Dolphin (assorted)

Dolphin is a common name, not a single species. Wikipedia describes the Delphinidae, or oceanic dolphins, as a widely distributed family with close to forty living species, including several large ones called whales, such as the false killer whale and the pilot whales. The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) lists Delphinidae as an accepted family. This group entry covers sightings where the species was not recorded.

Wikipedia gives a size range from the 1.7 m Maui's dolphin to the 9.4 m orca, and describes streamlined, muscular bodies with two limbs modified into flippers.

A conservation status is not given here, because this entry covers a whole group.

Wikipedia says oceanic dolphins live in the sea and are widespread, and that most species prefer the warmer waters of the tropics.

Where Divers Find Them

At Nusa Penida, Bali, Dive Concepts says it is not out of the ordinary to see dolphins at Manta Bay, from the surface and in the water, and Emperor Divers says they can be seen playing inside the bay at Malibu Point. Bali Aqua Dive Center lists them among rare sightings at Crystal Bay. None of these says which species.

Wikipedia says most of the family eat mainly fish, with some squid and small crustaceans, and that they travel in pods, which reach a thousand individuals in some species. It says they communicate with low-frequency whistles and use high-frequency clicks mainly for echolocation.

Underwater Encounter Behavior

The sources cited here do not describe how these dolphins react to divers.