Dolphin & Shark belongs to the same category of marine animals. They both live under the sea, breathe under the sea, eat under the sea & without water; they won’t be able to survive. They both eat, breathe & live under the same sea, they have the weight, but still, they are different in many terms.
Despite belonging to the same place, it still has a lot of differences. They both have different characteristics, which make them unique in nature. They may be the worse enemies of each other, but they require each other too in order to maintain the marine life balanced.
Key Takeaways
- Dolphins are mammals with lungs and warm blood; sharks are cold-blooded fish with gills.
- Dolphins have horizontal tail fins; sharks have vertical tail fins.
- Dolphins exhibit intelligent, social behavior; sharks are solitary predators.
Dolphin vs Shark
A dolphin is a warm-blooded mammal that gives birth to live young and nurse them. They are born with hair, breathe air, have strong snouts that they use as a weapon, and are more intelligent. Sharks are cold-blooded fish that have scales and gills to remove oxygen from the environment. They are larger.
Comparison Table
| Terms of comparison | Dolphins | Sharks |
|---|---|---|
| Breathing | Dolphins are considered mammals like us humans & animals. They breathe through air & are warm-blooded creatures. | On the other hand, sharks are fishes, which means they have gills to breathe under the sea and are cold-blooded creatures. |
| Giving Birth | Since Dolphins are mammals, they give birth & nurse the young ones just any other animal. | Sharks come under the category of fishes, which means they lay eggs to produce young ones. |
| Body Structure | Dolphins have a wide tale that is horizontal in shape. That’s why they flap their tales in an up-down motion. The shape of their tale helps in changing the directions swiftly. | On the other hand, Sharks have a wide tail that is vertical in shape, which enables them to move their tail side by side. Because of this, sharks can’t really change directions swiftly. |
| Combating Power | Dolphins are considered very social & because of that, they travel in groups, also known as pods. Staying in groups makes them stronger from any danger. Also, they have long snouts, which they use in combat. They have horizontal tails, which makes them agile, another plus point for combat. | While being the same size as Dolphins, Sharks are not very agile because of the vertical shape of their tail. However, they can be very fast in one direction & have a bigger mouth with a stronger grasp. Sharks are predators who always travel alone. |
| Behaviour Pattern | Dolphins are very intelligent & love to stay in the group, also known as Pods. They are friendly in nature & only attack when any danger or aggressive environment is sensed. | Sharks are termed predators, are very deadly attacking creatures. They travel alone. Not very agile, but they are very powerful in terms of impact. They possess a stronger while attacking. |
| Habitats | Dolphins travel in their pods n stay near the surface because every now then,, they have to come out to breathe. | Sharks have gills to easily breathe in the water and stay deep only surface when any prey is seen. |
What are Dolphins?
Dolphins, aquatic mammal, is known for their intelligence & friendly behavior, especially with humans. They stay by the water’s surface since they need to come out every now & then to breathe air.
The most famous among the dolphins are the bottlenose dolphins, famous for “its build in smile” mouths.
Though dolphins are considered friendly, harmless & peaceful species, they have these fantastic combatting skills for the enemy or any aggressive force. Traveling in pods makes them powerful already.
Their agility because of the horizontal tail, their intelligence & their strong power add to it.
What are Sharks?
Sharks are known for their sharp teeth, their powerful grip on their prey & their ruthlessness while prey for their food. Their attacks are always very powerful because of their fantastic eyesight, enabling them to see at night.
Their tougher grey skin & roughened toothlike scales. Many sharks are given their names according to the nature & environment they are living in, like Blue Shark & The Great White Shark.
Averagely, Sharks grow up to 16m to 18m, but the largest shark among them is the deal is Great White Shark, which is around 20m or 6ft long. It is known to be the deadliest, which attacks all kinds of big fishes & aqua mammals like seagulls, whales, smaller fishes & dolphins, sea turtles, etc.
Main Differences Between Dolphin and Shark
- Sharks & Dolphins, when in the sea, looks the same because their fins, shape & size are the same, but when looking closely, Sharks have a vertical tail, which helps to move side by side, but Dolphins have a horizontal tail, which helps them move in any direction. Sharks have restricted movements because of their fins, but Dolphins are agile because of their fins.
- Though Sharks are known to be the deadliest creatures of the sea, dangerous but when threatened, Dolphins attack the pod (since they travel in a group), even the sharks are scared of Dolphins since they can attack through their stouts, which can be very deadly.
- Dolphins are very social, as they travel in groups also known as Pods, which also keeps them safe during the time of danger. Sharks, on the hand, like to stay alone, a shark is mostly spotted alone or only if there is a lot to prey on.
- Dolphins are aquatic mammals & they breathe air, which is why they stay by the surface of find, so they can come out of water to breathe now & then. Sharks have gills on both sides of their necks, which helps in breathing deep under the sea where they stay.
Last Updated : 19 July, 2023
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Piyush Yadav has spent the past 25 years working as a physicist in the local community. He is a physicist passionate about making science more accessible to our readers. He holds a BSc in Natural Sciences and Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Science. You can read more about him on his bio page.
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