dolphin
[For the right pronunciation, please click here.]
a kind of sea animal – mammal – sea-water mammal related to the whales, but with teeth, and long flattened but pointed beak-like mouth, long sleek, smooth hairless body; with the nose which is called a ‘blow hole’ is just a hole on the head; two stubby flippers (like fins), a fin on the back and a flat tail which is called ‘flukes’; long dark gray colour on the back and white underside; on average, grows to 6 feet and weighs about 250 Kg; feeds on (eats) fish, crabs, shrimps, squids, etc.; lives for 25 to 100 years of age depending on the species (kind); about 38 salt water types and 5 fresh water types found in all the waters of the world
female ~~ cow
baby ~~ calf, pup
group ~~ pod, shoal, herd
voice ~~ click, whistle, trill, moan, squeak (depending on the purpose of the call)
home ~~ (man-made) dolphinarium
jumping dolphins
bottle-nosed dolphin
The ‘bottle-nose dolphin’ is the state animal of Florida and Mississippi, USA.
The Ganges River Dolphin is the National Aquatic Animal of India (on 18 May 2010).
Though dolphins belong to the ‘whale family’, they are different from ‘true whales’ because they have teeth, and so they are called ‘toothed whales’.
Dolphins use ‘echolocation’ system to find their prey, as the bats do.
Dolphins are considered the most intelligent of the sea mammals; they are social animals,
like to do acrobats in water, jumping out of water, sometimes to 5 feet high in the air and show eagerness to be friends with people.
Free willy — ocra
The orca or killer whale is the largest of all the dolphins. It is also called the ‘wolf of the sea’, because like the wolves which hunt their prey in packs, the orca hunts its prey with others in pods. It can grow to 23 feet long and can weigh 5,500 Kg!
Dolphins sleep with one half of their brain at a time! This is because they have to swim up to the surface to take air for breathing and if they fall asleep like we do they suffocate, drown and die for lack of air.
Dolphins are filmed in several motion pictures. The dolphin that is the lead character in the film ‘Flipper’ is a bottle-nosed dolphin.
The lead character in the film “Free Willy” is an orca.
Dolphins are a must at the water world theme parks all over the world.
Dolphins are used in scientific researches. Their vocal communication methods are studied very much.
(dolphinfish)
1.
dolphin (noun) = (a)
a dolphin (buoy)
a buoy (a large heavy floating object tied down to the bed of a river, lake or a shore to tie boats from drifting away on water)
(b)
dolphin (fenders)
a group of piers used as a fender at a dock
(c)
the constellation delphinus (‘constellation’ = an imaginary shape of something with stars in the sky, the shape of a dolphin in this case)
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