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One of the most amazing and enchanting aquatic mammals in the sea is the dolphins from the Delphinidae family. But few people realize that there are also fishes in the dolphin family known as Coryphaenidae that are beautifully colored and highly valued as a game fish, as well as, quite a tasty food fish. The Coryphaena hippurus dolphin fish, also called the dorado, is the dolphin fish that is most often sold commercially in restaurants and markets. Unlike its aquatic mammal equivalent which is not used commercially as a food source except in Japan, the dolphin fish has a long dorsal fin that extends the length of it's body stopping at the base of its tail. The body of this fish is covered with cycloid scales while the dolphin mammal has a body that is smooth and without scales. Another difference is found in the classification of these two. The Coryphaenidae family is classified in the order of Perciformes while the Delphinidae family is classified in the Cetacea order. Oddly enough the confusion between these two has been the cause of great anxiety for many a dolphin lover when they visit their favorite sea food restaurants.
Dolphin fish from the Coryphaenidae family, which are the oceanic fish family, can be found in most tropical waters. These fish have slender, elongated bodies that give off a kind of luminosity in an array of rainbow like colors. The tail of this dolphin fish is split making a deep v-shape and the head is somewhat bluntly slanted much like that of the dolphin mammals. In most cases with this fish, the females are smaller than the males with some males reaching a length of almost six feet. The dolphin fish feed on various different fish with their preference being the flying fishes which they are known to leap several feet out of the water to pursue. Although not much is known of their mating habits, the eggs of the dolphin fish have been observed floating on the surface of the warm ocean waters. The juveniles are not as colorful as the adults but have interesting stripes running up and down the length of their bodies.
Dolphins from the Delphinidae family, which are the oceanic mammal family, have over thirty species in their family including five that live in rivers. Different species of this family feed on various fish such as herring, mullet, cod, salmon, squid, anchovies, mackerel and flying fish. Found in the coastal waters and off shore in every ocean in the world many dolphins are known to live in schools of several hundred but some prefer to live alone. Predators of the dolphins include most sharks and the killer whales. It is not uncommon when the dolphin cannot speed away from its predator to see others of its kind attacking the predator by battering it until it dies. Dolphins mate in the spring, with the females producing a single calf during the following spring. Most species are known to be very protective of their group, even helping protect those who are sick to the surface to breath. The genera of river or fresh water dolphins have smaller eyes and very poor vision with most found in Asia and South America. Of the Delphinidae family, the bottle nose dolphin is the most widely recognized by humans. This is the dolphin that is often seen in captivity due to its playful attitude and friendliness toward humans. The bottle nose dolphin has been studied extensively and is the subject of movies, art and many different forms of literature.
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