Bottlenose Dolphin Essay
Classification Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Cetacea
Family: Delphinidae
Genus: Tursiops
Species: Tursiops truncatus or Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Jenkins)
The Common Bottlenose Dolphin is arguably the most popular species of the Delphinidae family. Because they are found in both temperate and tropical waters, they are the most studied; a majority of our Physiology knowledge about Delphinids as a family is based on Bottlenose Dolphins (Cozzi 411). Because of the wide variety of habitats and climates that Bottlenose Dolphins inhabit, there is a lot of debate about how many different species are encompassed under the Tursiops Truncatus classification. However, in 1998, Tursiops Aduncus, commonly known as the “Indian-Ocean Bottlenose Dolphins”, …show more content…
Bottlenose Dolphins have complex social and communication skills and have been observed to form social alliances, such as males cooperating in pairs or triplets to control the movements of females (Connor et al.). They have been observed to use tools as well; specifically wild Bottlenose Dolphins were documented using sponges as foraging tools (Krutzen et al.). Bottlenose dolphins are also known to engage in cooperative hunting, where dolphins have been known to take specific roles where such as “harrying shoals of small fish towards a waiting cordon of 'barrier' dolphins, then herding them up to the surface” (Hopkin). Finally, and perhaps most remarkably, Bottlenose Dolphins in captivity for research have been observed to seemingly cooperate and problem solve when presented with a task (Kuczaj et al.). Although there is still a lot of controversy and debate over just “how” intelligent Bottlenose Dolphins, and other species of the Dephinidae family, are there is a lot pointing to the idea that these organisms are not “primitive” in their
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Cetacea
Family: Delphinidae
Genus: Tursiops
Species: Tursiops truncatus or Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Jenkins)
The Common Bottlenose Dolphin is arguably the most popular species of the Delphinidae family. Because they are found in both temperate and tropical waters, they are the most studied; a majority of our Physiology knowledge about Delphinids as a family is based on Bottlenose Dolphins (Cozzi 411). Because of the wide variety of habitats and climates that Bottlenose Dolphins inhabit, there is a lot of debate about how many different species are encompassed under the Tursiops Truncatus classification. However, in 1998, Tursiops Aduncus, commonly known as the “Indian-Ocean Bottlenose Dolphins”, …show more content…
Bottlenose Dolphins have complex social and communication skills and have been observed to form social alliances, such as males cooperating in pairs or triplets to control the movements of females (Connor et al.). They have been observed to use tools as well; specifically wild Bottlenose Dolphins were documented using sponges as foraging tools (Krutzen et al.). Bottlenose dolphins are also known to engage in cooperative hunting, where dolphins have been known to take specific roles where such as “harrying shoals of small fish towards a waiting cordon of 'barrier' dolphins, then herding them up to the surface” (Hopkin). Finally, and perhaps most remarkably, Bottlenose Dolphins in captivity for research have been observed to seemingly cooperate and problem solve when presented with a task (Kuczaj et al.). Although there is still a lot of controversy and debate over just “how” intelligent Bottlenose Dolphins, and other species of the Dephinidae family, are there is a lot pointing to the idea that these organisms are not “primitive” in their