![]() ![]() The female shows an unusual behavior that consists in swimming placing its offspring together with another dolphin in an attempt to attract the attention of the members of the pod or ask for support. Yes, it jumps out of the water and rides the bow waves of boats, but it is more usual to notice it when swimming under the surface with its dorsal fin visible or with the head above the water. Therefore, it does not surface as often as other dolphins. It is a skilled and fast swimmer with great lungs that allow it to stay submerged for a considerable amount of time. It forms large pods (up to 300 individuals), and their sociability extends to species such as tunas, whales, dolphins and seabirds. On the other hand, it occasionally associates with whales and other dolphin species to get their food. The fishermen have a bad opinion about the rough-toothed dolphin since it usually takes the fish used for bait. Once it holds a prey with its teeth, it tears the flesh and sometimes shares the food with its companions. Size is important for them, even more, if the fish is large, better. At the moment of hunting, they submerge for up to 15 minutes to reach the benthic prey or to chase fish schools. It feeds in large groups which may have tens or hundreds of individuals. Under normal conditions, this carnivorous dolphin feeds on fish and cephalopods such as: This finding does not mean that it is an omnivorous animal since they could have eaten the algae by accident. ![]() Oddly, the stomachs of some stranded rough-toothed dolphins contain remains of algae. WHAT DO THEY EAT? DIET AND EATING HABITS. Their habitat is selected depending on the amount of food that the area has, looking certainly for the places with abundant food. They like waters with depths above 1,500 meters and temperatures around 25° Celsius. Some countries where this dolphin inhabits are the United States, Belize, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Vietnam, Oman, Pakistan, Kuwait, Madagascar, Malaysia, Cameroon, Nigeria, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Colombia, France, Peru, Papua New Guinea, Japan, Israel and Italy. It lives both in high seas and semi-enclosed aquatic bodies such as the Red Sea, the Gulf of Thailand, the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf of California. It inhabits deep waters of regions with tropical and subtropical climate, but in the coasts of Brazil and West Africa, it can stay near the shore. Its distribution range includes the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans between latitudes 40° north and 35° south. WHERE DO THEY LIVE? DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT. The undefined snout that keeps the line of the head instead of having a separating ridge is another distinctive feature. The skin shows many scars, marks of previous fights.Īs it could not be otherwise, their teeth are the most distinguishing feature: they have vertical ridges and stripes on the surface, visible only observing the dolphin’s mouth. The belly and the chin have a light color contrasting the dark blue or gray-blue in the dorsum. The sexual dimorphism is almost unnoticeable, as only some males may have larger dimensions than females, but the former do have a more pronounced post-anal hump. This dolphin has big and triangular flippers. It has a noticeable melon, and its eyes are somewhat large if compared to other dolphins. Its head is small, and its long snout is not very well defined. Its body seems longer because it is not robust as other dolphins, and some people even say that it looks like a reptile. ![]() The length of its body is between 2.09 and 2.83 meters while its weight oscillates in the range 90-155 kilograms. ![]() This dolphin has an appearance similar to that of the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), so it can be confused with this species, but it is easy to recognize if taking a look at the following features: Genus: Steno HOW DO THEY LOOK? PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS. Its unusual colloquial name comes from the characteristics of its teeth, in fact, rough. It is a species first described in 1823 by Georges Cuvier and scientifically named in 1928 as Delphinus bredanensis. Some think that the rough-toothed dolphin has a primitive looking. Rough Toothed Dolphin Facts (Steno bredanensis) INFORMATION AND CHARACTERISTICS. ![]()
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