Teacher Resources > Facts about Dolphins & Whales > Facts about Bottlenose dolphins
Facts about Bottlenose dolphins
Fact file
| Scientific name: | Tursiops truncates |
| Family: | Delphinidae |
| Range: | Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans |
| Habitat: | Coastal to oceanic |
| Status: | Common |
| Population: | In excess of 1 million |
| Diet: | Squid, fish and crustaceans |
| Length: | 2-3.8m |
| Weight: | 150-650kg |
Identification
| Flukes: | Grey above and below with a notch in the middle, swept back leading edges and fairly straight trailing edges that are curved at the edges |
| Dorsal fin: | Grey, convex on the leading edge, and strongly concave on the trailing edge |
| Flippers: | Grey flippers with curved leading edges and fairly pointed tips |
| Shape of head: | Beak usually grey on the upper side and paler on the lower. Forehead is grey |
| Body: | Dark grey cape extends from shoulders to beyond the dorsal fin, with lighter grey area cross the middle flank and a paler region along the lower flank and underside |
| Group size: | Inshore groups of 2-15 individuals, offshore groups commonly average 20 with up to several hundred on occasion |
| Behaviour: | Commonly bow-ride, wake-ride, breach and lobtail. Inshore animals rarely dive for more than 3-4 minutes, but offshore animals may do so |
