This is an overview article, listing content appearing in multiple Fallout media. For information specific to a given game or TV series, consult the table below.
Dolphish are a species of mutated dolphins, adapted to life both in the sea and in fresh water. They possess similar physical attributes to pre-War dolphins, with gray-white countershading, a prominent snout, and a blowhole above the eyes. Unlike their relatives, dolphish have a short, stubby dorsal fin and a jaw lined with large triangular shark-like teeth.
Nearly all specimens bear scars, suggesting competition among their own species, or that they are subject to predation. Many dead dolphish are found being fed upon by mirelurks and bloodbugs.
Dolphish are commonly found deceased along the many coasts and rivers of the Commonwealth, the Island and Appalachia. Others appear to have been hauled onto boats by wasteland fishermen. Most can be found with their abdomens exposed, however, intact carcasses can be shot to cause the stomach to explode in a bloody fashion.
Dolphish being referred to as both "whales" and "dolphins" is technically correct, as dolphins are classified by biologists as a species of whales, even if they are not referred to as such in the informal sense.[2]
Behind the scenes
The creature was designed by Gabrielle Adams and created in ZBrush. It is referred to as the "exploding whale" in her ArtStation portfolio. In Fallout 4 game files, one render is named "dolphin," and the texture is labeled "whale," while Fallout: Wasteland Warfare calls them "dolphin corpses." It was first canonically named in-game with the addition of the mounted dolphish head to Fallout 76 in The Big Score.
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