Coastal White Ash vs common bottlenose dolphin

Bersama swinnyi compared with Tursiops truncatus

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Coastal White Ash	common bottlenose dolphin
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Geraniales (Geraniales)	Cetacea (Whales & Dolphins)
Family	Melianthaceae	Delphinidae (Oceanic Dolphins)
Genus	Bersama	Tursiops (Bottlenose Dolphins)
Species	Bersama swinnyi	Tursiops truncatus

Conservation Status

Coastal White Ash

LC — Least Concern

common bottlenose dolphin

LC — Least Concern

Population: ~600.0K

Trend: Stable →

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Coastal White Ash	common bottlenose dolphin
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	45 years
Average Length	—	3.0 m
Average Weight	—	300.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Coastal White Ash

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

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).

Coastal White Ash

Coastal white ash (Bersama swinnyi) is an evergreen tree or shrub in the family Melianthaceae, endemic to the coastal and riverine forests of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape in South Africa. It grows along forest margins, riverbanks, and in moist kloofs in coastal and scarp forest, typically in well-watered, sheltered sites. The species bears pinnate leaves with opposite leaflets and produces racemes of small white flowers followed by capsular fruits that split open to reveal seeds with red or orange arils. Like other members of the Bersama genus, it plays a role in forest succession and provides food for birds that consume its arillate seeds. Coastal white ash is assessed as Least Concern by the IUCN, with populations found across a broad band of KwaZulu-Natal coastal forest. However, this habitat type has been significantly reduced in extent due to timber harvesting, agricultural conversion, and coastal development. The species is occasionally cultivated in South African gardens for its ornamental appearance and wildlife value. It forms part of the rich forest flora characteristic of the biologically diverse subtropical coastal forests of the eastern seaboard.

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.