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Dolphin Feature - The Common Dolphin

© Carma Haley Shoemaker

The Common dolphin is one of the most abundant of all dolphin species, hence the name. These dolphins can be found in warm waters worldwide, tropical or subtropical. There are two species of Common dolphin recognised by scientists. The species are the long beaked and the short beaked common dolphin.

The Common dolphin is small and slender with very distinctive color patterns. The back of the Common dolphin varies from a brownish-gray to black. The underside (belly) of the Common dolphin is a brilliant white. What makes the coloring so distinct is the fact that the Common dolphin has a crisscross, or "hourglass" pattern of varying grays, yellow, or tan bands of color that are apparent on each side. Also, there is a black stripe that entends from the lower jaw down to the lateral flipper, as well as a "circular" patch of black lines that surround the eyes and run forward to the end of the snout. It has been said, although the color patterns vary slightly from dolphin to dolphin, that the Common dolphin appears to have a "saddle" from the black coloration of the back and dorsal fin area.

When a Common dolphin dies, the coloration patterns will begin to fade making the whole body appear black and gray. It is the "saddle" pattern on the back and dorsal fin area that allow the Common dolphin to be properly identified after death.

The Common dolphin is a highly social animal. Pod sizes range from 15 to 2000 in number. It has even been documented that there are a few pods that have numbers into the hundreds of thousands.

The Common dolphin uses echolocation to search for squid, various fishes, anchovies, and hake. These dolphins are very playful in nature and will bow ride boats for long periods of time. Many of the Common dolphin will jump clear of the water while bow riding as if they were trying to catch a glimpse of what or who is onboard.

The Common dolphin ranges from 2.1 to 2.5 meters in length. Their snout is quite long, even in the short snout variety. They have anywhere from 45 to 51 pairs of small, sharp teeth in each jaw.

The Common dolphin is just that, common. With the numbers in the hundreds of thousands these dolphins are very wide spread, and allow for optimal viewing with their playful nature. Boating trips in any region where Common dolphins are found will end up being worth their weight in gold.