Harbour porpoise

Phocoena phocoena

OceanLeast concernLeast concern
Harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), Animal Pocket card
Photo: Malene Thyssen · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Diet
Eats fish
Mass
60 kg
IUCN status
Least concern (LC)

In short

The harbour porpoise 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 kilometres from the sea. The harbour porpoise may be polytypic, with geographically distinct populations representing distinct races: P. p. phocoena in the North Atlantic and West Africa, P. p. relicta in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, an unnamed population in the northwestern Pacific and P. p. vomerina in the northeastern Pacific.

Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA licence).

Did you know?

The harbour porpoise is one of eight extant species of porpoise.

Get this card in a booster pack

Other animals from the same biome

See all the animals in the collection