This species has a global distribution, except in the polar regions. They can be found in temperate and tropical waters.

The body shape (fusiform and hydrodynamic), smooth and furless skin are essential features for faster and more efficient swimming. Newborns have small whiskers on their beaks, which fall off after a few days and do not grow back again.

They are born with about 80 to 100 teeth, all with the same shape, sharp and pointy. Unlike us, they don’t substitute their teeth when young. This means that, once a tooth falls off, it is not replaced. They are used to capture the fish and to cut it if it is too big. They also do not chew the food, usually swallowing the prey whole.

Each bottlenose dolphin has its own “signature whistle” that will remain the same for most of its life. This whistle is used for mother-calf recognition and to communicate identity and location to the group.

They don’t go into deep sleep as we do but, instead, go into a state of dormancy, resting half the brain at a time. This allows them to keep close attention on the young, watch our for predators and to get to the water surface to breathe.