Bottlenose Dolphin - Tursiops truncatus


This species has one of the largest ranges of any cetacean, they are found almost all over the world except for frigid waters. They are a uniform dark grayish color until viewed from very close proximity when various shades of gray and silver can often be seen forming lovely patterns, especially around their heads. This species has the typical dolphin smile that greatly endears them to humans. They are thought by many researchers to be the most intelligent of the cetaceans and indeed do have a large brain size in comparison to body size. Common in captivity, they bring large audiences to countless aquariums worldwide. In the Sea of Cortez it is a rare day indeed when Bottlenose dolphins are not encountered. Typical pod sizes range from 25-250 individuals with occasional groups of up to 500 being observed. Bottlenose dolphins love to bowride, though not as consistently as the Common dolphin in these waters. They are magnificent jumpers, making high elegant jumps of up to 20 feet at times in groups, and reentering the water with the utmost of grace. It is literally breathtaking to witness a Bottlenose dolphin jumping display. When a hydrophone is dropped into the sea near a pod of Bottlenose dolphins, the resulting dolphin chatter is both varied and beautiful at times sounding otherworldly. Individual identification is a great challenge, and is usually made from the scars and nicks on trailing edge of the dorsal fins. Less than 50% of Bottlenose dolphins possess these identifying scars or nicks. Their size ranges from 6-10 feet when fully grown. They typically move around more slowly than the Common dolphins, at times even lollygagging within a few meters of shore.

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