tells the dolphin where objects are that around it.
Dolphins have fins on the top and sides of their bodies. They have fins called flukes on their tails.
Animal's Habitat: location in the world they live, type of habitat, and type of home
Dolphins live in salt water.
They are found near the coasts in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
Dolphins eat fish, squids, and shrimp. They swallow fish head-first and whole. They use their teeth to grab their prey. Then their tongue turns the fish around so that it’s able to be swallowed head first. This keeps the fish’s spines and scales from cutting the dolphins throat of the dolphin.
How do dolphins sleep? Dolphins have to be awake to breath. So that they cannot go into a full deep sleep, because they would suffocate. Dolphins let one half of their brain sleep at a time. That way dolphins can sleep about 8 hours day.
Dolphins use their fins and flukes to move through the water.
A dolphin’s dorsal, or top, fin helps the dolphin swim through the water in a straight line.
The pectoral, or side, fins help a dolphin in stopping and steering.
Dolphins use their tail flukes for propulsion through the water. Dolphins move their flukes up and down with powerful muscles. Bottlenose dolphins can swim up to 20 mph!
Dolphins are very intelligent.
Dolphins usually stay under water for 2–3 minutes. However, they can stay under water for up to 8–15 minutes.
Dolphins' ancestors once lived on land. They looked like wolves!
Some dolphins have whiskers around their mouths when born.
| To cite this page as a resource: |
| Bottlenose Dolphins, www.slpschools.org/aq, . |
Bottlenose Dolphins, http://library.thinkquest.org/T0210062/Animals.html#Dolphin, viewed 5-3-2002, and Dolphins, http://dolphins.mysouthwest.com.au/, viewed 3-6-2007.
For information, contact John Dyer, Media Specialist, Aquila Primary Center. |
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