This is a shark
Sharks have a variety of body shapes. Most sharks have streamlined, torpedo-shaped bodies that glide easily through the water. Some bottom-dwelling sharks (e.g. the angelshark) have flattened bodies that allow them to hide in the sand of the ocean bed. Some sharks have an elongated body shape (e.g., cookiecutter sharks and wobbegongs). Sawsharks have elongated snouts, thresher sharks have a tremendously elongated upper tail fin which they use to stun prey, and hammerheads have extraordinarily wide heads. The goblin shark has a large, pointed protuberance on its head; its purpose is unknown. You must not miss the online slot machine to fight the mightiest shark and win the $1000 jackpot price!
This is a dolphin
Sharks swim in a back and forth motion. Dolphins swim up and down.
Sharks have a tail fin behind the dorsal fin which also sticks up vertically, dolphins don’t.
A shark is considered a fish. A dolphin is a mammal.
More about the differences between sharks and dolphins can be found here.
Oh, one more thing… this is also a shark.
So you’re saying archdlfn doesn’t have the same ring to it?
I though this was one of those “Ya… duh” things. I suppose if one were underwater, nervous, unstudied and geographically it could be either – a snap judgement might be difficult.
For me the gills are the big hint. But I’ve known dolphins were mammal since my very early teens. =)
Yeah, “in the wild” it can be hard to tell when they cruise just below the waves but the tail is the real give away. Unfortunately, I’ve been called a dolphin more than once on this blog. Maybe I need a new logo.
I think the new logo would do the trick (especially if you left the text in :P )
Looks a bit ‘fruity’ though. As in ‘Fruit Loops’. Or more precisely:
“..cheerfully and perkily saccharine, naïve, generic, corny, banal, innocuous, un-self-consciously dippy…”
Not the other definition of the word. ; )
it is from a children’s swim class schedule at the YMCA so “cheerfully and perkily saccharine” seems fitting.
Just saying it’s definitely at the opposite end of the spectrum from the ‘blood in the water, bite your leg off’ style.
Most of the time you can see the teeth a lot more prominently. Probably not a good idea when you’re encouraging people to go in the water – even a shark-free (?) pool.
I can see the confusion of your logo.
Unlike the black-tipped reef shark you so prominently figured as your example of a shark, your logo has horizontal flukes rather than vertical fins, which leads one to believe it is a dolphin.
Having said that, there are MANY differences between a dolphin and a shark, that go more than skin deep