Tamanend's Bottlenose Dolphin

Tursiops erebennus

Tamanend's Bottlenose Dolphin

“ I break up through the skin of awareness a thousand times a day, as dolphins burst through seas, and dive again, and rise, and dive. ”

– Annie Dillard

Information

Domain: Eukaryota

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Clade: Synapsida

Class: Mammalia

Order: Artiodactyla

Infraorder: Cetacea

Family: Delphinidae

Genius: Tursiops

Species: Tursiops erebennus

Descendant: dolphins

Named by: Edward Drinker Cope

Year Published: 1865

Size: 2 and 4 m (6.6 and 13.1 ft) long; 150 and 650 kg (330 and 1,430 lb) in weight

Lifespan: 40+ years

Type: 

Title: 

Pantheon: Terran/Gaian

Time Period: Holocene

Alignment: Neutral

Threat Level: ★★★★★★

Diet: Carnivorous 🥩🐟🥓🧽

Elements: Combat, water, sound

Inflicts: Watereblight, soundblight, echolocated

Weaknesses: Leaf, electric, ice, sound

Casualties: ???

Based On: itself

Conservation Status: Least Concern (LC) - IUCN Red List 

Tamanend's Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops erebennus) is a species of bottlenose dolphin that inhabits coastal waters in the eastern United States. The Tamanend's bottlenose dolphin was recognized as a distinct species by the Society for Marine Mammalogy in 2023.

Etymology

In the dolphin's original description in 1865, Cope did not provide an explanation for "erebennus" as the species name. He did mention the type specimen as having a dark coloration, so it is postulated that he may have named the species after Erebus, the Greek primordial deity of darkness. Costa et al. (2022) chose Tamanend's bottlenose dolphin as the species' common name, which references Tamanend, Chief of the Turtle Clan of the Lenni-Lenape nation.

Physical Appearance

It is speculated that Edward Cope named the species after the Greek god Erebus since the type specimen of this dolphin was described by him as having a white belly, a dark saddle pattern, and a dark coloring.

Abilities

Dolphins search for prey primarily using echolocation, which is a form of sonar. Dolphins also use sound for communication, including squeaks emitted from the blowhole, whistles emitted from nasal sacs below the blowhole, and sounds emitted through body language, such as leaping from the water and slapping their tails on the water. Their heads contain an oily substance that both acts as an acoustic lens and protects the brain case. They emit clicking sounds and listen for the return echoes to determine the location and shape of nearby items, including potential prey.

Weaknesses

Dolphins don't suffocate outside of water; they breathe air like all mammals, although they can die of dehydration out of water. They are vulnerable to many stressors and threats including disease, biotoxins, pollution, habitat alteration including freshwater incursions, vessel strikes, human feeding of and activities causing harassment, interactions with commercial and recreational fishing, energy exploration and oil spills, and other types of human disturbance, such as underwater noise.

Ecology

Dolphins have few marine enemies. Some species or specific populations have none, making them apex predators. Because the magnitude of threats may differ among tributaries, extrapolation from these small study areas should be undertaken with caution. The tucuxi exists in small groups of about 10-15 individuals, and swim in tight-knit groups, suggesting a highly developed social structure. Tucuxis are quite active and may jump clear of the water (a behavior known as breaching), somersault, spy-hop or tail-splash.


Common bottlenose dolphins and other dolphins are thought to be some of the smartest animals on the planet, challenging the great apes (chimps and gorillas) for the top spot. They are also extremely curious and often approach people to investigate. Their intelligence is likely both a result of and a driver of their complex social structures. Its diet consists mainly of eels, squid, shrimp and a wide variety of fishes.

Behavior

As a very social species, the common bottlenose dolphin lives in groups called pods that typically number about 15 individuals, but group size varies from pairs of dolphins to over 100 or even occasionally over 1,000 animals for short periods of time. The types of groups include: nursery groups, juvenile groups, and groups of adult males. If the dolphin can not find a path to a dropped item, the dolphin may stay underwater to the point of drowning. Should the survivor or another creature hit a dolphin, the whole pod retaliates, attacking all at once similar to other sociable animals.

Distribution and Habitat

It is unclear how widespread Tamanend's bottlenose dolphins are. From New York to Florida, they are known to reside in nearshore coastal waterways, including bays and estuaries. They may live in these waters as well because they share a genetic ancestry with populations of coastal bottlenose dolphins in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.


Tamed

You cannot tame most dolphin species, except for common dolphin, orca, tucuxi, spotted dolphin, Commerson's dolphin, and bottlenose dolphin. Dolphins can be fed raw cod or pulled along with a lead that are tamed non-violently, rather than through a cordial and curious creature, it will slowly approach any survivor that is within radius. To tame it, you need to pet the creature twice, then feed it with fish or lobster meat.

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