Back to the Lab

Dolphins versus humans

Irish nature
2026 | Cork, Ireland

Irish dolphins

Dolphins swimming around in Roaringwater Bay.

I don’t know a whole lot about animals that are still alive. But sometimes, opportunities for learning present themselves! Ironically, my newest dive into the world of dolphins started after interacting with the bones of one.

Ventral view of a common dolphin cranium.

The “common dolphin” doesn’t have a namesake antithesis like “snobbish dolphin”. It might be referred to as such given that it’s one of the most populous whales in the world, and also the most commonly sighted dolphin in Irish waters.
 
A friend of mine had one such animal wash up on the shores near his house. Since no one showed interest in collecting the rapidly decomposing animal, he buried it in his garden. After months, the remains had been picked clean by productive critters in the subterrane, leaving the bones clean and ready for safe handling. I’m very grateful to him that I got to study these for a bit.

The shoulder blade (scapula) and upper arm (humerus) of a common dolphin. You (very likely) have these two bones inside of you as well – similarly looking but in different proportions.

When I was younger, Ambulocetus used to be my favourite whale. Living about 50 million years ago, it looked more like a raging otter on steroids than the intelligent and elegant creatures we now find in today’s seas. But Ambulocetus is an often cited representation of mammals’ first steps back into a water-prominent life.
 
Today, whales exhibit an impressive range of records: from the largest to the most intelligent of animals, they’re an endless source of mysteries concerning how complex life can be.
A group of happy common dolphins racing the wake of the Sherkin Island Ferry during a recent trip to the island.
 
There’s so much to cover about these animals!
While researching for stuff on dolphins, specifically skeletal anatomies of them, I found a disturbing number of “science”-websites with nightmarish AI-generated images of whale skeletons that did not look like whale skeletons at all. The associated descriptive texts were equally misleading. Adobe Stock is a rich source of misleading and eerie AI-generated visual science content, if you’re curious.

The nasal cavity is obviously like your nostrils.

The premaxilla is akin to the part of your upper jaw holding in your incisor teeth. Though the dolphin's is much longer than yours!

The maxilla is comparable to most of your upper jaw. Though the dolphin's is much longer than yours!

The backside of the skull holds the supraoccipital and the parietal bones which make up the back of your skull too.

This is the dolphin's frontal which is the same as your forehead bone.

Dorsal view of the cranium. Click the dots to see what the different features are called.

The nasal cavity is obviously like your nostrils.

The premaxilla is akin to the part of your upper jaw holding in your incisor teeth. Though the dolphin's is much longer than yours!

The maxilla is comparable to most of your upper jaw. Though the dolphin's is much longer than yours!

The backside of the skull holds the supraoccipital and the parietal bones which make up the back of your skull too.

This is the dolphin's frontal which is the same as your forehead bone.

Like on a dolphin, the orbital bones circle your eyes.

The occipital condyle is, on both the dolphin and yourself, skull bones that connect to your vertebrae.

Lateral view of the cranium. Click the dots to see what the different features are called.

I’ve argued for a bit now that Generative AI does very little good for science outreach, but I also have to give in and accept that AI-slop is in high demand these days.
 
Knowing my appreciation for natural phenomena, once in a while a friend enthusiastically sends an AI-generated image or video depicting an atmospheric event or organism that doesn’t exist. Moreover, the increase of Gen AI-imagery used by research institution websites is also, at best, tragic. Shame about the massive consumption of water and electricity by Large Language Models too. In 2024, data centre consumption in Ireland consisted of a staggering 22% of the combined electricity consumption by the republic.
 
Anyhow, I will mind my own business now. Back to the dolphins!

Dolphin mandibles.

Studies on their intelligence and means of communication are hotly debated, and I don’t need to comment on these. Needless to say, we don’t really understand our own intelligence too. Do advanced forms of intelligence come with the near constant innovation of tools for self-destruction?

Dolphins also have porous layers of spongy bone in between layers of hard bone – just like us.

Though they’re mammals like us, whales went the opposite way. Our mammalian primate ancestors went up climbing trees and grew longer limbs, while the mammalian ancestors of whales went underwater and got shorter limbs. In the end, whales, for the most part, got completely rid of their hindlimbs (your legs), which is a bit mind-blowing to think about.
 
And I think it’s pretty smart of them that they haven’t invented Large Language Models.

References:

Bianucci, G. 2013. Septidelphis morii, n. gen. et sp., from the Pliocene of Italy: new evidence of the explosive radiation of true dolphins (Odontoceti, Delphinidae). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, Vol. 33:3, PP. 722-740. DOI:  10.1080/02724634.2013.744757

Boessenecker, R. W., Ahmed, E. & Geisler, J. H. 2017. New records of the dolphin Albertocetus meffordorum (Odontoceti: Xenorophidae) from the lower Oligocene of South Carolina: Encephalization, sensory anatomy, postcranial morphology, and ontogeny of early odontocetes. PLOS ONE, 12(11): e0186476. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0186476

Chen, X., Wang, X., Colacelli A., Lee M. & Xie L. Electricity Demand and Grid Impacts of AI Data Centers: Challenges and Prospects. 2025. DOI: 10.48550/arXiv.2509.07218

Data Centres Metered Electricity Consumption 2024. Metered electricity consumption by data centres increased by 10% in 2024. CSO statistical release, 10 June 2025.

Houssaye, A., Tafforeau, P., de Muizon, C. & Gingerich, P.D. 2015. Transition of Eocene Whales from Land to Sea: Evidence from Bone Microstructure. PLOS ONE 10(2): e0118409. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0118409

Thewissen, J. G. M., Cohn, M. J., Stevens L.S., Bajpai, S., Heyning, J. & Horton W.E. 2006. Developmental basis for hind-limb loss in dolphins and origin of the cetacean bodyplan. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., Vol. 103 (22). PP. 8414-8418 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0602920103

https://www.ie.edu/insights/articles/from-cloud-to-cup-how-much-water-does-your-chatgpt-drink/