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Risso's Dolphin The Risso's dolphin is the largest dolphin, with males and females at 2.6m-3.8m, and at birth a massive 1.4m! They have a blunt head. This dolphin is very easy to identify because it is heavily scarred.
The Risso's dolphin is grey all over, apart from the white belly. On the head and just before the dorsal fin, the colouring is light grey, sometimes white. The dorsal fin, flippers and flukes are darker than the rest of the body.
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The body becomes lighter as the dolphin ages. Young don't have many, if any scars, while the elder have a wide range of scratches, blotches and spots.
The Risso's dolphin only has between 4 and 14 teeth near the tip of the lower jaw. There are hardly ever teeth in the upper jaw.
They get their scars from the teeth of other Risso's dolphins, by playing and fighting. However, it is thought that some of the scars may come from squid bites.
The Risso's dolphin is mainly found in groups of 3-50, but sometimes 4,000 are in a group. they live in tropical waters and eat squid, fish and crustaceans.
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