When it comes to dolphin types it is hard to narrow down exactly how many there are in the world. Some sources say that there are 32, whereas other sources say up to 45. What we do know is that there is a variety of dolphin types; approximately 40 we’ll say, categorized into 17 genera. A genus, or genera for plural, is a taxonomic rank that is used to classify living organisms. Within the 17 genera there can be subgenera as well so dolphin types can be broken down even further.
Dolphin types vary in size. You can have a dolphin as small as 1.2 metres such as Maui’s dolphin, or you can have one as large as 9.5 metres which is the size of the Orca, or killer whale. Yes, orcas are considered to be a dolphin. Dolphins can be found all over the world, with most living in the shallow seas of the continental shelves. The Delphinidae is the largest family of dolphins with in the Catacea order. Their more common name is the ocean dolphin even though some of these dolphin types still keep the name whale. With a variety of shapes, sizes, and colours, they do all have some similar characteristics. With the different genera and species things like the amount of teeth that they have vary as well as their beak length and width.
Some members of the various dolphin types have little or no beak at all, while some dolphins such as the bottlenose dolphin have a very prominent beak. The colouring is especially interesting as some are black and white, some are tan, some are pink and some have stripes. Then of course you have the grey dolphins and some are even white. Again, there isn’t a general consensus as to how many subfamilies there are or even how many species of dolphin types there are. This is because it has only been within the past 30 years that some of the species have even been recognized. The more we find out about these wonderful creatures the more we are learning about the families and subfamilies.
The dolphin types that you may see depend greatly on where you live or the location in which you are visiting. It also depends on the times of year you are on the ocean, or whether they are migrating in a certain area. The ones you see at the local aquarium are almost always going to be bottlenose dolphins which are grey in appearance and have the distinct beak that you are so familiar with. It is the dolphin types like the spotted dolphin that you will probably only see if you are in the middle of the ocean and they happen to be on a wild swim.
Keep in mind that not all dolphin types can be found in the ocean. There are also six dolphin types that are river dolphins such as the Amazon River dolphin. Whether you see the Atlantic Humpbacked dolphin, the spinner dolphin or the Commerson’s dolphin consider yourself lucky to be in the midst of any of the variety of dolphin types.
