Tursiops truncatus, Montagu, 1821

Identification

The coloring is quite complex, although, under most light conditions at sea, they appear to have a uniform grey color. The obvious feature is that it has a dark, prominent and falcate dorsal fin. It has a robust head and body. They have a distinct rostrum with melon crease. Rounded forehead.

Biology

The size, shape and colour vary depending on the geographic region where they live.
After 12 months of gestation, they are born with 1m in length and between 15 to 30kg. When they reach maturity (males 8 to 14 years old and females between 5 and 12 years old), they can weigh between 150 to 650kg and reach 3.8m in length.
They feed on fish and cephalopods that they can capture from more than 100 meters in depth. They can live beyond 50 years.

Behavior

They are very curious and active, frequently lobtails, bow-rides, wake rides, body-surfs and breaches. It can form stable groups and exhibit coastal habits. They can be associated with different cetaceans, as well as sharks or turtles. Dives rarely last longer than 3 or 4 minutes, but sometimes longer offshore.