Spotted dolphins are marine mammals that live in tropical oceans around the world. They breathe air through a blowhole, use echolocation to find prey like fish and squid, and have dark gray spots on their backs and light gray spots on their bodies. Spotted dolphins live in pods that can include up to 100 dolphins and migrate between different areas depending on the season. While they face threats from predators and accidental catching in fishing nets, conservation efforts aim to help protect spotted dolphin populations.

1. Spotted dolphins By By Adrianna Zamichieli

2. Appearance The blowhole on top of the Spotted Dolphins is so they can breath air. The blowhole is on top of a Spotted Dolphin’s head. Spotted Dolphins uses their lungs to breathe instead of gills because they do not have gills.

3. Diet Spotted Dolphins get their food by echolocation to find fish and other sea creatures. Echolocation means sounds that go through the water. The sounds bounce back from their food source and the dolphins know where their prey is.

4. Interesting Facts Human beings cannot hear Spotted Dolphin sounds when they use echolocation to find their prey.

5. Appearance Spotted Dolphins have the natural ability to swim fast because they have smooth flippers and dorsal fins. A dorsal fin is the fin on the top of the body near the blowhole.

6. Interesting Facts Spotted Dolphins do not drink salt water they get their water when they eat fish because fish have water inside their gills.

7. Life cycle Mating season for Spotted Dolphins is all year round. Spotted Dolphins can live up to 45 years.

8. Appearance Spotted Dolphins have dark gray spots on their backs and light gray spots on their bodies.

9. Appearance Spotted dolphins are not fish. They are mammals. Dolphins are related to whales. Mammals are animals who do not lays eggs. They have calves.

10. Appearance Dolphins do not have hair on their backs because it can slow them down from predators Spotted Dolphins predators are killer whales and sharks.

11. Conservation There are people trying to capture spotted dolphins and kill them for their fat and some people are trying to protect Spotted Dolphins.

12. Conservation The fishing industry killed over 400,000 Spotted Dolphins trying to catch other sea creatures. Spotted Dolphins are often caught in tuna nets by fisherman.

13. Diet Sometimes a pod of Spotted Dolphins will work together to kill a large shark.

14. Diet Most Spotted Dolphins eat fish, squid and shrimp.

15. Habitat Spotted Dolphins live in three oceans : Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.

16. Habitat A pod of Spotted Dolphins can have as many as 100 dolphins.

17. Habitat Spotted Dolphins live near the coast and sometimes visit the coast of Japan.

18. Life cycle Male Spotted Dolphins are a little larger then female Spotted Dolphins.

19. Habitat Spotted Dolphins live in tropical warm temperature oceans.

20. Interesting Facts There are 32 kinds of Dolphins in the world.

21. Life Cycle In the winter , when Spotted Dolphins have to migrate there cannot be 400 Spotted Dolphins in the migration pod.

22. Sources I used Encyclopedia of animals, 2006 Spotted dolphins. Prevost, Spotted Dolphins, 1996. Murray, Spotted Dolphins, 2003. http://www.sandiegozoo.org/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/species/Pantropical_Spotted_Dolphin http://www.arkive.org/ http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/ http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/images/cetaceans/atlanticspotteddolphins_noaa.jpg http://amap.no/acia/Files/MarineFoodWeb_150.jpg