What is the National animal of Greece?
Common Dolphin is the National animal of Greece. It is also known as Porpoise. Delphinus delphis is the scientific name of Greece’s national animal, which can be found in temperate and tropical waters throughout the world. They are commonly seen in harbors, bays, lagoons, estuaries, around islands, and in large rivers.
National animal of Greece the Common dolphins also found throughout the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, also abundant in the Mediterranean Sea, as well as in the Black Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Red Sea.They are following the Gulf Stream up to Norwegian waters and strewn populations may see in the Indian Ocean near Japan. It is the most popular marine mammal to the Greek and reasonably designated as the national animal of Greece.
The National animal of Greece facts—
- Common name: Common Dolphin
- Scientific name: Delphinus delphis
- Length: Body length ranges from 6 – 9 feet. Males are usually a little larger than females.
- Weight: Adults have naturally weight in between 80 and 150 kg, but occasionally it may be 235 kg. Males are heavier than the females.
- Color: The Common Dolphin is primarily dark on its back and the abdomen is white. The back is either black or dark brown, and the underside is white or cream-colored. From the lower jaw to the flipper is dark streak stretches. The flippers and flukes are the same color as the back, black or dark brown, and the eyes are surrounded with black markings, which expand to the beak.
- Diet: The Common Dolphin has usually eaten a wide variety of foods like small fish include squid, octopus, young herring, pilchard, anchovies, nocturnal hake, sardines, small bonito, as well as sauries. Individual dolphins eat up to 18 to 20 pounds of fish per day.
- Reproduction: Females give birth of one progeny per every two to three years. The gestation period averages 12 months. Calving occurs at all times of the year with peaks in somewhere during the spring and fall.
- Lifespan: Average 20 years. Females usually live longer than males.
Greece’s national animal, the Common Dolphin is very social, and they live in large groups called pods. The member in a pod can be hundred or it can be several thousand. They have a very intricate chain of command that keeps them organized and they have a propensity to create subgroups, which based on age and other factors. The Common Dolphin has taken part in the different behaviors including somersaults, pitchpoling, breaching, and bow riding. They are very energetic and seem to be able to move almost effortlessly through the water. They are also very much playful, so they have spent their time by teasing each other.
National animal of Greece, The Common Dolphin is generally a dark gray on the upper part of its body and on both sides of the body is evaporation into a lighter gray while white to light pinkish color its belly. This countershading makes them hard to see when swimming. Males are, on average, somewhat larger and significantly weighty than females. The size of the Common Dolphin is varied considerably with habitat. They have up to 57 pairs of teeth on both the upper and lower jaws that they can use to help them hold the prey but they don’t chew their food.
Greece’s State water mammal, the Common Dolphin has a poor sense of smell, but excellent eyesight and a well-developed sense of taste. They can learn plenty of things thanks to its large brain. It can be trained to detect mines and enemy divers in the water. Common Dolphin uses echolocation to discover food and keep away from obstacles in the water. It generates clicks and gets information about size, shape, and kind of substance in the water based on the reproduced sound. Common Dolphin is a carnivore, which diet has been based on fish, crustaceans, and squids. Common Dolphin frequently hunts in the group and pushes groups of fish toward the vicinity where they can be effortlessly caught.
Reference:
http://www.dolphins-world.com/common-dolphin/
http://www.animalspot.net/common-dolphin.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short-beaked_common_dolphin
http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Delphinus_delphis/