Black Tar Spot vs common bottlenose dolphin

Rhytisma acerinum compared with Tursiops truncatus

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Black Tar Spot	common bottlenose dolphin
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Leotiomycetes (Leotiomycetes)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Rhytismatales (Rhytismatales)	Cetacea (Whales & Dolphins)
Family	Rhytismataceae	Delphinidae (Oceanic Dolphins)
Genus	Rhytisma	Tursiops (Bottlenose Dolphins)
Species	Rhytisma acerinum	Tursiops truncatus

Conservation Status

Black Tar Spot

LC — Least Concern

common bottlenose dolphin

LC — Least Concern

Population: ~600.0K

Trend: Stable →

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Black Tar Spot	common bottlenose dolphin
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	45 years
Average Length	—	3.0 m
Average Weight	—	300.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Black Tar Spot

Habitat

Native to Europe and North America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and United States.

common bottlenose dolphin

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, among 12 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (6 countries), and South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela).

Black Tar Spot

The Black Tar Spot (Rhytisma acerinum) is a species in the genus Rhytisma. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and United States.

common bottlenose dolphin

The most studied and recognized dolphin species, bottlenose dolphins inhabit warm and temperate oceans worldwide, from coastal shallows to the open sea. Highly intelligent with large brains relative to body size, they demonstrate self-recognition, complex communication, and social learning. They live in fluid fission-fusion societies and cooperate to herd fish. A keystone indicator species for marine ecosystem health.