You searched for: “dolphin
dolphin (s) (noun), dolphins (pl)
1. A small gregarious marine mammal related to whales that typically has a beaklike snout and a curved fin on the back: Dolphins have become well-known for their intelligence, friendliness, and general congenial social behavior.
2. Etymology: from Old French daulphin; from Medieval Latin dolfinus; from Latin delphinus, "dolphin"; from Greek delphis, delphinos, "dolphin".

More Information about Dolphins

  • Dolphins are very social creatures and quite affectionate with each other.
  • Dolphins communicate primarily by means of sounds which include whistles, but also so-called pulsed sounds, which are often described as squawks, barks, rasps, etc.
  • In addition, they use breaching (jumping and falling back into the water with a loud splash) and pectoral fin (or flipper) and tail (or fluke) slaps (hitting the flipper or fluke on the water surface).
  • Their body posturing and jaw popping are also a a part of their communication techniques.
  • Dolphins, and other whales with teeth, can produce high pitched clicks. When these clicking sounds strike an object, some of the sound will echo back to the senders.
  • By listening to the echo and interpreting the time it takes before the echo comes back, the dolphins can estimate the distance of the objects; such as, fish or squid.
  • Whales and dolphins can be found in almost every sea and ocean, from the Arctic ocean, through the tropics all the way to the Antarctic.
  • Each species of dolphin has its own preferred type of habitat; some live in cold water and others live only in tropical oceans.
  • There are a number of dolphin species that live in fresh water; such as, the river dolphin families; including, the Platanistidae (Ganges and Indus river Dolphins), the Iniidae (the boto or Amazon river Dolphin) and the Pontoporiidae (the baiji and the franciscana).
  • Most dolphins live in the ocean, but the ocean water is too salty for them to drink.
  • They get most of their water intake from their food; such as, fish and squid.
—Compiled from excerpts located at the
Sunlight on Water site;
where there is much more information about dolphins.

A very good example of the friendly and social behavior of dolphins can be seen
by clicking on this Cat On Boat Plays With Dolphins site.

This entry is located in the following unit: English Words in Action, Group D (page 4)