Fisherman saves stranded dolphin by Franna Fishing
12 Facts About Dolphins:
- It inhabits every sea from the equator to the poles.
- The common dolphin measures from six to ten feet in length and has a distinctive snout about a half foot long.
- It is usually, black above, gray on the sides and white beneath.
- Its flesh is coarse, rank and disagreeable, but it is used by the Laplanders as food.
- The dolphins live on fish and mollusca, and often they may be seen in great numbers around shoals of herring.
- They have to come to the surface at short intervals to breathe.
- The structure of the ear renders the sense of hearing very acute, and the animals are observed to be attracted by regular or harmonious sounds.
- Compactness and strength are the characteristics of these animals, and they swim with extraordinary velocity.
- The dolphin is most common in the Mediterranean, but one species, the bottle-nosed, is caught on the coast of New Jersey.
- Other species which are see off the coast of the United States are the black dolphin and the spotted dolphin.
- The name is also commonly but improperly given to a fish of the mackerel family, which changes its colors when dying, and shows many beautiful shades.
- In Greek mythology the dolphin was sacred to Apollo. Its image appeared on Greek coins and is said to have been represented on the shield of Ulysses.