porpoise

Also known as mereswine, Phocoenidae

Porpoises () 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. There are eight extant species of porpoise, all among the smallest of the toothed whales. Porpoises are distinguished from dolphins by their flattened, spade-shaped teeth distinct from the conical teeth of dolphins, and lack of a pronounced beak, although some dolphins (e.g. Hector's dolphin) also lack a pronounced beak. Porpoises, and other cetaceans, belong to the clade Cetartiodactyla with even-toed ungulate

OverviewAI-generated

Porpoises are a family of marine mammals within the order Cetartiodactyla and class Mammalia. The taxon, known scientifically as Phocoenidae, is distinct from dolphins and falls under the superfamily Delphinoidea. This group is classified under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, with the type genus being Phocoena. The family has existed for approximately 16 million years.

Members of this family inhabit marine, brackish, and freshwater environments. The common name for the group includes "Porpoises" in English, "Pyöriäiset" in Finnish, and "nisefamilien" in Danish. The family status is accepted in taxonomic records. One specific species, the Harbour Porpoise, is part of the Mammalia class.

The subject is described in sources such as the Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition and the New International Encyclopedia. It is included in the Wikipedia Vital Articles list at Level 4. The topic is referenced by 900 other encyclopedia articles, and there are 1,565 related records in PubMed.

Synthesized by Vinony from 29 facts across 5 sources: Wikidata, iNaturalist, PubMed, WoRMS, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Species

porpoises

Family

PhylumChordata
ClassMammalia
OrderCetartiodactyla
FamilyPhocoenidae

Habitatmarine, brackish, freshwater

Observations10,062

属鼠海豚属 Phocoena 无喙鼠海豚属 Phocoenoides 江豚属 Neophocaena 鼠海豚（學名Phocoenidae），鯨目的一科，體型非常像海豚，但吻部不尖，又像鲸，共分爲三個屬：鼠海豚属 Phocoena 鼠海豚 P. phocoena 南美鼠海豚 P. dioptrica 棘鳍鼠海豚 P. spinipinnis 太平洋鼠海豚 P. sinus 无喙鼠海豚属 Phocoenoides 无喙鼠海豚 P. dalli 江豚属 Neophocaena 江豚 N. phocaenoides 窄脊江豚 N. asiaeorientalis 長江江豚 N. asiaeorientalis ssp. asiaeorientalis 取自“https://zh.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=鼠海豚科&oldid=42667475” 分类：鼠海豚科隐藏分类：本地相关图片与维基数据不同

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Research

1,565 papers

Protecting China's finless porpoise.Science (New York, N.Y.) · 2021Yan Q, Hu YDOI: 10.1126/science.abg9955
Harbor Porpoise Deaths Associated with Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, the Netherlands, 2021.Emerging infectious diseases · 2023IJsseldijk LL, Begeman L, Duim B et al.DOI: 10.3201/eid2904.221698
Implications of porpoise echolocation and dive behaviour on passive acoustic monitoring.The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · 2023Macaulay JDJ, Rojano-Doñate L, Ladegaard M et al.DOI: 10.1121/10.0021163
High-frequency vessel noise can mask porpoise echolocation.The Journal of experimental biology · 2025Hermannsen L, Ladegaard M, Tønnesen P et al.DOI: 10.1242/jeb.249963
Assessing harbour porpoise carcasses potentially subjected to grey seal predation.Scientific reports · 2020van Neer A, Gross S, Kesselring T et al.DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-73258-y
Gapless genome assembly of East Asian finless porpoise.Scientific data · 2022Yin D, Chen C, Lin D et al.DOI: 10.1038/s41597-022-01868-4
Mitogenome Phylogenetics of Spiruromorpha Porpoise Parasite: Insights Into Phylogeny of Crassicauda magna.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Han L, Yang Y, Lu M et al.DOI: 10.3390/pathogens14010018
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Virus in a Harbor Porpoise, Sweden.Emerging infectious diseases · 2023Thorsson E, Zohari S, Roos A et al.DOI: 10.3201/eid2904.221426

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Wikidata facts

Instance of: taxon
Parent taxon: Delphinoidea
Image: Porpoise 042.jpg

Show 11 more facts

Commons category: Phocoenidae
taxon rank: family
taxon name: Phocoenidae
Code of nomenclature: International Code of Zoological Nomenclature
topic's main category: Category:Porpoises
taxon common name: rjave pliskavke
start time: 15970000-0
on focus list of Wikimedia project: Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/4
described by source: New International Encyclopedia
taxonomic type: Phocoena
different from: dolphin

Sources (4)

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Encyclopedic overview

20 sections

Contents

Taxonomy and evolution
Biology
Anatomy
Locomotion
Senses
Sleep
Behaviour
Life cycle
Diet
Interactions with humans
Research history
In captivity
Threats
Hunting
Fishing
Environmental hazards
Conservation
See also
References
External links

Porpoises range in size from the vaquita, at in length and in weight, to the Dall's porpoise, at and . Several species exhibit sexual dimorphism in that the females are larger than males. They have streamlined bodies and two limbs that are modified into flippers. Porpoises use echolocation as their primary sensory system. Some species are well adapted for diving to great depths. As all cetaceans, they have a layer of fat, or blubber, under the skin to keep them warm in cold water.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “porpoise” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.