C O N T E N T S Introduction News General Information Where To Find Dolphins Cetacea Order Delphinidea Family Dolphin Anatomy Pictures Fun Stuff Dolphin Links Contact Me Search This site was created by Cougar ASSOCIATES.	Dolphin body and skin Layers of skin & blubber Most living cetaceans have a streamlined, torpedo shaped body that is propelled through the water by horizontal tail flukes (lobes of the tail) that beat vertically. Paddle shaped flippers, the equivalent of the human arm, help in steering. The flukes and dorsal fin are formed of dense connective tissue and don't contain bones or muscle. All living cetaceans have well-developed forelimbs (flippers) placed behind the head and below the midline. The fore flipper is stiff without the movable elbow joints seen in most mammals. The pectoral flippers do contain bones. Behind their anus the body tapers into the tail stock (peduncle), which has flattened sides and horizontal flukes. Strongly interwoven tendons and fibrous bundles provide most of the strength in the tail. The ear hole in a bottlenose dolphin is about 5-6cm behind the eye and is only 2-3 mm in diameter.   Skin Cetaceans have developed a highly sensitive skin, which contains a complex and elaborate system of encapsulated nerve endings, which can be used to feel and touch objects. (This helps explain why tame dolphins like to be stroked).Dolphin skin is also extremely delicate and easily injured by rough surfaces or by being cut fore instance with a sharp fingernail. It, does however tend to heal quickly. Also by monitoring their body surface for pressure or stretching points cetaceans can keep their bodies in the best shape for maximum efficiency Dorsal Fin A dolphin's dorsal fin is made up of cartilage.The fin is supported not by skeleton, but by tough fibrous tissue inside it. A dorsal fin can be as distinctive as a human's face and is used by scientists to identify individuals. Dolphins that have dorsal fins seem to use them for stability. Melon This is the fatty, rounded section of a dolphin's forehead. It is critical to its extremely sensitive and complex use of echolocation. The melon acts as an acoustical lens to focus sound waves into a beam that is projected in front of the animal. Dolphins seem to wear a permanent smile, but this is deceptive since the head, like the rest of the body carries significant blubber under the skin. Blubber prevents major muscles of the face reaching the surface. Therefore whales and dolphins are capable of only a limited range of facial expressions. Eye Light travels slower in water than in air. Therefore eyes adapted for focusing in air loses its focusing power in water. Humans have overcome the problem by wearing facemasks to keep our eyes in air when underwater. Dolphins however, have elastic lenses on their eyes that expand and contract to let them focus both above and below the water. Strong muscles around the eye that can change the actual shape of the lens in the eye to suit either water or air vision. Cetaceans also have large pupils so that they can collect large amounts of light in even low-lit areas of water, and in bright areas the pupil can be closed right down to a small slit and have special glands that protect their eyes from salt water. Teeth A dolphin’s teeth aren’t used for chewingas they swallow food whole, but they do help it grab prey. Some scientists also think the teeth are spaced in such a way to help the dolphin analyse sound waves that bounce back from an object.  To find out more about teeth please visit 'Feeding strategy and habits'. Blowhole The blowhole serves as a dolphin's nostrils, allowing it to breathe while swimming at top speed. While asleep, female dolphins that lie on the water's surface expose their blowholes to the air to breathe. Males however sleep just below the surface and a reflex action periodically raises their bodies. Dolphin skulls Aspects of the internal skeleton vary greatly. The skull is different from that of the normal mammal structure as it has been ‘telescoped’ (compressed from front to back so that certain parts overlap each other. Dolphins with prominent beaks have elongated skulls with as many as 130 conical teeth in each jaw. However dolphins without prominent beaks have shorter jaws and hence less teeth. Dolphin skeleton and body To see detailed anotated images of a dolphins body parts click the following thumb nail pictures