What are dolphins?
Whales could hardly be considered common in the waters off the Maryland and Delaware coast, but one species of whale is common to this area — the Atlantic Bottle-Nosed Dolphin. Even the most brilliant of men failed to recognize that dolphins were a species of whales. Aristotle thought they were fish, though he did notice that they featured some mammal characteristics, such as hair, lungs, live birth and the nursing of calves. Dolphins are considered to be of the Toothed Whale class because they lack Baleen, a horny material similar to fingernails in composition that grows as fringed filter plates from the upper jaws. Other Toothed Whales include Sperm Whales and Pilot Whales. Scientists believe the ancestors of bottle-nosed dolphins live on land. Believe it or not, blood chemistry studies have shown that dolphins are “artiodactyls”, or cows and camels! In addition, x-rays of flippers and pectoral fins showed a bone structure similar to the human arm and hand. Dolphins are born with a
