The common bottlenose dolphin is the familiar gray dolphin of aquariums and boat tours, named for its short, thick snout. In US waters it lives along both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, around Hawaii, and in the Gulf and Caribbean. Since 2022, the nearshore dolphins of East Coast bays and estuaries have been treated as a separate species, Tamanend's bottlenose dolphin.
Appearance
- Appearance
- Gray, darker on the back and paler on the belly, with a short, stubby beak and a curved dorsal fin. Adults are about 6–13 ft (2–4 m) long and weigh 300–1,400 lb (135–635 kg); males are larger.
Look-alikes
They are hard to tell apart in photos. Bottlenose dolphins living in bays, estuaries, and nearshore waters between New York and Florida are Tamanend's; those farther offshore are common bottlenose dolphins.
Why they get mixed upUntil 2022 both were considered the same species.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Bays and harbors
- Estuaries
- Continental shelf and open ocean
- Range
- Warm-temperate to tropical oceans worldwide, but not polar seas. In the US: California, Oregon, and Washington; Hawaii; the Atlantic coast from Massachusetts to Florida; the Gulf; and Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
- Preferred conditions
- Coastal dolphins use bays, harbors, lagoons, and estuaries; offshore dolphins live over the continental shelf and beyond. Coastal animals tend to be smaller and lighter in color than offshore ones.
Behavior
- Diet
- Fish, squid, and crustaceans such as crabs and shrimp, swallowed whole and head first.
- Social life
- Groups often split up and come back together. Typical pods have about 15 dolphins, but they range from pairs to over 100. Groups sometimes herd fish together.
- Senses
- They find prey with and by listening quietly. Each dolphin has its own signature whistle that others recognize, almost like a name.
Life cycle
- Gestation
- About 12 months.
- Litter size
- One calf.
- Time to maturity
- Usually starts breeding between ages 5 and 15, depending on the population, with females often maturing before males. Calves nurse for about 20 months and stay with their mothers for 3–6 years.
- Lifespan
- About 40–60 years; some females live past 60.
Name and classification
- About the name
- Scientists split the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin off as its own species around 1998. In 2022, the coastal form of the western North Atlantic was named a separate species, Tamanend's bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops erebennus); the offshore form there stays in this species. Black Sea dolphins (T. t. ponticus) and Lahille's bottlenose dolphins of southeastern South America (T. t. gephyreus) are treated as subspecies.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- LCLeast ConcernLow risk of extinction
- Status
- Protected throughout US waters by the Marine Mammal Protection Act. It is not listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
- Threats
- Getting caught in fishing gear, illegal feeding and harassment, pollution and oil spills, harmful algal blooms, ocean noise, and vessel strikes. Run-ins with anglers, including dolphins taking bait and people feeding them, are a growing problem in the Southeast.
More species to explore
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