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Dolphin - Evolution and anatomy of dolphins

Dolphin - Evolution and anatomy of dolphins: Encyclopedia II - Dolphin - Evolution and anatomy of dolphins

Dolphins, along with whales and porpoises, are descendants of land-living mammals, most likely of the Artiodactyl order. Modern dolphin skeletons have two small rod shaped pelvic bones thought to be left-over hind legs. They entered the water roughly 50 million years ago. See evolution of cetaceans for the details. Dolphins have a fusiform body, adapted for fast swimming. The head contains the melon, a round organ used for echolocation. In many species, the jaws are elongated, forming a distinct beak; for some species like the Bottlen ...

Dolphin: Encyclopedia II - Dolphin - Evolution and anatomy of dolphins

Dolphin - Evolution and anatomy of dolphins

Dolphins have a fusiform body, adapted for fast swimming. The head contains the melon, a round organ used for echolocation. In many species, the jaws are elongated, forming a distinct beak; for some species like the Bottlenose, there is a curved mouth that looks like a fixed smile. Teeth can be very numerous (up to 250) in several species. The dolphin brain is large and has a highly structured cortex, which often is referred to in discussions about their high intelligence.

The basic coloration patterns are shades of gray with a light underside and a distinct dark cape on the back. It is often combined with lines and patches of different hue and contrast. See individual species articles for details.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Evolution and anatomy of dolphins", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki

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