What Is The Scientific Name Of Harbour Porpoise? (ANSWER)

What Is The Scientific Name Of Harbour Porpoise? (ANSWER)

SCIENTIFIC NAME OF HARBOUR PORPOISE – In this topic, we are going to know and identify the scientific name of harbour porpoise.

SCIENTIFIC NAME OF HARBOUR PORPOISE
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It is one of the seven porpoise species of the porpoise family Phocoenidae. It is one of the smallest marine mammals. This species stays close to coastal areas or river estuaries, hence the name.

The porpoise falls under the Least Concern category in the IUCN Red List and under the Vulnerable in the Europe version of the list.

Porpoise is derived from the French pourpois, which is from the Medieval Latin porcopiscus, which is a combination of the terms porcus or ‘pig‘, and piscus or ‘fish‘.

This species is a little smaller than the other porpoises. It has a robust body and it is at its maximum girth just in front of its triangular dorsal fin.

It also has a poorly demarcated beak and dark grey flippers, dorsal fin, tail fin and back. It also has a slightly speckled, lighter grey color on its sides and has a white underside.

Answer

The binomial name of Harbour Porpoise is Phocoena phocoena.

The genus Phocoena, which is also its specific epithet, is from the porpoise family Phocoenidae. It is a Latinized term of the Greek phōkaina, which means “big seal”

It also has three subspecies, namely:

  • Phocoena phocoena phocoena – North Atlantic and West Africa
  • Phocoena phocoena relicta – Black Sea and Sea of Azov
  • Phocoena phocoena vomerina – Northeastern Pacific

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