{"id":211,"date":"2020-05-27T11:02:23","date_gmt":"2020-05-27T18:02:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/animatingthesea-s20\/?p=211"},"modified":"2020-06-04T16:11:20","modified_gmt":"2020-06-04T23:11:20","slug":"short-beaked-common-dolphindelphinus-delphis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/animatingthesea-s20\/short-beaked-common-dolphindelphinus-delphis\/","title":{"rendered":"Short-beaked Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis)<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By: Matthew Price<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Delphinus delphis <\/em>illustration <\/em>
Watercolor pencil<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The short-beaked common dolphins are known by their scientific name as <\/span>Delphinus delphis<\/span><\/i>. Their taxonomic classifications are the kingdom Animalia,<\/span> phylum Chordata, class Mammalia, order Cetacea, family Delphinidae, genus D<\/span>elphinus<\/span>, and species Delphis<\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This particular breed of common dolphins are found in multiple regions of the world. They are spread out across many oceans and can be found off the U.S. west coast, east coast, South African coast, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Southern Pacific. (Westgate,88) Fin and flipper locomotion is the main mode of swimming locomotion in the common dolphins. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A short-beaked common dolphin jumps out of the water. Pencil, watercolor pencil drawing

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The physical characteristics in the average adult common dolphin ranges between 6.2-8.2 ft long and can weigh up to 176-518 lbs. The population of the species is extremely abundant in numbers and widely spread out across the globe. Their skin color is grey. The food chain of the common dolphins largely consists of fish and cephalopods. Fish make up 90% of their diet by numbers (N) and 53% by mass (M) whereas cephalopods account for 9%N and 46%M. (Pusineri, Maginin, Meynier, Spitz, Hassani, Ridoux) <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The common dolphins often travel in groups. Their feeding behaviors show that they often form a feeding swarm. These feeding swarms range from 30 to 120 dolphins and are classified by the size of the group (Gallo Reynoso, 254-55). As dolphins search for large schools of fish, they travel at high speeds and jump out of the water at high heights. When the school is spotted, the swarm of dolphins slow down and form a U shape. The formation is utilized to call for larger groups to close in and surround the fish through ultrasonic sounds emitted for echolocation (Gallo Reynoso, 256-57). <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A group of dolphins swimming together. Pencil and watercolor pencil drawing <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to mating, the male common dolphins interacts competitively with other males and searches for receptive females. When they find a mate, the males spend very little time with their mates because they seek a partner for the sole purpose of mating. Sometimes, the male defends the female by themselves or with a large group of males. The female common dolphins often mate with more than one male. (Murphy, Collet, Rogan, 86) <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Short-beaked Common Dolphin Animation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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