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1. There Are over 30 Dolphin Species
Dolphins are aquatic mammals that live all over the world. There are over 30 species of dolphins, and they are all carnivores that eat fish, squid and, in the case of the Orca, seals and other marine mammals.
Of the more than 30 species of dolphin, most live in the oceans of the world. However, 5 species of dolphin live in rivers. Dolphin facts teach us that these 5 river dolphins are not all part of the same lineage. They are not directly descended from a single river dolphin. Some of these river dolphins are more closely related to oceanic dolphins than to other river dolphins.
Dolphin facts show that river dolphins all descended from oceanic dolphins that retreated into river habitats when they were displaced by other oceanic dolphin species. Scientists see these river dolphins as evolving in convergent evolution, with each lineage evolving separately to live in rivers.
2. Dolphins Range from 4 ft. to 30 ft. Long
Dolphin facts teach us that there are a wide variety of species of dolphin in the ocean within a group of animals called agenera. The smallest dolphin in the world is the Maui’s dolphin, which is only 4 ft. long.
The largest dolphin in the world is the orca, which is commonly known as the killer whale. However, it’s technically not a whale, but it is part of the genera of dolphin. Orca can be up to 30 ft. long.
One of the most incredible dolphin facts is that all dolphins descended from land mammals that transitioned back to life in the ocean. The amazing varieties of the more than 30 different species of dolphin evolved over time from these land mammal ancestors.
