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A dolphin is an aquatic mammal of the order Cetacea; a type of whale.
The word is used in a few different ways. It can mean:
- Family Delphinidae (oceanic dolphins),
- Both Delphinidae and Platanistidae (oceanic and river dolphins),
- Or all of suborder Odontoceti (toothed whales).
A porpoise (suborder Odontoceti, family Phocoenidae) is distinct from a dolphin.
The most famous species of dolphins are the bottlenosed dolphin, and the killer whale.
See also military dolphin.
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Dolphin (or more properly, dolphinfish) is also used to describe a species of fish which is unrelated to the mammal. The name is being used more and more infrequently and is has generally been replaced with the name mahi-mahi to avoid confusion with the mammal, especially since the fish is commonly eaten.