Are you aware that there are not just one or two dolphin species but actually 45 in all? Of this total, most live in salt water environments, as you may expect, while just a handful are actually found in fresh water habitats of southern and eastern countries.

The most common variety we usually think of when hearing the word “dolphin” is a bottlenose.

Those of us who are older might remember the television show Flipper, whose star was a loveable and intelligent bottlenose dolphin.

Whales are Dolphins?

Dolphins belong to the scientific order Cetacean, the same as whales.

What few people realise is that the killer whale is technically categorised as a dolphin. Also referred to as “blackfish”, these additional whales are dolphins, too: Pygmy Killer Whale, Long-finned Pilot Whale, False Killer Whale, Melon-headed Whale, and Short-finned Pilot Whale.

Dolphin Species

Joining the Bottlenose dolphin are the numerous other species. The full list is – the Common dolphin, Hector’s dolphin, Commerson’s dolphin, Black dolphin, Haeviside’s dolphin, Atlantic Humpbacked dolphin, Indo-Pacific Humpbacked dolphin, Fraser’s dolphin, Southern Right Whale dolphin, the Tucuxi, Northern Right dolphin, Spotted dolphin, Atlantic Spotted dolphin, Irrawaddy dolphin, Rough-Toothed dolphin, Striped dolphin, Spinner dolphin, Clymene dolphin, Risso’s dolphin, White-Beaked dolphin, Atlantic White-Sided dolphin, Pacific White-Sided dolphin, Peale’s dolphin, Hourglass dolphin, and Dusky dolphin.

Whilst they are found all over the globe, the majority are confined to the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Of these, the Pink Dolphin and Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin are considered endangered species. Their habitat is along the coastline of Asia.

River Dolphins

River dolphins are found mainly in the Eastern and Southern hemispheres of the globe. They include the species of Amazon River dolphin, Chinese River dolphin, Ganges River dolphin, the Franciscana, Indus River dolphin and Yangtze River Dolphin. Both the Yangtze River dolphin and Indus River dolphin are currently threatened with extinction.

Porpoises

Porpoises also belong to the Cetacean order of marine mammals. Many people use the terms dolphin and porpoise interchangeably, but the fact is there are differences. Porpoises are part of the Phocoenidae family while dolphins are scientifically classified as belonging to the family Delphinidae.

Six species of porpoises exist which include the Burmeister’s Porpoise, Dall’s Porpoise, Finless Porpoise, Harbor Porpoise, Spectacled Porpoise, and Vaquita Porpoise.

Between the misnamed whales, dolphins, and porpoises, there are a wide variety of Cetaceans. They come in a range of sizes and from some very diverse habitats.

Learn more about the intelligence of bottlenose dolphins and their conservation efforts and status.