What is the closest animal to a dolphin?

What is the closest animal to a dolphin?

The closest living relatives of dolphins today are the even toed ungulates such as camels and cows with the humble hippopotamus being the closest living relative.

Are dolphins similar to whales?

The short answer is: Yes, dolphins are a type of whale. Whales can be divided into two groups, these are called baleen whales (Mysticeti) and toothed whales (Odontoceti). Most whales belong to the group of toothed whales such as all dolphins and porpoises.

Is a dolphin a fish or mammal?

Dolphins are mammals, not fish. Like every mammal, dolphins are warm blooded. Unlike fish, who breathe through gills, dolphins breathe air using lungs. Dolphins must make frequent trips to the surface of the water to catch a breath.

Are Dolphins considered whales?

Dolphins are toothed whales. With 32 species in 17 genera, including bottlenosed dolphins and killer whales, the dolphin ( delphinidae ) family is the largest of all cetacean families. Both baleen whales and dolphins live in all the world’s oceans.

What is the difference between a dolphin and a whale?

The main difference between them is that baleen whales have baleen and two blow holes while toothed whales have teeth and one blow hole. Dolphins are toothed whales and the largest dolphin is the Orca (generally mistaken for a whale due to its name killer whale). A related family to dolphins are Porpoises.

How are dolphins and whales alike?

Answer: Dolphins and whales are similar in many ways; they are alike in the sense that both are marine mammals and they both belong to the order of cetacean . The order Cetacean includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises.

What animals are dolphins?

Dolphin, any of the toothed whales belonging to the mammal family Delphinidae (oceanic dolphins) as well as the families Platanistidae and Iniidae, the two that contain the river dolphins. Of the nearly 40 species of dolphins in the Delphinidae, 6 are commonly called whales, including the killer whale and the pilot whales.