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Porpoise
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Porpoises
are not dolphins even though many people use the
term interchangeably. They are marine cetacean mammals
related to the whales and the dolphin. The term cetacean
includes all known species of whales, dolphins, and
porpoises. The origins of the name come from the
Latin porcopiscus meaning sea-pig. They are the smallest
of the cetaceans, ranging from 5 feet to 8 feet.
Porpoises have a very refined system of echolocation
which enables them to navigate and hunt for food
in restricted visibility. There are six different
species of porpoise: Burmeister's porpoise, Phocoena
spinipinnis; Dall's porpoise, Phocoenoides dalli;
Finless porpoise, Neophocaena phocaenoides; Harbor
porpoise, Phocoena phocoena; Spectacled porpoise,
Australophocaena dioptrica; and Vaquita Porpoise,
Phocoena sinus. They can be found in oceans, shallow
waters and estuaries in the Indian, Pacific, and
Atlantic Oceans, where they feed on squid, octopus,
shrimp and fish. The porpoise has a blunt snout,
many teeth, which are flattened and spade shaped
as distinct from the dolphin’s conical teeth, and
a triangular dorsal fin. The porpoise is smaller
and stouter than dolphins with small, rounded heads
and blunt jaws instead of beaks. Porpoises do not
have the round bulbous bump on the head that dolphins
do. They are less likely than dolphins to approach
humans, and are rarely kept in captivity as they
do not adapt to life in tanks or to “training”.
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Picture of harbor, also
know as common, porpoise, Phocoena phocoena, Fjord
Beltcenter, Kerteminde, Denmark
Picture #: 000842 |
Image of finless porpoises,
Neophocaena phocaenoides, Indo-Pacific Ocean
Picture #: 015721 |
Stock photo of harbor
porpoise, Phocoena phocoena, North Atlantic
Picture #: 001862 |
Picture of Dall's porpoise,
Phocoenoides dalli, North Pacific
Picture #: 010660 |
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Photo of finless porpoise,
Neophocaena phocaenoides, feeding on a dead
fish off its trainer's hand, Indo-Pacific Ocean
Picture #: 015750 |
Stock photo of Dall's
porpoise, Phocoenoides dalli, in driftnet, Bering
Sea, North Pacific Ocean
Picture #: 010656 |
Image of Dall's porpoise,
Phocoenoides dalli, with characteristic rooster tail
splash, Icy Strait, Alaska
Picture #: 010657 |
Picture of finless porpoises,
Neophocaena phocaenoides, China
Picture #: 006565 |
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Picture of harbor porpoise,
Phocoena phocoena, Boston Harbor, Massachusetts,
North Atlantic Ocean
Picture #: 006617 |
Image of harbor porpoise,
Phocoena phocoena, lateral view, pen and ink illustration.
Picture #: 067132 |
Image of vaquita porpoise,
Phocoena sinus, illustration
Picture #: 010668 |
Picture of Burmeister's
porpoise, Phocoena spinipinnis, illustration
Picture #: 010653 |
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Image of Dall's porpoise,
Phocoenoides dalli, illustration
Picture #: 010655 |
Picture of finless porpoise,
Neophocaena phocaenoides, illustration
Picture #: 010663 |
Image of harbor porpoise, Phocoena
phocoena, illustration
Picture #: 010664 |
Picture of spectacled
porpoise, Phoca dioptrica, illustration
Picture #: 010667 |
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Picture of harbor porpoise,
Phocoena phocoena, Sognefjord, Norway
Picture #: 011174 |
Image of finless porpoise,
Neophocaena phocaenoides, Indo-Pacific Ocean
Picture #: 015722 |
Stock photo of adult
Dall's porpoises, Phocoenoides
dalli, bow riding
in Southeast Alaska. Dall's porpoise is one
of the fastest cetaceans in the world
Picture #: 055837 |
Picture of transient
killer whale, Orcinus orca, tossing a Dall's porpoise,
Phocoenoides dalli, in the air before feeding on
it, Chatham Strait, Alaska, North Pacific Ocean
Picture #: 025050 |
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Picture of Dall's porpoises,
Phocoenoides dalli, surfacing showing typical forward
canting roostertail 'splash, Southeast Alaska,
Pacific
Picture #: 016946 |
Image of adult
Dall's porpoises, Phocoenoides
dalli, bow riding
in Southeast Alaska. Dall's porpoise is one
of the fastest cetaceans in the world Ocean
Picture #: 055839 |
Stock photo of aquarium
visitor observing finless porpoise, Neophocaena
phocaenoides,
Indo-Pacific Ocean
Picture #: 015743 |
Picture of harbor porpoise,
Phocoena phocoena, Kerteminde, Denmark, Baltic Sea,
Atlantic
Picture #: 090551 |
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