| Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) acquire cuts and notches on their dorsal fins through normal day-to-day dolphin activities. These notch patterns allow us to identify unique dolphin individuals. Being able to identify individuals allows researchers to study movement patterns, social structure, and reproductive patterns. In order to help us match new photos with individuals in our dolphin catalog, an organized collection of fin photos, we arrange the fin photos according to the notch patterns and/or condition of the tip into 11 categories. If a fin can possibly go in 2 or more categories the most distinct features determines the category. This is an explanation of the system we use in our study.
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Definition of Terms:- Distinct: A notch likely to show up in all photos, both distant and out-of-focus photos.
- Tip: Small area between the leading edge and the trailing edge.
- Less Distinct: A notch that is inconspicuous and likely to not show up in distant and out-of-focus photos.
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Dorsal Fin Diagram |
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Leading Edge Fins These fins have one or more marks on the leading edge. This category takes precedence over trailing edge notch patterns. | 
Leading Edge Fin |
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Top Notch Fins These fins have a notch on the "tip" portion of the fin. This catagory also takes precedence over trailing edge notch patterns. | 
Top Notch |
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Top Missing These fins are missing more than the top third of the fin. This catagory takes precedence over all other categories. | 
Top Missing Fins |
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1 Notch Fins These fins have one distinct notch on the trailing edge. | 
1 Notch Fins |
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2A Fins These fins have 2 less distinct notches on the trailing edge. | 
2A Fins |
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2B Fins These fins have 2 notches on the trailing edge with 1 distinct notch and 1 less distinct notch. | 
2B Fins |
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2C Fins These fins have 2 distinct notches on the trailing edge. | 
2C Fins |
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3/4A Fins These fins have 3 to 4 notches on trailing edge with only 1 or 2 distinct notches. | 
3/4A Fins |
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3/4B Fins These fins have 3 to 4 notches on trailing edge with 3 or more distinct notches | 
3/4B Fins |
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5A Fins These fins have 5 or more notches on trailing edge with 0 to 2 distinct notches. | 
5A Fins |
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5B Fins These fins have 5 or more notches on trailing edge with 3 or more distinct notches. | 
5B Fins |
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| Now try our Fin Matching Game |
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