Genus Tursiops
THE BOTTLE-NOSED DOLPHINS
B e a k moderately long, tapering, and distinctly marked. Dorsal and pectoral
fins falcate. Rostrum long and tapering; pterygoid bones in contact. The teeth,
which are large and smooth, 22 to 26 pairs ; vertebrae, sixty-one to sixty-four..
T h e B o t t l e ^n o s e d D o l p h in
-Tursiops tursio, Fabricius.
D elphinus tursio, Fabricius, ‘ Fauna Grcenlandica,’ p. 49 (1780); Bonnaterre, ‘ C&ologie,’
p. 21 (1789).
D elphinus truncatus, Montagu,. ‘ Mem. Wern. S.oc.\ vol. iii. p. 75 (1821).
Phoceena compressicauda, Lesson, ‘ C6tologie,’ p. 199 (1827).
Delphinus m etis )
Delphinus cymodice L Gray, ‘ Zool. E rebus and Terro r? p. 38 (1846).
D elphinus eurynome j
Tursiops tursio, Gervais, ‘ Comp. Rend.’ p. 876 (1864).
Tursio truncatus, Gray, ‘ C a t Seals and Whales Brit. Mus.’ p. 258 (1866).
Local Names -B o ttle-n o se ( E n g l i s h ) Porpoise (American).
Characters— The beak of the Bottle-nosed Dolphin i s , short and depressed,
and the lower jaw is slightly longer than the upper. Salient points are the short
mandibular symphysis, and the absence of grooves in the palate. The dorsal fin
is situated in the middle of the total length, and is high and falcate; the pectorals
are broad at the base and obtusely rounded. The back, snout, fins, and flukes
are lead colour, tinged with purple or black. The flanks are light grey, shading
into the pure white of the under surface. In some individuals that portion which
is posterior to the anus is grey, but in others this pale grey extends over the
whole of the ventral surface. There are 22 pairs of teeth in each jaw.
Vertebrae:— C. 7; D. 13; L. 17; Ca. 27=64. Dr. True remarks that the eyelids
of this species are as mobile as those of a terrestrial mammal.1 Length of adults
eight to ten feet.
1 1 Observations on the Life History of the Bottlenose Porpoise,’ Proc. U S . Nat. Mus. 1890, p. 197.