Phocoena phocoena
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Phocoena phocoena, commonly known as the harbor porpoise, is a small marine mammal found in coastal waters of the Northern Hemisphere. It matters because it serves as an indicator of ocean health and is affected by human activities like fishing and shipping, making it important for understanding coastal marine ecosystems.
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Species
Least Concernbay porpoise
SPECIES
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumChordata
- ClassMammalia
- OrderCetacea
- FamilyPhocoenidae
Habitatmarine, brackish
Maximum longevity: 20.4 years (captivity) Observations: These animals rarely live more than 13 years in the wild (Ronald Nowak 1999). One captive specimen was still alive at 20.4 years of age (Richard Weigl 2005).
via GBIF · IUCN
Article
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 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.
Taxonomy
Gallery (12)
Connections
Categories
Animal taxa named by Carl LinnaeusCetaceans of EuropeCetaceans of the Arctic OceanCetaceans of the Atlantic OceanCetaceans of the Pacific OceanCite IUCN without doiFauna of the Baltic SeaFauna of the Black SeaFauna of the Holarctic realmFauna of the North SeaHabitats Directive speciesIUCN Red List least concern species