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Deutsch The Risso's dolphin Hurghada Dolphins
The Risso's dolphin is distinguished by characteristic physical features, as it has a small number of teeth, only 7 pairs or slightly less, and these few teeth are located in the lower jaw, and there are usually no teeth in the upper jaw.
It is relatively strong and has a somewhat rounded head, similar to a pilot whale, and is the most common species.
They have external wrinkles on the shaft; these wrinkles extend from the front of the forehead to the mouth.
normally dark grey in color and therefore contains white scars distributed across the body.
These scars could have been scratches from any other animal, or just circular spots or markings, but in some species of these dolphins, the scars can be so extensive that the entire body appears white.
The young animals are uniformly light grey to greyish-brown.
Risso's dolphins also show something that looks like a white spot in the shape of an anchor (white-anchor-shaped patch), and these dolphins are very similar to the pilot whale in this respect; this patch appears on the inner areas and the chest, i.e., from the throat to the stomach.
Fins of Risso's dolphins
They are characterized by their long, beak-like shape, meaning they are slightly curved and positioned very close to the center of the pelvic area. The fins are perforated, broad, and also curved, but with a moderate degree of curvature.
The fins of these dolphins are relatively long and thin, and they point almost straight backwards.
Size and Weight of Risso's Dolphins
They are usually about 3 meters long, sometimes up to almost 4 meters.
Like most dolphins, the males are slightly larger than the females. Their average weight is around 300 kg, and older dolphins can reach about 500 kg.
Risso's dolphin habitat/behavior
Found in oceans worldwide, but only in warm temperate waters and occasionally preferring tropical waters in both hemispheres.
The general migrations in which these dolphins participate are unknown, but it is assumed that some individuals of these dolphins like to migrate to cooler waters, but only during the summer season, which is their most productive time of year.
It is common for large groups of Risso's dolphins to consist of about 3 to 30 dolphins, although groups of up to several thousand have sometimes been observed together, but this is very rare.
These dolphins have been observed leaping; they perform a variety of jumps, including spy jumps and penetrating slappers. Fluke clapping and flapping are common.
Risso's dolphins have been seen in the Red Sea along with other species of dolphins, but hybrids between them and bottlenose dolphins have also been observed.
Risso's dolphin diet
Like all dolphin species, their diet consists of fish, crabs, rays and sometimes small sharks.
