Hourglass dolphin has 24 – 36 pairs of teeth in its upper and lower jaw.Ītlantic Humpback dolphin has 26 – 31 pairs of teeth in its upper and lower jaw. Hector’s dolphin has 24 – 31 pairs of teeth in its upper and lower jaw. Indian ocean or Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin has 23 – 29 teeth on each side of its upper and lower jaw.Ĭhilean dolphin has 28 – 34 teeth on each side of its upper jaw and 29 – 33 teeth on each side of its lower jaw.Ĭhinese white dolphin – Unconfirmed estimates are between 100 – 160 teeth in total.Ĭlymene dolphin has 36 – 52 pairs of teeth on its upper and lower jaw.Ĭommerson’s dolphin – rough estimates are between 102 – 120 teeth in total.Ĭostero dolphin has 26 – 36 pairs of teeth on its upper and lower jaw.ĭusky dolphin has 24 – 36 teeth on each side of its upper and lower jaw.įranciscana dolphin (aka La Plata dolphin) has 50 – 63 teeth on each side of its upper and lower jaw.įraser’s dolphin has 20 – 44 pairs of small teeth on its upper and lower jaw. Short-beaked common dolphin has 50 – 60 small sharp teeth on each side of its jaw.Īrabian common dolphin may have up to 57 pairs of sharp conical teeth on the upper and lower jaws.Ĭommon bottlenose dolphin has 18 – 29 teeth on each side of its upper and lower jaw. Long-beaked common dolphin has 47 – 67 sharply pointed teeth on each side of its jaw. White-beaked dolphin has 22 – 28 pairs of small teeth on the upper and lower jaw. NUMBER OF TEETH OF VARIOUS DOLPHIN SPECIES Some species only use their teeth to grab onto their prey and will consume their food whole, while other species don’t appear to have any real use for their teeth at all.īelow you can find a list containing the estimated number of teeth of different dolphin species. The number of teeth a dolphin has varies by species, however it is estimated that some species may have as many as 250 teeth.įor example the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin has between 80 – 100 teeth, while the short-beaked common dolphin has as many as 240 teeth.ĭespite having teeth not all dolphins use their teeth for chewing or breaking apart their prey. Cephalopods (which include octopus, squid and cuttlefish).Krill (a small crustacean a popular food source among blue whales).Plankton (a common food source for fish, dolphins and whales).Squid (dolphins generally hunt small squid, but a few species may hunt larger species of squid).Here are some foods that dolphins have been known to consume: Most species of dolphin stick to a diet that consists primarily of small fish and squid however there are a few species that also consume larger prey and marine mammals. One theory suggests that it is also possible that a dolphins sense of taste can play a role similar to smell as these dolphins may be able to detect different objects, foods or threats by tasting differences in the water, however this theory isn’t well-studied. While not much is known about the dolphins sense of taste they have been known to show preferences in what types of food they enjoy eating when being fed fish at marine parks and aquariums, and when fed foods containing citric flavoring bottlenose dolphins displayed a number of characteristics indicating their ability to taste the citric acids.
#Dolphin teeth full#
In terms of whether or not dolphins are able to taste the food they eat it has been determined that they do have some level of taste, however their sense of taste isn’t studied as well as in other mammals, so the full extent of their ability to taste food and detect differences is unknown. The number of teeth a dolphin has can vary greatly depending on its species.ĭolphins can have anywhere from a few dozen to over 250 teeth at a given time and some species (such as Risso’s dolphin) may only have teeth that are present on the lower jaw. Lastly, some researchers believe that the dolphins teeth and jaw may play a role in its ability to absorb and detect sound when combined with echolocation. Teeth may also be used to show dominance or threaten other cetaceans, especially during mating season, however this is also dependent upon the species. When it comes to the dolphin species all dolphins are part of the toothed whale suborder and teeth are one of the characteristics that are present among all of the toothed whale family.Īlthough all dolphins are equipped with teeth not all species use their teeth for eating prey or tearing flesh.ĭepending on the dolphins species some dolphins (such as the killer whale) will use their teeth to rip apart the flesh of their prey in order to kill it and make it easier to consume while species (such as the bottlenose dolphin) only use their teeth to grip their prey but will consuming their food whole.
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