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Porpoises (/ ˈ p ɔː r p ə s ɪ z /) are small dolphin-like cetaceans classified under the family Phocoenidae. Although similar in appearance to dolphins, they are more closely related to narwhals and belugas than to the true dolphins. [1] There are eight extant species of porpoise, all among the smallest of the toothed whales.
Wood pilings grouped into a pair of dolphins serving as a protected entryway to a boat basin. A dolphin is a group of pilings arrayed together to serve variously as a protective hardpoint along a dock, in a waterway, or along a shore; as a means or point of stabilization of a dock, bridge, or similar structure; as a mooring point; and as a base for navigational aids.
A common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the clade Odontoceti (toothed whale).Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the brackish dolphins), and possibly extinct Lipotidae (baiji or Chinese river dolphin).
They are distinct from dolphins, although the word "porpoise" has been used to refer to any small dolphin, especially by sailors and fishermen. The most obvious visible differences between the two groups are that porpoises have a less pronounced beak, and have spade-shaped teeth as opposed to conical.
The common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) is the most abundant cetacean in the world, with a global population of about six million. [3] Despite this fact and its vernacular name, the common dolphin is not thought of as the archetypal dolphin, with that distinction belonging to the bottlenose dolphin due to its popular appearances in aquaria and the media.
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A female bottlenose dolphin performing with her trainer. They are considered one of the most intelligent cetaceans. Cetacean intelligence is the overall intelligence and derived cognitive ability of aquatic mammals belonging in the infraorder Cetacea (cetaceans), including baleen whales, porpoises, and dolphins.
Flippers are one of the principal control surfaces of cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) due to their position in front of the center of mass, and their mobility which provides three degrees of freedom. [4] The tubercles on the flippers of humpback whales improve the hydrodynamics of the flipper at their size. Breaking up channels of ...