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The vaquita (/ v ə ˈ k iː t ə / və-KEE-tə; Phocoena sinus) is a species of porpoise endemic to the northern end of the Gulf of California in Baja California, Mexico. Reaching a maximum body length of 150 cm (4.9 ft) (females) or 140 cm (4.6 ft) (males), it is the smallest of all living cetaceans .
The family Balaenidae, the right whales, contains two genera and four species. All right whales have no ventral grooves; a distinctive head shape with a strongly arched, narrow rostrum, bowed lower jaw; lower lips that enfold the sides and front of the rostrum; and long, narrow, elastic baleen plates (up to nine times longer than wide) with fine baleen fringes.
Porpoises, along with whales and dolphins, are descendants of land-living ungulates (hoofed animals) that first entered the oceans around 50 million years ago (Mya). During the Miocene (23 to 5 Mya), mammals were fairly modern, meaning they seldom changed physiologically from the time.
The International Whaling Commission released its first ever extinction alert to raise awareness surrounding the decreasing vaquita porpoise population.
Dolphins are mentioned far more often than whales. Aristotle discusses the sacred animals of the Greeks in his Historia Animalium and gives details of their role as aquatic animals. The Greeks admired the dolphin as a "king of the aquatic animals" and referred to them erroneously as fish.
The tiny marine animal still has enough genetic diversity to survive, but illegal gillnet fishing threatens the species. Skip to main content. 24/7 Help. For premium support please call: ...
Dolphin stampedes typically occur when hundreds − and sometimes thousands − of dolphins leap in and out of the water in one direction, according to Capt. Dave’s Dolphin & Whale Watching Safari.
Also, fewer than ten pilot whales, Amazon river dolphins, Risso's dolphins, spinner dolphins, or tucuxi are in captivity. Two unusual and very rare hybrid dolphins, known as wolphins , are kept at the Sea Life Park in Hawaii , which is a cross between a bottlenose dolphin and a false killer whale.