Common dolphin

Scientific Name: Delphinus capensis
Other Names: Saddleback dolphin, Criss-cross dolphin, Cape dolphin
Length: 5.8-8 ft. (1.7-2.4 m.)
Weight: 155-245 lbs. (70-110 kg.)
Teeth: 160-240

Common dolphins vary greatly in appearance. They can grow to 2.1 m. in length and weigh up to 136 kg.
The body has a distinctive pattern, a blue-black back, and a white abdomen with 2 elliptical patches on the side. The anterior patch is yellow and the posterior one is grey. A grey line also runs back from the eye to the anus. A black stripe leaves the mid point of the lower jaw and travels to the flippers, widening as it goes, leading into the trailing edge of the flipper. The leading edge of the flipper is white. The fluke is blue. There is a white stripe running from the blowhole towards the prominent dorsal fin. The latter, often with a white central patch, is triangular, but stops backwards at the tip. The first two neck bones are fused. There are up to 100 teeth in each jaw. There are two major varieties of common dolphins called the short beaked common dolphin and the long beaked common dolphin. The body of the short beaked common dolphin is slightly more robust and the head is more rounded. There are also differences in behaviors and feeding patterns.

Man has a long association with the cetaceans and in particular with the common dolphin.
By an accident of distribution it has lived close to the center of western civilization for thousands of years. Although it is impossible to identify with any certainty the species depicted on rocks in Norway dating from 2000 years B.C., there can be little doubt that many pictures of the smaller cetaceans recorded in the art and decoration of the middle European civilizations are of the common dolphin. In addiction they have become inextricably entwined with mythology and legend. Arion's rescue by dolphins is a famous tale from the Greek legends. Returning by ship to his home in Corinth from Italy, with the spoils of his profession, he became the victim of a plot hatched by jealous sailors.
Just before he was to meet his doom, he made a request to play a final tune on his lyre. As he played, he leaped into the sea. A dolphin, which the legend claims, was listening to his music, carried him to shore and safety!
In Greece, about 3200 B.C., they had already painted the dolphins on a wall in the Palace of King Minos in Knossos(Kreta).

This year i will add more information about this dolphin legend, because i'm going there myself. There will be a full report of our holiday, and you will be able to read all about it.
There are a lot more stories about humans riding on dolphins. I am not going to tell more about this legend. It also happens nowadays, for fun to play with dolphins.

This delightful, playful dolphin is widely distributed. It is found in the Atlantic, where the population is estimated at more than 30.000, moving into the Mediterranean and Black seas, and along the coast of Africa, around the Cape into the Indian Ocean. It is also found in somewhat smaller numbers in the Pacific. Migrating movements south to the North African coast in summer, have been observed.