Bottlenose dolphins are toothed whales 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.
The common dolphin is the most abundant cetacean in the world, with a global population of about six million. Despite this fact and its vernacular name, the common dolphin is not thought of as the archetypal dolphin, with that distinction belonging to the bottlenose dolphin due to its popular appearances in aquaria and the media. However, the common dolphin is often depicted in Ancient Greek and Roman art and culture, most notably in a mural painted by the Greek Minoan civilization.
The Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin is a species of bottlenose dolphin. This dolphin grows to 2.6 m (8.5 ft) long, and weighs up to 230 kg (510 lb). It lives in the waters around India, northern Australia, South China, the Red Sea, and the eastern coast of Africa. Its back is dark grey and its belly is lighter grey or nearly white with grey spots.
The common bottlenose dolphin or Atlantic bottlenose dolphin is one of three species of bottlenose dolphin in the genus Tursiops. The common bottlenose dolphin is a very familiar dolphin due to the wide exposure it receives in captivity in marine parks and dolphinariums, and in movies and television programs. Spending their entire life in water, common bottlenose dolphins inhabit temperate and tropical oceans throughout the world, absent only from polar waters. While formerly known simply as the bottlenose dolphin, this term is now applied to the genus Tursiops as a whole. As considerable genetic variation has been described within this species, even between neighboring populations, many experts think additional species may be recognized.
The Tethys Research Institute is a non-profit research organisation founded in 1986 to support marine conservation through science and public awareness and by participating in the international conservation process. Tethys' activities are mainly carried out in the Mediterranean Sea, although research programmes have been conducted also in the Black Sea, the North Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean, the Red Sea and Antarctica. The results of these activities have been presented in scientific publications as well as in meetings, workshops and conferences.
The Bottlenose Dolphin Research Institute (BDRI) is a research and educational centre dedicated to the understanding and conservation of cetaceans and the marine environment in which they live. The Institute's BDRI center was founded by the biologist Bruno Díaz López in Sardinia, Italy in 2005. In 2014, the BDRI opened a new facility in Galicia, Spain.
The Burrunan dolphin is a proposed species of bottlenose dolphin found in parts of Victoria, Australia first described in 2011. Its exact taxonomy is debated: numerous studies support it as being a separate species within the genus Tursiops and occupying a basal position within the genus, with limited phylogenetic studies using different methodologies indicate that it is a subspecies of the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin. The Burrunan dolphin is not currently recognized as a species by the Society for Marine Mammalogy or American Society of Mammalogists, which cites problematic methodology in the original study proposing species status and recommends further research.
The Black Sea bottlenose dolphin is a subspecies of the common bottlenose dolphin. Recent findings suggest that they differ from the common bottlenose dolphin based on slight differences in cranial activity and genetic composition. This species occupies the Black Sea, and is less frequently studied than the more common Atlantic bottlenose dolphin.
