facts about dolphins

[dolphin]

Have you got any facts about dolphins? I saw some similar threads on other parts of this site and so thought I'd ask as well There must be tons of facts about dolphins because they're such incredible animals, so let's hear them

[karlabb]

aren't they descendants of land animals like cows and sheep? can never remeber which ones became dolphins and which became porpoises

[Spaz]

Well, I know that dolphins sometimes gang up on other animals, such as sharks, to drive them away. Also, although we see dolphins and nice, gentle creatures, sometimes dolphins will gang up on the smaller dolphins . Why? I'm not quite sure, but I remember watching something about them on Animal Planet.

Also, they are related to whales.

[frostfire]

Originally Posted by karlabb

aren't they descendants of land animals like cows and sheep? can never remeber which ones became dolphins and which became porpoises

Despite a lot of research the precise origins of modern cetaceans remains uncertain. It is generally believed though, thanks to DNA research and fossils, that whales and dolphins developed from land mammals about 70 million years ago around the ancient Tethys Sea. Some experts believe that they had develloped from Creodonts, -medium sized and large headed mammals, which are also the ancestors of the modern day carnivores and hoofed animals.
Though there is no evidence, it is believed, that for many millions of years the ancestors of whales and dolphins were simalair to hippos and that they mainly ate crustacians and molluscs.

[frostfire]

2007 was the year of the dolphin and has been extended into 2008!

Year of the Dolphin *—* Home

Just wondering if anybody noticed any of their happenings or knows of events coming up?