dolphin

Dolphins are cetacean mammals closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from 1.2 m (4 ft) and 40 kg (90 lb) (Maui 's dolphin), up to 9.5 m (30 ft) and 10 tonnes (9.8 long tons; 11 short tons) (the orca or killer whale). They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves and are carnivores, eating mostly fish and squid. The family Delphinidae, the largest in the order Cetacea, evolved relatively recently, about ten million years ago during the Miocene.he name is originally from Greek δελφίς (delphís), "dolphin",[1] which was related to the Greek δελφύς (delphus), "womb".[2] The animal 's name can therefore be interpreted as meaning "a 'fish ' with a womb".[3] The name was transmitted via the Latin delphinus[4] (the romanization of the later Greek δελφῖνος – delphinos[5]), which in Medieval Latin became dolfinus and in Old French daulphin, which reintroduced the ph into the word. The term mereswine (that is, "sea pig") has also historically been used.[6]

The term 'dolphin ' can be used to refer to, under the suborder Odontoceti, all the species in the family Delphinidae (marine dolphins including orcas and pilot whales) and the river dolphin families Iniidae (South American river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (La Plata dolphin), Lipotidae (Yangtze river dolphin) and Platanistidae (Ganges river dolphin and Indus river dolphin).[7][8] This term has often been misused in the US, mainly in the fishing industry, where all small cetaceans (dolphins and porpoises) are considered porpoises, while the fish dorado is called dolphin fish.[9] In common usage the term 'whale ' is used only for the larger cetacean species,[10] while the smaller ones with a beaked or longer nose are considered 'dolphins '.[11] The name 'dolphin ' is used casually as a synonym for bottlenose dolphin, the most common and familiar species of dolphin.[12] Killer whales also belong to the family

References: 10 Further reading 11 External links