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Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin

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Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin images (Tursiops aduncus) - stock photos & facts of the most popular, friendly dolphin

Kingdom: Animalia > Phylum: Chordata > Class: Mammalia > Order: Artiodactyla > Infraorder: Cetacea > Family: Delphinidae > Genus: Tursiops > Species: T. aduncus - Binomial name: Tursiops aduncus

Our Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin image collection is created by the world’s renowned professional wildlife photographers, including the animal’s various behaviors such as socializing, playing, hunting, eating, blowing, jumping & leaping, etc. This is your go-to stock photo resource for high quality Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin images.

Bottlenose dolphins employ echolocation to search for food. Echolocation is similar to sonar. They locate objects by producing sounds and listening for the echo. A pulse of clicking sounds is emitted in a focused beam in front of the dolphin. To hear the returning echo they have two small ear openings behind the eyes but most sound waves are transmitted to the inner ear through the lower jaw. As the object of interest is approached the echo grows louder, and the dolphins adjust by decreasing the intensity of the emitted sounds. Bottlenose dolphin have good eyesight, and their eyes are equipped with a reflecting membrane which helps them see in low light. They have a poor sense of smell.

Bottlenose Dolphins communicate with one another through squeaks, whistles, and body language. Examples of body language include leaping out of the water, snapping jaws, slapping tails on the surface of the water, and butting heads with one another. These behaviors help keep track of other dolphins in the group and alert other dolphins to possible dangers and nearby food. They produce the sounds from air sacs near their blow hole and each dolphin has a unique signature whistle, as well as other communication sounds that are common to all in the group.

The Bottlenose dolphin has a single blowhole on the dorsal surface of the head. The blowhole can be closed by use of a muscular flap. A dolphin is able to exchange 80% or more of its lung air with each breathe, and typically rises to the surface to breathe through its blowhole two times a minute. However, they can, if necessary, remain underwater for up to 20 minutes. Dolphins sleep for approximately 8 hours in every 24, in periods of from several minutes to several hours. During the sleeping cycle dolphins remain near the surface swimming slowly, occasionally closing one eye, and one brain hemisphere remains active while the other hemisphere shuts down.
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