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The harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) is one of eight extant species of porpoise. It is one of the smallest species of cetacean. As its name implies, it stays close to coastal areas or river estuaries, and as such, is the most familiar porpoise to whale watchers. This porpoise often ventures up rivers, and has been seen hundreds of ...
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.
The following is a list of currently existing (or, in the jargon of taxonomy) 'extant' species of the infraorder cetacea (for extinct cetacean species, see the list of extinct cetaceans). The list is organized taxonomically into parvorders , superfamilies when applicable, families , subfamilies when applicable, genus , and then species.
The harbor porpoise is one of the most accessible species for early cetologists, because it could be seen very close to land, inhabiting shallow coastal areas of Europe. Many of the findings that apply to all cetaceans were therefore first discovered in the porpoises. [ 2 ]
The Black Sea harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena relicta) is a subspecies of the harbour porpoise common in the Azov, Black, Marmara, and Aegean Seas. It is the only representative of the family in the fauna of these areas and is considered a narrow-range relict subspecies.
Cetacea (/ s ɪ ˈ t eɪ ʃ ə /; from Latin cetus ' whale ', from Ancient Greek κῆτος () ' huge fish, sea monster ') [3] is an infraorder of aquatic mammals belonging to the order Artiodactyla that includes whales, dolphins and porpoises.
Spectacled porpoise: circumpolar in cool sub-Antarctic and low Antarctic waters Phocoena phocoena: Harbour porpoise: cooler coastal waters of the North Atlantic, North Pacific and the Black Sea Phocoena sinus: Vaquita: northern area of the Gulf of California, or Sea of Cortez Phocoena spinipinnis: Burmeister's porpoise: coast of South America
Articles relating to the porpoises (family Phocoenidae), small dolphin-like cetaceans. Although similar in appearance to dolphins, they are more closely related to narwhals and belugas than to the true dolphins. There are eight extant species of porpoise, all among the smallest of the toothed whales. Porpoises are distinguished from dolphins by ...