Porpoise images (Phocoenidae) - stock photos, illustrations & facts showing this cetacean related to dolphin and whales
We have the best & rare porpoise image collection in the world from underwater to topside shots, created by the world’s premium wildlife photographers, artists & researchers, including finless porpoise, harbour porpoise, critically endangered species - vaquita, Burmeister’s porpoise, Dall’s porpoises. This is your unique resource...
more »Porpoise images (Phocoenidae) - stock photos, illustrations & facts showing this cetacean related to dolphin and whales
We have the best & rare porpoise image collection in the world from underwater to topside shots, created by the world’s premium wildlife photographers, artists & researchers, including finless porpoise, harbour porpoise, critically endangered species - vaquita, Burmeister’s porpoise, Dall’s porpoises. This is your unique resource for rare porpoise images.
Kingdom: Animalia > Phylum: Chordata > Class: Mammalia > Order: Artiodactyla > Infraorder: Cetacea > Superfamily: Delphinoidea > Family: Phocoenidae
Porpoises, Phocoenidae, 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); harbour porpoise, (Phocoena phocoena); Spectacled porpoise (Phocoena dioptrica); and Vaquita (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.
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