Bottlenose Dolphin

Overview

The bottlenose dolphin is a toothed whale in the genus Tursiops. They are common, cosmopolitan members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Molecular studies show the genus contains three species: the common bottlenose dolphin, the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, and Tamanend's bottlenose dolphin. Others, like the Burrunan dolphin, may be alternately considered their own species or be subspecies of T. aduncus. Bottlenose dolphins inhabit warm and temperate seas worldwide, being found everywhere except for the Arctic and Antarctic Circle regions. Their name derives from the Latin tursio (dolphin) and truncatus for the truncated teeth.