Phocoena phocoena
Harbor Porpoise [+]

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Cetacea
Family: Phocoenidae
Genus: Phocoena
species: Phocoena phocoena
+ITIS +WoRMS +Conservation Status

Description & Behavior

The harbor porpoise, Phocoena phocoena (Linnaeus, 1758), aka common porpoise, is a small cetacean with a rotund, stocky body that tapers toward the tailstock. This porpoise reaches a maximum length of 1.9 m and maximum weight of 90 kg. On average, harbor porpoises are smaller, and do not exceed 1.5 m or weigh more than 60 kg. The females are slightly larger than the males. This porpoise has no beak, but a blunt, rounded snout is present. There are 22-28 small, spade-shaped teeth on each side of the upper jaw and 22-26 on each side of the lower jaw.

The Harbor porpoise is dark gray or dark brown on the dorsal side, lighter gray on the flanks, and white on the ventral side. The flippers are also dark in color with a dark stripe that extends to the eye. The flippers are small, oval, and rounded at the tips. The low, wide dorsal fin is triangular in shape and found slightly behind the center of the body. In some individuals, small nodules are found on the leading edge of the dorsal fin. The flukes are small and curved, and have a median notch.

There are three subspecies known for the harbor porpoise, Phocoena phocoena:

1. harbor porpoise (North Atlantic), P. phocoena phocoena
2. harbor porpoise (Baltic Sea), P. phocoena (a key population)
3. harbor porpoise (Black Sea), P. phocoena relicta
4. harbor porpoise (E North Pacific), P. phocoena vomerina
5. harbor porpoise (W North Pacific), P. phocoena (vomerina) (a key population)

Harbor porpoises are found singly, in pairs, or in small groups of 6-10 animals, however larger groups between 50-100 animals have been observed feeding. The harbor porpoise is often found stranded, which is likely due to its preferred shoreline habitat. Although some live stranded porpoises have been taken to aquariums, few survived in captivity.

This porpoise is a non-gregarious species that shies away from boats. They are often detected by the loud puffing sound they make as they surface to breathe.

World Range & Habitat

The harbor porpoise, Phocoena phocoena, is found in shallow, coastal waters of the North Atlantic, North Pacific, and Black Sea in temperate and subarctic waters of less than 15°C. They sometimes swim into bays and large rivers.

» GBIF occurrence data in Google Earth [Requirements | Tips] | Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) [World Map] | [about]

Feeding Behavior (Ecology)

The harbor porpoise, Phocoena phocoena, feeds on fishes such as cod, herring, pollock, sardines, and whiting, and on squid. This porpoise consumes about 10% of its body weight each day.

Life History

The harbor porpoise, Phocoena phocoena, reaches sexual maturity at 3-4 years. Calves are born 70-90 cm in length 6.4-10 kg in weight following a gestation period of about 11 months. Females give birth about every 2 years, and nurse for about 8 months.

Comments

Because of its near shore habitat, the harbor porpoise, Phocoena phocoena, has been widely hunted for oil and meat. Although they are still abundant throughout their range, populations have declined. They are at-risk of entanglement in salmon and cod nets in the eastern North Atlantic; and in trawl and gill nets in the Pacific. In the Baltic and Black seas, populations have declined due to drive fisheries. These porpoises are also at-risk of pollution from pesticides, destruction of habitat by coastal development, and marine traffic.

Management Plan for the Pacific Harbour Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) in Canada

References & Further Research

BioOne ~ CITES ~ Discover Life ~ GBIF ~ Google Scholar ~ ITIS ~ IUCN RedList ~ MarineBio Network ~ NCBI ~ SCIRIS ~ SIRIS ~ Tree of Life Web Project ~ Wikipedia

ACS harbor porpoise Cetacean Fact Sheet - American Cetacean Society
CMS: Phocoena phocoena, Harbour porpoise
Jefferson, T.A., S. Leatherwood, and M.A. Webber, FAO species identification guide, Marine mammals of the world, Rome, FAO. 1993. 320 p. 587 figs.

Search the Web for Harbor Porpoise » ARKive ~ Ask.com ~ Ask Jeeves ~ bing ~ deviantART ~ dmoz ~ Dogpile ~ Google Images ~ MySpace Images ~ OceanFootage ~ Picsearch ~ StumbleUpon ~ Yahoo! Images ~ YouTube

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Citation: Phocoena phocoena, Harbor Porpoise - MarineBio.org. Retrieved , from .

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Phocoena phocoena Harbor Porpoise [+]