Common dolphins in the Red Sea and Galápagos :: MarineBio Video Library
Common dolphins are actually comprised of three species:
1) Short-beaked common dolphins, Delphinus delphis (Linnaeus, 1758), aka common dolphin, saddle-backed dolphin, short-beaked saddle-backed dolphin, short-beaked saddleback dolphin, saddleback porpoise, criss-cross dolphin, white-bellied dolphin, hourglass dolphin and saddleback,
2) Long-beaked common dolphins, Delphinus capensis (Gray, 1828), aka long-beaked saddle-backed dolphin and long-beaked saddleback dolphin, and
3) Arabian common dolphins, Delphinus tropicalis (van Bree, 1971), aka Arabian saddle-backed dolphin, Arabian saddleback dolphin, Malabar common dolphin, and Malabar saddleback dolphin.
Common dolphins are typically 1.7-2.6 external m in length and weigh between 70-135 external kg. They are fusiform (shaped like a fish) and slender. Their dorsal side is black to brownish black, with varying coloration and markings. The ventral side is offwhite or white. The flanks are distinctly marked with hourglass or criss-cross patterns that tan or yellowish tan in color. Their short beak is well-defined and often features a white tip. One or more dark stripes are found from the center of the lower jaw to the flippers. Their dorsal fin is triangular to distinctly falcate in shape with a pointed tip and usually black with a lighter gray region of varying size near the middle.
These amazing animals are very social and often travel in enormous pods of more than a thousand. They're known for their high leaps out of the water, sometimes simultaneously in groups, and they enjoy riding the bow waves of boats for long periods of time. They are a very energetic and highly vocal species that produce a variety of whistles, pulses, and clicks that are easily heard by divers.
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