In which river are there dolphins? River dolphin. Lifestyle and habitat of the river dolphin. Do dolphins have ears?

To the question Where do river dolphins live asked by the author Avil Baskakov the best answer is River dolphins - a superfamily of dolphins in the order Cetaceans. The superfamily includes four living species of dolphins, three of which live in freshwater bodies, and the fourth, the La Plata dolphin, lives in the ocean. River dolphins are on the brink of extinction due to habitat loss, small populations, and human hunting. In addition, river dolphins have extremely poor eyesight, which causes numerous collisions with people and those artificial objects that are difficult for them to detect using their sonar.

Answer from Vladimir Androsov[expert]
in the Dolphinia River

Answer from Anastasija Sidorovic[active]
In the river ocean

Answer from Vyacheslav Gordeev[guru]
Some kind of bottlenose people seem to live in the Amazon

Answer from Dispatcher YUNG[guru]
Family RIVER OR FRESHWATER DOLPHINS (Platanistidae) The most ancient family of modern toothed whales. It originated in the Miocene and spread widely in the ocean, but was forced out by competitors and enemies into rivers. River dolphins are characterized by primitive features inherited from their squalodont ancestors: an extremely elongated, narrow snout and a long mandibular symphysis. The “beak” is thin and long (¹/6–¹/7 of the body length), sharply separated from the frontal protrusion. The frontal prominence is sometimes sloping or somewhat more convex. Amazonian and Gangetic dolphins have a cervical joint. The teeth are wrinkled, single-peaked, unequal in size, with extended roots. Laplatan dolphins have from 200 to 242 teeth in both jaws, representatives of other genera have from 100 to 130. The number of convolutions in the brain is less than that of other dolphins. Pectoral fins short and very wide. Instead of a dorsal fin, there is a low, elongated crest in the back half of the body. The dorsal fin is small in the Amazon and Gangetic dolphins and relatively large in the La Plata and lake dolphins. The head is very mobile and can be rotated at an angle of 90° to the body. This is facilitated by free cervical vertebrae and a cervical interception. There are from 41 to 45 vertebrae. The cervical vertebrae do not fuse with each other. The skeleton bears the features of extinct ancient dolphins. The skull of river dolphins is almost symmetrical. Halves lower jaw fused together (or at least closely adjacent to each other) for approximately half of their length. The outer edge of the maxillary bone with a longitudinal ridge.
All river dolphins are small in size. Body length 1.5–2.9 m. Weight up to 40–123 kg. Moreover, females are slightly larger than males. Body color varies greatly from brown or blackish to almost white. Vision is poorly developed or completely absent, for example in Gangetic dolphins, whose eyes do not have a lens. Animals hunt for fish, shellfish and worms not only in the water, but also dig them out of the muddy sediments of the bottom. In this regard, their beak, lined with hard tactile hairs, has increased sensitivity, and their vision is weakened. But everyone has well-developed hearing and an echolocation apparatus - the main sources of information about the environment. The range of the family is relict and discontinuous: two monotypic genera live in the Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan; in the lake Dongting in China; in the river Amazon and Orinoco; in the river La Plate and along the Atlantic coast from central Brazil to central Argentina in South America. They live mainly in rivers and their estuaries. They feed on a variety of fish and freshwater crustaceans. They usually live alone or in small groups of 2–12 individuals. Less active than representatives of the dolphin family. The duration of the dive is short - no more than a few minutes. Reproduction is almost unknown. Economic importance Dont Have. Most species need protection.
The family includes 4 genera of dolphins: Laplatan, Amazonian, Chinese lake and Gangetic. Each genus contains a single species.

Dolphins are marine mammals that belong to the suborder of toothed whales. They are found in seas and oceans, as well as rivers that have access to the sea. As a rule, they feed on crustaceans, mollusks, fish, and some do not disdain sea ​​turtles and birds.

Where do dolphins live?

The dolphin's habitat is exclusively water bodies. The dolphin lives in almost all places on our planet, with the exception of the Arctic and Antarctic regions. Dolphins live in the sea, in the ocean, and also in large freshwater rivers (Amazonian river dolphin). These mammals love space and move freely over long distances.

Description

The length of dolphins ranges from one and a half to ten meters. The smallest dolphin in the world is Maui, which lives near New Zealand: the length of the female does not exceed 1.7 meters. Large inhabitant depths of the sea The white-faced dolphin is considered to be about three meters long. The most major representative is a killer whale: the length of males reaches ten meters.

It is worth noting that males are usually ten to twenty centimeters longer than females (the exception is killer whale dolphins - here the difference is about two meters). They weigh on average from one hundred and fifty to three hundred kilograms, and killer whales weigh about a ton.

The backs of sea dolphins can be gray, blue, dark brown, black and even pink (albinos). The front part of the head can be either plain or white (for example, the white-faced dolphin has a beak and the front part of the forehead white).

In some species, the front mouth is rounded and there is no beak-shaped mouth. In others, small ones, the head ends in an elongated mouth in the shape of a flattened “beak”, and the mouth is shaped in such a way that it seems to people watching them that they are always smiling, and therefore they often have an irresistible desire to swim with dolphins. At the same time, the impression is not spoiled even by the huge number of teeth of the same cone shape - dolphins have about two hundred of them.

Thanks to their elongated body and smooth, elastic skin, these animals hardly feel the resistance of the water while moving. Thanks to this, they are able to move very quickly ( average speed a dolphin's speed is 40 km/h), dive to a depth of about one hundred meters, jump out of the water nine meters high and five meters long.

Another unique feature of these marine mammals is that almost all types of dolphins (with the exception of the Amazon river dolphin and several other species) see well both underwater and above the surface. They have this ability due to the structure of the retina, one part of which is responsible for the image in the water, the other - above its surface.

Since whales and dolphins are relatives, like all representatives of cetaceans, they are quite capable of staying under water for a long period. But they still need oxygen, so they constantly float to the surface, showing their blue muzzle and replenishing air reserves through the blowhole, which closes under water. Even during sleep, the animal is fifty centimeters from the surface and, without waking up, swims out every half a minute.

Dolphin species

There are 17 genera in the dolphin family. The most interesting species of dolphins:

• White-bellied dolphin (black dolphin, Chilean dolphin) (lat. Cephalorhynchus eutropia) lives exclusively on the coast of Chile. An animal with rather modest dimensions - the length of the stocky and rather thick body of this cetacean does not exceed 170 cm. The back and sides of the white-bellied dolphin have grey colour, while the throat, belly area and parts of the flippers adjacent to the body are completely white. The flippers and dorsal fin of the white-bellied dolphin are smaller than those of other dolphin species. This type close to extinction, protected by Chilean authorities.

• Common dolphin ( common dolphin) (lat. Delphinus delphis). The length of the sea animal often reaches 2.4 meters, the weight of the dolphin varies between 60-80 kilograms. In the area of ​​the back, the common dolphin is colored dark blue or almost black, the belly is white, and along the light sides there is a spectacular stripe of a yellowish-gray hue. This species of dolphin lives in the Mediterranean and Black Seas, and feels at ease in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Common dolphin can be found on east coast South America, along the coasts of New Zealand and South Africa, in the seas of Japan and Korea.

• White-faced dolphin (lat. Lagenorhynchus albirostris) – a large representative of cetaceans with a body length reaching 3 meters and weighing up to 275 kg. Distinctive feature The white-faced dolphin has a very light, sometimes snow-white muzzle. The habitat of this mammal includes the waters of the North Atlantic, the coast of Portugal and Turkey. The dolphin feeds on fish such as capelin, navaga, flounder, herring, cod, whiting, as well as mollusks and crustaceans.

• Large-toothed dolphin (lat. Steno bredanensis). The body length of this marine mammal is 2-2.6 meters, weight varies from 90 to 155 kg. The height of the dorsal fin is 18-28 cm. The color of the dolphin is dominated by gray, with whitish spots scattered throughout. This species of dolphin is common off the coast of Brazil, in the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf of California, and lives in the warm waters of the Caribbean and Red Seas.

• Bottlenose dolphin ( big dolphin or bottlenose dolphin) (lat. Tursiops truncatus). The length of the animal can vary from 2.3 to 3.6 meters, and weight from 150 to 300 kg. The body color of the bottlenose dolphin depends on its habitat, but generally the species has a dark brown upper body and a grayish-white belly. Sometimes a faint pattern in the form of fuzzy stripes or spots is observed on the sides. The bottlenose dolphin lives in the Mediterranean, Red, Baltic and Black Seas, and is often found in the Pacific Ocean along the coasts of Japan, Argentina and New Zealand.

• Broad-snouted dolphin (beakless dolphin) (lat. Peponocephala electra) distributed in the waters of countries with tropical climate, especially mass populations live along the coast of the Hawaiian Islands. The torpedo-shaped, light gray body of the animal is crowned with a cone-shaped head of dark gray color. The length of the mammal often reaches 3 meters, and an adult weighs more than 200 kg.

• Chinese dolphin(lat. Sousa chinensis). This member of the genus of humpback dolphins lives in the waters along the coast South-East Asia, but migrates during the breeding season, so it is found in bays, quiet sea lagoons and even rivers washing Australia and the countries of South Africa. The length of the animal can be 2-3.5 meters with a weight of 150-230 kg. Surprisingly, although dolphin calves are born completely black, as they grow, the body color changes first to light gray, with slightly pinkish spots, and adults become almost white. The Chinese dolphin feeds on fish and shellfish.

• Irrawaddy dolphin (lat. Orcaella brevirostris). A distinctive feature of this type of dolphin is the complete absence of a beak on the face and a flexible neck, which gained mobility due to several skin and muscle folds behind the head. The body color of the Irrawaddy dolphin can be either light gray with a blue tint or dark gray, while the belly of the animal is always a shade lighter. This aquatic mammal reaches 1.5-2.8 meters in length and weighs 115-145 kg. The dolphin's habitat covers warm waters Indian Ocean, starting from the Bay of Bengal and up to the northern coast of Australia.

• Cruciform dolphin (lat. Lagenorhynchus cruciger) lives exclusively in Antarctic and subantarctic waters. The color of the dolphin is black and white, less often – dark gray. The striking white marking covers the sides of the mammal and extends to its muzzle, framing the eye area. The second mark runs longitudinally along the back of the body, intersecting with the first and forming a pattern in the form hourglass. An adult cross-shaped dolphin has a body length of about 2 meters in length, the weight of the dolphin varies between 90-120 kilograms.

• Killer whale (killer whale) (lat. Orcinus orca)- a mammal that belongs to the dolphin family, the genus of killer whale. The male killer whale is about 10 meters long and weighs around 8 tons. Females are smaller: their length reaches 8.7 meters. The pectoral flippers of killer whales have a wide oval shape. The teeth of killer whales are quite long - up to 13 cm in length. The sides and back of the mammal are black, the throat is white, and there is a white stripe on the belly. There are white spots above the eyes. Sometimes completely black or white individuals are found in the waters of the Pacific Ocean. The killer whale lives in all waters of the world's oceans, except Sea of ​​Azov, Black Sea, Laptev Sea and East Siberian Sea.

The mystery of the speed of dolphins

In 1936, British zoologist Sir James Gray drew attention to the enormous speed (up to 37 km/h, according to his data) that dolphins can develop. Having made the necessary calculations, Gray showed that, according to the laws of hydrodynamics, it is impossible to achieve such a high speed with the muscle strength that dolphins possess. This mystery is called Gray's Paradox. The search for a solution to this problem still continues to one degree or another. IN different time Various teams of researchers have put forward various explanations for the phenomenal speed of dolphins, but there is still no clear and universally accepted answer to this question.

Regeneration ability

Dolphins have an incredible ability to heal themselves. In the event of any injury, even big size– they do not bleed or die from infection, as one might expect. Instead, their flesh begins to regenerate at a rapid rate, so that after just a few weeks, a deep wound, such as from a shark's teeth, will have almost no visible scars. Interestingly, the behavior of injured animals is practically no different from normal. This gives reason to believe that the nervous system of dolphins is capable of blocking pain in critical situations.

Why don't dolphins freeze underwater?

Finally, let's find out why dolphins, being warm-blooded, do not freeze in the water. Their body temperature is 36.6 degrees. IN northern seas Animals need to stay warm. Water, which conducts heat up to twenty-five times more efficiently than air, allows you to freeze much faster than in air.

Why do dolphins perform such miracles?! This is due to a large layer of fat under the skin. They can control their blood circulation and metabolism. This makes it possible to support normal temperature bodies, as Wikipedia says.

How do dolphins breathe?

Whales and dolphins are related and can stay underwater for long periods of time without surfacing. The blowhole is closed during such periods. But, like other cetaceans, dolphins still need air underwater and periodically float to the surface to breathe.

How do dolphins sleep?

Dolphins also have another interesting physiological feature: They never sleep. Animals hang in the water column, periodically rising to the surface to breathe. During rest, they are able to turn off alternately the left and then right hemisphere brain, that is, only one half of the dolphin’s brain sleeps, and the other half is awake.

How are they born?

Do you know how dolphins are born? The bottlenose dolphin carries the baby for about a year. It is born tail first. The cub's eyes are immediately open, and its senses are extremely developed. Moreover, a barely born dolphin already has sufficient coordination to follow in the footsteps of its mother, who helps to rise to the surface. Then comes the baby dolphin's first breath in his life. Such a trusting relationship between a child dolphin and its mother lasts approximately from 3 to 8 years.

Dolphins and people: who is smarter?

When dolphins began to be studied and trained in the middle of the last century, the first results of this work seemed so unusual, and even surprising (they talked about it a lot, wrote about it and made films) that a legend gradually developed about the unusually high intelligence of dolphins; one could often hear that they were not stupider than a man, only their minds are different.

The brain of an adult dolphin weighs about 1,700 grams, while that of a human weighs 1,400. A dolphin has twice as many convolutions in the cerebral cortex. At the same time, there are relatively few neurons per cubic millimeter of its substance (less than in the brain of primates).

The results of studies on the behavior and physiology of the brain of dolphins are very contradictory. Some put their ability to learn at about the level of a dog and show that dolphins are very far from chimpanzees. Research on the communication methods of dolphins, on the contrary, leads to the conclusion that we have not yet come close to understanding this form of life in natural conditions and it is simply incorrect to compare the level of intelligence of dolphins and chimpanzees.

One property of the dolphin brain is completely unique: it never really sleeps. The left and right hemispheres of the brain sleep alternately. The dolphin needs to come to the surface from time to time to breathe. At night, the waking halves of the brain are responsible for this, in turn.

Dolphin communication

The language of dolphins can be divided into 2 groups:

• Sign language(language of the body) – various poses, jumps, turns, various ways swimming, signs given by the tail, head, fins.
• Language of sounds(the language itself) – sound signaling, expressed in the form of sound pulses and ultrasound. Examples of such sounds include: chirping, buzzing, squealing, grinding, clicking, smacking, squeaking, popping, squeaking, roaring, screaming, screaming, croaking, and whistling.

The most expressive whistles are those that dolphins have. 32 types. Each of them can denote a specific phrase (signals of pain, anxiety, greetings and a calling cry “come to me,” etc.). Scientists studied dolphin whistles using the Zipf method and obtained the same slope coefficient as that of human languages, that is, they carry information. IN Lately dolphins have been found to have about 180 communication signs, which are trying to systematize, compiling a dictionary of communication between these mammals. However, despite numerous studies, it has not been possible to completely decipher the language of dolphins.

Dolphins' names

Each dolphin has its own name, to which it responds when its relatives address it. This conclusion was reached by American scientists, the results of which were published in the Bulletin of the US National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Moreover, the specialists who carried out their experiments in American state Florida, it was established that the name is given to the dolphin at birth and is a characteristic whistle.

Scientists captured 14 light gray bottlenose dolphins in the wild and recorded the various sounds these mammals made as they communicated with each other. Then, using a computer, “names” were extracted from the records. When the name was “played” for the flock, a specific individual responded to it. The dolphin's "name" is a characteristic whistle, average duration which is 0.9 seconds

Official recognition

The Government of India recently removed dolphins from the list of animals and gave them the status of "non-personal persons". to the human race" Thus, India became the first country to recognize the intelligence and self-awareness of dolphins. In this regard, the Ministry environment and Indian Forestry has banned any performances using dolphins and called for their special rights to be respected.

1. There are 43 species of dolphins. 38 of them are marine, the rest are river inhabitants.
2. It turns out that in ancient times dolphins were land animals, and only later did they adapt to life in the water. Their fins resemble legs. So our sea friends may once have been land wolves.
3. Images of dolphins were carved in the desert city of Petra, Jordan. Petra was founded back in 312 BC. This gives reason to consider dolphins as one of the most ancient animals.
4. Dolphins are the only animals whose babies are born tail first. Otherwise, the cub may drown.
5. A dolphin can drown if a tablespoon of water gets into its lungs. For comparison, a person needs two tablespoons to choke.
6. Dolphins breathe through an adapted nose, which is located at the top of their head.
7. Dolphins can see using sound; they send signals that travel long distances and are reflected from objects. This allows animals to judge the distance to an object, its shape, density and texture.
8. Dolphins are superior bat its sonar ability.
9. During sleep, dolphins float on the surface of the water to be able to breathe. As a control, one half of the animal's brain is always awake.
10. "The Cove" won an Academy Award for its documentary about the treatment of dolphins in Japan. The film explores the topic of cruelty to dolphins and the high risk of mercury poisoning when eating dolphins.
11. It is assumed that hundreds of years ago dolphins did not have such an ability to echolocate. This is a quality acquired with evolution.
12. Dolphins do not use their 100 teeth to chew food. With their help, they catch fish, which they swallow whole. Dolphins don't even have chewing muscles!
13. IN Ancient Greece Dolphins were called sacred fish. Killing a dolphin was considered sacrilege.
14. Scientists have found that dolphins give themselves names. Each individual has its own personal whistle.
15. Breathing in these animals is not an automatic process, like in humans. The dolphin's brain signals when to breathe.

A dolphin is a representative of the suborder of toothed whales, the order of cetaceans, and the dolphin family (Delphinidae). The graceful body of the dolphin has a spindle-shaped, streamlined shape, which allows these mammals to quickly cut through water surface. The dolphin's speed reaches 50 km/h.

People and dolphins

People have known about the extraordinary intelligence and intelligence of dolphins for a long time. These adorable animals rescue people from ships in distress, preventing them from drowning. You could even say that dolphins are the smartest animals on the planet. Many trainers believe that the intelligence of dolphins can be equated to that of humans, these animals behave so intelligently and unusually.

There is a joke about dolphins that says that if a person had not overtaken the dolphins and had not climbed down from the tree earlier, they would have come out of the water and now would have been the kings of nature, replacing us.

The dolphin is smart, kind, beautiful, he is an excellent learner, analyzes and remembers.

Dolphins are in direct relationship with the formidable inhabitants of the oceans, killer whales and. There are about 50 species of dolphins. These include the harbor porpoise, black dolphin, gray dolphin, white-faced dolphin, and Atlantic white-sided dolphin.

The most popular is the bottlenose dolphin (large dolphin), which is what people mainly mean when talking about encounters with representatives of this species. They are well studied and tamed. Bottlenose dolphins are featured in films and participate in programs for the rehabilitation of children suffering from various neurological ailments.

Dolphin - description and photographs. What does a dolphin look like?

A dolphin is not a fish, but a mammal. Common to all species is an elongated, streamlined body, which is crowned by a small dolphin’s head with a beak-like mouth. Each jaw has 80-100 small conical teeth. The dolphin's teeth are slightly inclined inward. The transition between the muzzle and the frontal part is well defined. Almost all members of the dolphin class have a prominent dorsal fin. The skin is elastic and smooth to the touch. The length of a dolphin can reach 4.5 meters depending on the species.

Dolphins move very easily in the water; they practically do not feel its resistance thanks to special fatty secretions on the skin that facilitate gliding. Interestingly, the friction of water quickly wears off a dolphin’s skin. Therefore, in the deep layers of the skin they have a significant supply of regenerating cells. The dolphin constantly sheds, changing up to 25 layers of skin per day!

Dolphins have small eyes and poor vision. This is due to the fact that animals practically do not use them for hunting. The nostrils are transformed into a blowhole located on the crown.

How do dolphins breathe?

Whales and dolphins are related and can stay underwater for long periods of time without surfacing. The blowhole is closed during such periods. But, like other cetaceans, dolphins still need air underwater and periodically float to the surface to breathe.

Do dolphins have ears?

Dolphins do not have ears. But this does not mean that they have no hearing. Eat! True, it functions differently from other mammals. Sounds are perceived by the inner ear, and air cushions located in the frontal part serve as resonators. But these animals are fluent in echolocation. They accurately determine the location and dimensions of an object by the reflected sound, and the distance to it by the wavelength.

How do dolphins sleep?

Dolphins also have another interesting physiological feature: they never sleep. Animals hang in the water column, periodically rising to the surface to breathe. During rest, they are able to turn off alternately the left and right hemispheres of the brain, that is, only one half of the dolphin’s brain sleeps, and the other half is awake.

Where do dolphins live?

The dolphin's habitat is exclusively water bodies. The dolphin lives in almost all places on our planet, with the exception of the Arctic and Antarctic regions. Dolphins live in the sea, in the ocean, and also in large freshwater rivers (Amazonian river dolphin). These mammals love space and move freely over long distances.

Dolphin language

Dolphins are animals social, they live in packs, which can number from 10 to 100 (sometimes more) individuals, fighting off enemies with common efforts. Within the pack there is practically no competition or fights between them; fellow tribesmen coexist peacefully with each other. Dolphins communicate using sounds and signals. Dolphin language extraordinarily varied. The “conversation” of these mammals includes clicking, whistling, barking, and chirping. The spectrum of dolphin voices extends from the most low frequencies before ultrasound. Moreover, they can put simple sounds into words and sentences, passing information to each other.

What do dolphins eat?

The diet of dolphins includes exclusively fish, with preference given to anchovies. The hunting method used by the animals is also interesting. A school of dolphins finds a school of fish and uses special sounds to force it into a tight group. As a result of such hunting, most of the school becomes prey for dolphins. This feature is often used when attacking frightened fish from the air. There are known facts when dolphins helped fishermen by driving a school of fish into their nets.

Sharks and dolphins

An interesting fact is that dolphins also live in symbiosis. They often hunt together without showing any aggression towards each other.

Dolphin species

There are 17 genera in the dolphin family. The most interesting species of dolphins:

• White-bellied dolphin (black dolphin, Chilean dolphin) ( Cephalorhynchus eutropia)

lives exclusively on the coast of Chile. An animal with rather modest dimensions - the length of the stocky and rather thick body of this cetacean does not exceed 170 cm. The back and sides of the white-bellied dolphin are gray, while the throat, belly area and parts of the flippers adjacent to the body are completely white. The flippers and dorsal fin of the white-bellied dolphin are smaller than those of other dolphin species. This species is close to extinction and is protected by the Chilean authorities.

• Common dolphin (common dolphin) ( Delphinus delphis)

The length of the sea animal often reaches 2.4 meters, the weight of the dolphin varies between 60-80 kilograms. In the area of ​​the back, the common dolphin is colored dark blue or almost black, the belly is white, and along the light sides there is a spectacular stripe of a yellowish-gray hue. This species of dolphin lives in the Mediterranean and Black Seas, and feels at ease in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The common dolphin is found on the east coast of South America, along the coasts of New Zealand and South Africa, in the seas of Japan and Korea.

• White-faced dolphin ( Lagenorhynchus albirostris)

a large representative of cetaceans with a body length reaching 3 meters and weighing up to 275 kg. A distinctive feature of the white-faced dolphin is its very light, sometimes snow-white muzzle. The habitat of this mammal includes the waters of the North Atlantic, the coast of Portugal and Turkey. The dolphin feeds on fish such as navaga, flounder, herring, whiting, as well as mollusks and crustaceans.

• Large-toothed dolphin ( Steno bredanensis)

The body length of this marine mammal is 2-2.6 meters, weight varies from 90 to 155 kg. The height of the dorsal fin is 18-28 cm. The color of the dolphin is dominated by gray, with whitish spots scattered throughout. This species of dolphin is common off the coast of Brazil, in the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf of California, and lives in the warm waters of the Caribbean and Red Seas.

• Bottlenose dolphin (large dolphin or bottlenose dolphin) ( Tursiops truncatus)

The length of the animal can vary from 2.3 to 3.6 meters, and weight from 150 to 300 kg. The body color of the bottlenose dolphin depends on its habitat, but generally the species has a dark brown upper body and a grayish-white belly. Sometimes a faint pattern in the form of fuzzy stripes or spots is observed on the sides. The bottlenose dolphin lives in the Mediterranean, Red, Baltic and Black Seas, and is often found in the Pacific Ocean along the coasts of Japan, Argentina and New Zealand.

• Broad-snouted dolphin (beakless dolphin) ( Peponocephala electra)

distributed in the waters of countries with tropical climates, especially large populations live along the coast of the Hawaiian Islands. The torpedo-shaped, light gray body of the animal is crowned with a cone-shaped head of dark gray color. The length of the mammal often reaches 3 meters, and an adult weighs more than 200 kg.

• Chinese dolphin ( Sousa chinensis)

This member of the genus of humpback dolphins lives in the waters along the coast of Southeast Asia, but migrates during the breeding season, so it is found in bays, quiet sea lagoons and even rivers washing Australia and the countries of South Africa. The length of the animal can be 2-3.5 meters with a weight of 150-230 kg. Surprisingly, although dolphin calves are born completely black, as they grow, the body color changes first to light gray, with slightly pinkish spots, and adults become almost white. The Chinese dolphin feeds on fish and shellfish.

• Irrawaddy dolphin ( Orcaella brevirostris)

A distinctive feature of this type of dolphin is the complete absence of a beak on the face and a flexible neck, which gained mobility due to several skin and muscle folds behind the head. The body color of the Irrawaddy dolphin can be either light gray with a blue tint or dark gray, while the belly of the animal is always a shade lighter. This aquatic mammal reaches 1.5-2.8 meters in length and weighs 115-145 kg. The dolphin's habitat covers the waters of the warm Indian Ocean, from the Bay of Bengal to the northern coast of Australia.

• Cruciform dolphin ( Lagenorhynchus cruciger)

lives exclusively in Antarctic and subantarctic waters. The color of the dolphin is black and white, less often – dark gray. The striking white marking covers the sides of the mammal and extends to its muzzle, framing the eye area. The second mark runs longitudinally along the back of the body, intersecting with the first and forming an hourglass pattern. An adult cross-shaped dolphin has a body length of about 2 meters in length, the weight of the dolphin varies between 90-120 kilograms.

• Killer whale (killer whale) ( Orcinus orca)

a mammal that belongs to the dolphin family, the genus of killer whale. The male killer whale is about 10 meters long and weighs around 8 tons. Females are smaller: their length reaches 8.7 meters. The pectoral flippers of killer whales have a wide oval shape. The teeth of killer whales are quite long - up to 13 cm in length. The sides and back of the mammal are black, the throat is white, and there is a white stripe on the belly. There are white spots above the eyes. Sometimes completely black or white individuals are found in the waters of the Pacific Ocean. The killer whale lives in all waters of the world's oceans, except the Sea of ​​Azov, the Black Sea, the Laptev Sea and the East Siberian Sea.

(Platanistidae)

family of mammals of the suborder odontocetes. Length up to 3 m, weigh up to 225 kg. There are single hairs on the muzzle. The pectoral fins are short and wide, the dorsal fin is in the form of a low triangular crest. The beak is very long and narrow. The teeth are numerous (from 104 to 242) with curved and expanded roots (in the Gangetic susuk the front teeth are sharply enlarged). Hearing and echolocation are well developed, vision is weak (susuk does not have a lens). R. d. live in the rivers of South America and South Asia, 4 genera with 4 species: Inia amazonica, Gangetic susuk (Platanista gangetica, Ganges River, Brahmaputra), Chinese lake dolphin (Lipotes vexil lifer, Dongting Lake) and Laplata dolphin (Pontoporia blainvillei, lives on the La Plata River and off the coast of Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina between 30 and 45 ° S). R. d. feed on bottom invertebrates and fish. Susuk pregnancy lasts 8-9 months

A. G. Tomilin.

• - The oldest family of modern toothed whales...

  Biological encyclopedia

• - Already in 1819, A. Humboldt published his observations about a dolphin found in the fresh waters of South America, but did not describe this animal in detail...

  Life of animals

• - aquatic mammals of the suborder of toothed whales, closely related to porpoises...

  Collier's Encyclopedia

• - subfamily of dolphins. Most have a dorsal fin, a snout elongated into a “beak”, and numerous teeth...

  Biological encyclopedic dictionary

• - subfamily of pestilence. mammals subsp. toothed whales. Dl. 1.2-10 m. Approx. 50 species, widely distributed. D.. are often kept in aquariums where they can breed. Easy to train...

  Natural science. encyclopedic Dictionary

• - at the top of the bronze artillery pieces In previous designs, in the middle of their length, there were two brackets shaped like the letter D. D. were intended for passing a rope or chain through them, used for lifting...

  Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron

• - a family of mammals from the order Cetacea, suborder of toothed whales. D. are characterized by the presence in both jaws of a fairly significant number of homogeneous conical teeth...

  Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron

• - a subfamily of mammals of the dolphin family of the order of whales. The usual body length is 1.2-3 m, in some species up to 10 m. Most D. have a dorsal fin, the muzzle is elongated into a “beak”, there are numerous teeth...
• - a genus of mammals of the dolphin family of the suborder of toothed whales. K.'s body is thin and his head is small. There is a low frontal prominence above the upper jaw. There is no dorsal fin, like right whales...

  Great Soviet Encyclopedia

• - a family of mammals of the suborder of toothed whales. Length up to 3 m, weigh up to 225 kg. There are single hairs on the muzzle. The pectoral fins are short and wide, the dorsal fin is in the form of a low triangular ridge...

  Great Soviet Encyclopedia

• - family of toothed whales. Length 1.2-10 m. Over 50 species, mainly in moderately warm, including fresh, waters. Most are fast-swimming herd animals...

  Modern encyclopedia

• - a subfamily of marine mammals of the suborder of toothed whales. Length 1.2-10 mm. OK. 50 species, widely distributed. Dolphins are often kept in aquariums where they can breed. Easy to train...
• - family aquatic mammals suborder of toothed whales. Length up to 3 m. 5-6 species, in the Yuzh rivers. Asia and South America, as well as in the Atlantic region. off the coast of South. America...

  Large encyclopedic dictionary

• - dolphins pl. A family of marine mammals of the suborder of toothed whales...

  Dictionary Efremova

• - Two handles on the middle part of the gun...

  Dictionary foreign words Russian language

"River Dolphins" in books

Dolphins

Dolphins

Dolphins Cetaceans (Cetacea) can be found in almost all seas. These include not only huge whales, but also much smaller dolphins, which will mainly interest us. Whales trace their origins to land mammals, more likely

The first dolphins

The first dolphins It happened in the Red Sea. I was seven years old. We sailed with the whole family on a ship from China to France. My brother and I were on the lower bridge, a few meters from the mirror-like surface of the sea, in the company of the chief on-board engineer, who was always ready

People and dolphins

People and dolphins - Do you love animals? - Ranevskaya unexpectedly asked. “It depends,” the Psychologist admitted. - For example, I like dogs more than cats. - No, I mean just animals. Wild,” explained Ranevskaya. - Not those who are considered friends

Reeds and dolphins

author Burkin Yuliy Sergeevich

Reeds and dolphins I remember telling you what an idiot I was at the beginning of my journalistic career. But, by the way, there are idiots worse than me. Several girls from my group went to Odessa for practice, to the newspaper “Odessa Worker”. And when they returned, they told

What do dolphins drink?

From the book Book general misconceptions by Fry Stephen

What do dolphins drink? Dolphins do not drink at all. A dolphin is like an animal in the desert without access to fresh water. It obtains liquid from food (consisting mostly of squid and fish), as well as by burning fats in its body, resulting in the release of water. Dolphins are the same whales;

50. Dolphins

From the book We are from underwater space author Kasatonov Valery Fedorovich

50. Dolphins Historical backgroundIn 1965 in Leningrad on the desktop of a military engineer at the Research Institute of Shipbuilding and Weapons Navy USSR Viktor Andreevich Kalganov's phone rang. "Russian Otto Skorzeny" was called to

Fighting dolphins

From the book Personal Brand. Take care of your reputation before others do by Sitkins Patrick

Fighting dolphins I played football. IN student years Patrick was a member of the baseball team. When he was a freshman at Jacksonville University, the baseball season that year was very busy: the university team participated in games at the highest level.

From the book Infobusiness at full capacity [Doubling sales] author Parabellum Andrey Alekseevich

Look, dolphins! You must understand what your the target audience and how you will “play” with it: control, direct – call it what you want. Plan for sharp turns. The correct form of training will bring appropriate results, and effective training

Dolphin acrobats

From the book The Complete Encyclopedia of Our Misconceptions author Mazurkevich Sergei Alexandrovich

Acrobatic dolphins Many of us have seen pods of dolphins jump out of the waves in graceful and coordinated leaps. Why do dolphins need such acrobatics? Many children think that dolphins play like that. Perhaps the children are right about something, just like the scientists,

Dolphins

From the book Big Soviet Encyclopedia(DE) of the author TSB

Dolphins

From the book Encyclopedic Dictionary (G-D) author Brockhaus F.A.

River dolphins

From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (RE) by the author TSB

Kay and the dolphins

From book Inner world injuries. Archetypal defenses of the personal spirit by Kalshed Donald

Kay and the Dolphins Those psychotherapists who worked with patients who had suffered mental trauma quite often experienced happy moments when they discovered the amazing powers of the psyche aimed at protecting life, or, more precisely, they could

Dolphins

From the book What He Doesn't Know modern science author Team of authors

Dolphins Execution cannot be pardoned. The dolphin is the only sea animal that can make friends with humans. Pliny the Elder was one of the first to talk about such an amazing friendship in his “Natural History”. In the Mediterranean, on the northern coast

This family consists of four genera, one species in each. Three of them are exclusively freshwater. The fourth, South American, species lives in estuaries and in winter months can migrate along sea coasts.

Amazonian Inia, or Bouto (Inia geoffrensis). Young animals are light gray, but with age they gradually acquire a pinkish tint. Their very long snout is covered with stiff hairs or bristles, which apparently serve a sensory function. Amazon hoarfish have an average of 25–27 teeth on each side of each jaw. The front teeth are pointed, conical, and the back teeth are somewhat similar to molars. Two types of teeth and unfused cervical vertebrae are primitive features for cetaceans. Inia feeds on fish, including those covered with bony plates, and its teeth are often heavily worn, apparently from chewing hard food.

According to some reports, inia may have several subspecies. These freshwater cetaceans are common in the Amazon and Orinoco river basins and during floods they even penetrate into flooded forests, where they swim between the trees. When searching for food on the bottom, inias often turn belly up, perhaps because their thick cheeks would otherwise obstruct their view. Studies of the sounds they make have shown the presence of a rich repertoire of pulse signals, including echolocation signals, used to search for food and explore the environment; however, no monotonal whistles were detected.

The Gangetic dolphin, or susuk (Platanista gangetica), lives in the Indian rivers Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra. He is apparently blind, as his eyes lack a lens. However, the animals compensate for this deficiency by developing an unusual cup-shaped depression on the skull, which resembles an enlarged reflector of a flashlight and undoubtedly directs and concentrates echolocation signals. Studies of several living specimens of this species have demonstrated their apparently exceptional echolocation abilities. The Gangetic dolphin is believed to feed freshwater shrimp and fish burrowing into the mud, which he catches by probing the bottom with his very long jaws. Surprisingly, this animal usually swims on its side.

The Laplatan dolphin (Pontoporia blainvillei) is unique among species of the family Platanistidae for several reasons. It lives not only in the large La Plata River in South America, but also emerges from it into purely marine coastal waters. Some features of his skeleton and good development dorsal fin. Some taxonomists proposed to classify it as family Delphinidae. This small dolphin feeds on fish, shrimp and cephalopods.

Freshwater dolphins are distinguished by the fact that their neck vertebrae are divided, like those of land mammals, rather than fused into a single bone. Some species of this family, in addition to conical teeth, have molar-shaped teeth, i.e. close in structure to the indigenous ones. The dorsal fin is usually very low, in the form of a ridge; only in the Laplatan dolphin it is the same as in the delphinids.