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Mammals of Zihuatanejo

CLASS MAMMALIA

-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Chordates (Phylum Chordata)

-Vertebrates (Subphylum Vertebrata)

-Mammals (Class Mammalia)

-Therians (Subclass Theria)

-Placental Mammals (Infraclass Placentalia)

-Ungulates, Carnivorans, and Allies (Superorder Laurasiatheria)

-Even-toed Ungulates and Cetaceans (Order Artiodactyla)

-Cetaceans and Hippopotamuses (Suborder Whippomorpha)

-Cetaceans (Infraorder Cetacea)

-Toothed Whales (Parvorder Odontoceti)

-Oceanic Dolphins and Porpoises (Superfamily Delphinoidea)

-Oceanic Dolphins (Family Delphinidae)

-Subfamily Delphininae

-Bottlenose Dolphins (Genus Tursiops)

-Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)


The Pantropical Spotted Dolphin is an aquatic mammal found in tropical and warm temperate waters of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. These dolphins are found in the open ocean but also in shallow coastal waters. They feed mainly on small schooling fish and squid. Pantropical Spotted Dolphins are social creatures and travel in pods of 10-50 individuals. They are also known for their acrobatic behavior, often leaping out of the water. These dolphins have a distinctive spotted gray and white pattern on their bodies, with a black dorsal fin and a lighter coloured belly.

Common Bottlenose Dolphin

Tursiops truncatus

Diet

  • Carnivorous, feeding primarily on fish, including sardines, anchovies, mullet, mackerel, herring, and croakers.

  • Also consumes squid, octopus, shrimp, and other crustaceans.

  • Hunts individually or cooperatively, using echolocation to locate prey and employing techniques such as corralling fish into tight schools, mud-ring feeding, and strand feeding in some populations.

Range

  • Found in temperate and tropical oceans worldwide.

  • Along the eastern Pacific, it occurs from British Columbia south through the Gulf of California, the Pacific coast of Mexico, Central America, and South America.

  • A common year-round resident along the Pacific coast of Mexico, including the Zihuatanejo region, where it is frequently observed close to shore.

Habitat

  • Occupies a wide variety of marine habitats, including coastal bays, estuaries, lagoons, coral and rocky reefs, continental shelf waters, and the open ocean.

  • Coastal populations generally remain near shore, while offshore populations inhabit deeper oceanic waters.

  • Often associates with river mouths and areas of high fish abundance.

Size

  • Length: 2.0–4.0 m (6.6–13.1 ft)

  • Weight: 150–650 kg (330–1,430 lb), with males generally larger than females.

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