common bottlenose dolphin vs Sea Lettuce

Tursiops truncatus compared with Ulva lactuca

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	common bottlenose dolphin	Sea Lettuce
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Chlorophyta (Chlorophyta)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Ulvophyceae (Ulvophyceae)
Order	Cetacea (Whales & Dolphins)	Ulvales (Ulvales)
Family	Delphinidae (Oceanic Dolphins)	Ulvaceae
Genus	Tursiops (Bottlenose Dolphins)	Ulva
Species	Tursiops truncatus	Ulva lactuca

Conservation Status

common bottlenose dolphin

LC — Least Concern

Population: ~600.0K

Trend: Stable →

Sea Lettuce

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	common bottlenose dolphin	Sea Lettuce
Diet	Carnivore	—
Average Lifespan	45 years	—
Average Length	3.0 m	—
Average Weight	300.0 kg	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

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).

Sea Lettuce

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Lebanon, Taiwan, Turkey), Europe (4 countries), North America (Mexico), Oceania and the Pacific (New Zealand), and South America (Brazil).

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.