Common bottlenose dolphin
Tursiops truncatus
Rafi Amar
Key facts in one look
- Size
- 2–4 m, 150–650 kg
- Diet
- Fish, squid, shrimp
- Status in Georgia
- Resident, Black Sea coastal waters
- Habitat
- Sea, river mouths and bays
- Family
- Delphinidae
- Conservation
- CR in Georgia (2021); EN in the Black Sea (2008)
The common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is a large grey dolphin with a short, sharply defined snout. It is 2–4 m long and weighs 150–650 kg. In Georgia's coastal waters it is seen all year from Cape Anaklia to Sarpi, and it feeds at the mouths of the big rivers. The group living here numbers no more than 200 animals, and about 60 were counted in 2011. If you see dolphins at sea, watch from a distance and do not chase them: every animal matters to such a small group.
Identification
Common bottlenose dolphin: how to identify it
A large, heavy dolphin, plain grey all over. Its snout is short and thick, and its dorsal fin is tall and curved back like a hook. In the Black Sea it is most easily confused with the common dolphin, which is smaller and has an hourglass pattern on its sides.
It is 2–4 m long and weighs 150–650 kg; males are larger than females. The body is thick and powerful, with a single blowhole on top of the head. It is clearly larger than the common dolphin.
The snout is short and well defined, like the neck of a bottle, which gives the animal its English name. The dorsal fin is tall and hooked. Each animal has its own pattern of notches and scars on the fin and body, and scientists recognise individual dolphins by them.
The common dolphin is smaller, 1.9–2.5 m long, with a long, thin beak. Its sides carry an hourglass pattern, light grey, yellow or gold in front and dirty grey behind. The bottlenose dolphin is plain grey, without that pattern. Do not trust colour alone at sea: look at size and snout shape first.
Often confused with
The bottlenose dolphin is a marine animal and spends its whole life in the water. It lives in temperate, subtropical and tropical oceans worldwide, absent only from polar waters. The Black Sea holds a separate population, sometimes treated as its own subspecies, T. t. ponticus. In Georgia it lives in the coastal waters from Cape Anaklia to Sarpi, all year round. This strip takes in open sea, river deltas, coastal lagoons and shallow bays. The most important places are the mouths of the Enguri, Rioni, Khobistskali, Supsa and Chorokhi, where the dolphins feed. Its groups are territorial, especially those living close to the shore.
The common bottlenose dolphin map combines public iNaturalist observations. Regions are taken from the records-by-region table, and the status column separates regions with enough records from regions with too few records. Record counts reflect observation effort rather than population density. Records are still too few, and no region has enough records yet.
Data: Reptiles.ge + iNaturalist · Methodology
- Field observation
- Several records in one spot
- Region with records
The bottlenose dolphin feeds mainly on fish, and also eats squid, shrimp and eels. Its food varies from place to place. In the Black Sea it hunts coastal fish, among them red mullet, flounder, mullet, anchovy, horse mackerel and stingrays. In Georgian waters large schools of anchovy winter and spawn in winter and spring, giving the dolphins plenty of food. It finds prey mainly by echolocation: it sends out sounds and listens for the echo. A group often herds a school of fish together, but it also hunts alone. It swallows its prey whole, without chewing.
Bottlenose dolphins live in groups. A group usually holds about 15 animals, but it can be just a pair or more than a hundred. Black Sea bottlenose dolphins studied off Crimea lived in groups of 2–10 and hunted together. They talk to each other with whistles, squeaks and body language. Every dolphin has its own signature whistle that belongs to it alone. In Georgian waters courtship has been seen in May and June, and calves under 3 months old are seen here too. Pregnancy lasts 12 months. A newborn calf is 0.8–1.4 m long and weighs 15–30 kg. The mother suckles it for 18–20 months and gives birth again only every 3–6 years. Females mature at 5–10 years, males at 8–13. In the wild it lives more than 40 years, sometimes up to 60.
In Georgia the bottlenose dolphin is Critically Endangered (CR, 2021 national assessment). The resident group in Georgian and adjacent coastal waters numbers no more than 200 animals, and about 60 were counted in 2011. The 2006 Georgian Red List rated it Endangered (EN). The Black Sea population is also Endangered globally (EN, 2008), and the provisional 2018–2021 reassessment kept that category. The species as a whole is not threatened worldwide (LC). Dolphin hunting in the Black Sea was especially intense in 1929–1966. In 1966 the USSR, Bulgaria and Romania banned it, while in Turkish waters it went on until 1983. In Georgian waters bottlenose dolphins were caught in large numbers until the 1980s. Today the main threats are disease, severe storms and the decline of its main prey fish, and rarely entanglement in fishing nets. The Black Sea population is listed in Appendices I and II of the Bonn Convention, and the species in Appendix II of CITES.
Related guides
Continue with related pages
Yes. The bottlenose dolphin lives in Georgia's coastal waters all year round, from Cape Anaklia to Sarpi. The group living here is small, no more than 200 animals. About 60 bottlenose dolphins were counted in 2011.
At sea, close to the coast. It feeds mainly at the mouths of the big rivers: the Enguri, Rioni, Khobistskali, Supsa and Chorokhi. Dolphin courtship has also been seen here in May and June. Watch from the shore or a boat, but do not chase them.
By size and colour. The bottlenose dolphin is larger, 2–4 m, plain grey, with a short, thick snout. The common dolphin is 1.9–2.5 m long, with a long, thin beak and an hourglass pattern on its sides. If you see a yellow or pale patch on the side, it is most likely a common dolphin.
It is 2–4 m long and weighs 150–650 kg. Males are larger than females. Even a newborn calf is 0.8–1.4 m long and weighs 15–30 kg.
Mainly fish, and also squid and shrimp. In the Black Sea it hunts coastal fish, including anchovy, mullet, red mullet and horse mackerel. It finds prey by echolocation and swallows it whole. A group often herds a school of fish together.
It is not venomous and does not hunt people, but it is a large and strong animal. In other countries, individual wild bottlenose dolphins have injured swimmers. So do not swim up to a dolphin at sea and do not feed it. If you see a stranded or injured dolphin, call 112.
Yes. In Georgia it is Critically Endangered (CR), and the Black Sea population is Endangered globally (EN). Dolphin hunting in the Black Sea was banned in 1966, though it went on in Turkish waters until 1983. Today it is threatened by disease, storms and the decline of its food.
References
What this profile is based on
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
Prepared by the Reptiles.ge editorial team from the sources listed here.
