Dolphins are animals known for their sociability and energy. These are 10 facts about them.
1: Dolphins are cetaceans, which means they are marine mammals belonging to the same infraorder as whales and porpoises.
2: Although they need to breathe air to survive, they can stay underwater for up to 20 minutes.
3: Dolphins shed the outer layer of their skin every two hours, which allows them to maintain hydrodynamism.
4: They are very intelligent animals. In fact, they are one of the few capable of recognizing themselves in a mirror.
5: There are about forty known species of dolphins. Some are the Ganges, Amazon, bottle-nosed, and skipjack dolphins.
(This is a crossover dolphin.)
6: Dolphins breathe through a hole in the top of their head called a blowhole. In the case of baleen whales it is double.
7: You may have wondered how they can breathe through their heads. This illustration shows your respiratory system:
8: They are gregarious animals, normally they form groups of between ten and thirty individuals. They communicate with each other by hissing and clicking.
9: They use echolocation to search for food. They make high-frequency sounds and then listen for the echo that bounces back. That way, they can determine the size and distance of their prey.
10: Dolphins are believed to have evolved from land animals. They underwent many physiological changes. For example, its legs turned into flippers.