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Dolphin Lapbook
Lapbook by Jimmie, Wende, and Ami

                                

Templates

Research

Are Dolphins Whales?
There are two kinds of whales, the toothed whale and the baleen whale. Dolphins, belugas, and sperm whales are all toothed whales.  Toothed whales have sharp teeth, which they use to hunt and eat sea lions, fish, and even other dolphins and whales.  Toothed whales also use echolocation; they emit high-pitched clicks and sense them as they bounce back off objects.

Baleen whales do not have teeth, but instead have fringed plates that hang down from the roof of their mouth. Baleen whales eat tiny plants and animals, called plankton, which they trap with their baleen. Baleen whales include the blue, finback, gray, and bowhead whales.


Classification Information
There are 34 to 36 species of true dolphins who belong to the family Delphinidae--river dolphins and porpoises do not belong to this family, but blackfish (whale-like dolphins) do.  There are six species of blackfish:  orca/killer whale, false killer whale, long-finned pilot whale, short-finned pilot whale, pygmy killer whale, and melon-headed whale.

Kingdom: Animalia (animals)
Phylum: Chordata (vertebrates)
Class: Mammalia (mammals)
Order: Cetacea (whales and dolphins)
Suborder: Odontoceti (toothed whales)
Family: Delphinidae


Worker Dolphins
Dolphins are intelligent and playful animals. Dolphins can think ahead, solve problems and invent games. For this reason, dolphins are trainable animals. Dolphins have been trained to entertain people by doing tricks, and have been trained to pull small ships into harbor. Dolphins have been trained to save drowning people by taking a rescue rope to them. Sometimes dolphins even help fishermen by pushing fish into their nets. The military has trained dolphins to locate hidden explosives in the ocean. Dolphins can even be trained to be mail carriers, carrying the mail from underwater laboratories up to the surface. Dolphin trainers use fish as rewards to teach the dolphins to do the jobs they want them to do.


Dolphin Behaviors

Bowriding
Many dolphin species are also known for playing in the water.  One of the many ways they play is by riding waves.   This behavior is known as bow-riding.

Breaching
Dolphins can breach (jump) high out of the water like acrobats!   They slap the water as they come back down.  Sometimes, they will even give a twirl before hitting the water.   Scientists don't know for certain, but breaching may be just a fun way for dolphins to play or it may have a social meaning or be used to loosen skin parasites. 

Lobtailing
Lobtailing is when a dolphin sticks its tail out of the water into the air, swings it around, and then slaps it on the water's surface. It makes a very loud sound and may be done as a warning signal for the pod.


Dolphins are Mammals!
Even though dolphins live in the water, they are mammals (not fish!).  They are warm blooded just like humans.  They breathe air through their lungs, they give birth to live young who they feed milk.  They also have hair (very little!), but they do have some.


Dolphin Diets
All dolphins are carnivores (meat eaters).  The three hunters mentioned here all find their prey at the surface of the water.  They all eat some of the same things, but the Orca has the largest menu.  Bottlenose dolphins eat fish and squid.  Orcas eat fish, squid, sharks, birds, seals, sea turtles, octopi, and even bottlenose dolphins!  Spotted dolphins eat mostly fish and squid, but also eat crustaceans. 

Dolphin vs. Porpoise
Dolphins and porpoises are easily confused, but they are different animals. 
Here are some basic differences in the anatomy of these two animals:

Group Names
herd--a group of one species (type) of dolphin whose members share a home range (area of activity)
school--large group made up of several herds, may contain more than one dolphin species.
subgroup--smaller group that does not always travel with the herd, but comes back to it.
family pod--stable unit of mothers and their offspring that may also contain sons and uncles.
nursery pod--group of mothers and calves.


Camouflage
Dolphins are camouflaged:  they are dark on top to make it harder to be seen from (the dark blends in with the dark color of the deep ocean); they are light underneath to make it harder to be seen when looking up from down deep in the ocean (the light colored belly blends with the sunlit top of the ocean).  This pattern of light and dark is called countershading.


Did You Know?
Dolphins are voluntary breathers--they must make a conscious effort to breathe.

Bottlenose dolphins in a nursery pod will form a ring around a birthing mother and her newborn calf to help protect them from predators.

Dolphins born tail-first (unlike other mammals).  (Book says that *most* are born tail first.)

A dolphin's beak is called a rostrum.

The fatty material that makes a bump on the dolphin's forehead is called a melon.  A dolphin uses it to direct the sounds they make.

Dolphins can blow bubbles?   (see video)

 

Information from the San Diego Zoo (great page!)

Animal Planet's Dolphins Explored

Graphics to use in your lapbook

Bottlenose Dolphin Coloring/Information Page

Cover Page Coloring Sheets

Maze from Waterford Press

Puzzles

Teacher's Guide to go with the film, Dolphins (may contain evolutionary content)