Dall's Porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli) is a species of porpoise that came to worldwide attention in the 1970s. It was disclosed for the first time to the public that salmon fishing trawls were killing thousands of Dall's Porpoise and other cetaceans each year by accidentally capturing them in their nets. Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. ... Image File history File links Status_iucn2. ... Conservation Dependent (LR/cd) was an IUCN category assigned to species or lower taxa which were dependent on conservation efforts to prevent the taxon becoming threatened with extinction. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... “Animalia” redirects here. ... Typical Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... Subclasses & Infraclasses Subclass †Allotheria* Subclass Prototheria Subclass Theria Infraclass †Trituberculata Infraclass Metatheria Infraclass Eutheria Mammals (class Mammalia) are warm-blooded, vertebrate animals characterized by the production of milk in female mammary glands and the presence of hair, three middle ear bones used in hearing, and a neocortex region in the... Suborders Mysticeti Odontoceti Archaeoceti (extinct) (see text for families) The order Cetacea (IPA: , L. cetus, whale) includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. ... Families See text The toothed whales (systematic name Odontoceti) form a suborder of the cetaceans. ... Genera Neophocaena Phocoena - Harbor porpoises Phocoenoides - Dalls porpoises The porpoises are small cetaceans of the family Phocoenidae; they are related to whales and dolphins. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal system of naming species. ... Frederick William True (July 8, 1858-June 25, 1914) was an American biologist, the first head curator of biology (1897-1911) at the United States National Museum, now part of the Smithsonian Institution. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1357x628, 33 KB) Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biodiversity. ... Genera Neophocaena Phocoena - Harbor porpoise Phocoenoides - Dalls porpoise The porpoises are small cetaceans of the family Phocoenidae; they are related to whales and dolphins. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979. ... Illustration of a male Coho Salmon The Chinook or King Salmon is the largest salmon in North America and can grow to 1. ... Suborders Mysticeti Odontoceti (see text) The order Cetacea includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. ...

The Dall's Porpoise is the only member of the Phocoenoides genus. It was named after American naturalist W.H. Dall. William Healey Dall, (August 21, 1845 - March 27, 1927), was a great American naturalist and a prominent malacologist. ...

Physical description

The unique body shape of the Dall's Porpoise makes it easily distinguishable from other cetacean species. The animal has a very thick body and a small head. The colouration is rather like that of an Orca— the main body of the porpoise is very dark grey to black with very demarcated white patches on the flank that begin some way behind the flippers, which are small and close to the head. The dorsal fin is set just back from the middle of the back and sits up erect. The upper part of the dorsal fin has a white to light grey "frosting". The fluke has a similar frosting. The adult fluke curves back towards the body of the animal, which is another distinguishing feature. It is larger than other porpoises, growing up to 230 cm in length and weighing between 130 and 200 kg. Dall's Porpoises live for up to 15 years. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Suborders Mysticeti Odontoceti (see text) The order Cetacea includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. ... Binomial name Orcinus orca Linnaeus, 1758 Orca range (in blue) The Orca or Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) is the largest species of the oceanic dolphin family (Delphinidae). ... Genera Neophocaena Phocoena - Harbor porpoise Phocoenoides - Dalls porpoise The porpoises are small cetaceans of the family Phocoenidae; they are related to whales and dolphins. ... Dorsal fin of an orca A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of fishes, whales, dolphins, and porpoises, as well as the (extinct) ichthyosaurs. ... Look up Fluke in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Population and distribution

Two consistent and well-defined colour morphs— the dalli-type morph and the truei-type morph have been identified. The dalli-type is more widespread, ranging across the north Pacific Ocean from southern California to southern Japan (including the Sea of Japan in the south up to the Bering Sea in the north). The truei type is more restricted, occupying a smaller area of the northwest Pacific north and east of Japan. The species differs from other porpoises in that it prefers deep water and the open ocean. It may come closer to land. If it does, it typically stays close to deep-water canyons. The population is believed to be common in most of its range and although no precise estimates exist (surveying is hampered by the porpoises' propensity for approaching boats), the global population numbers in at least the hundreds of thousands. (See also 'conservation' below). The greatest concentration is perhaps in the Sea of Okhotsk. Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... The Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea (see naming dispute), is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, bordered by Japan, Korea and Russia. ... Satellite photo of the Bering Sea Bering Sea and the North Pacific Ocean Bearing Sea with Kamchatka Peninsula and Alaska The Bering (or Imarpik) Sea is a body of water north of, and separated from, the north Pacific Ocean by the Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian Islands. ... Map of the Sea of Okhotsk. ...

Behavior

Dall's Porpoise in Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA

Dall's Porpoises are hugely active creatures. They will often zigzag around at great speed on or just below the surface of the water creating a spray called a "rooster tail". They may appear and disappear quite suddenly. The fastest of all small cetaceans, and coming close to matching the mighty Orca for speed, Dall's Porpoises can swim at up to 55 km/h. The porpoises will approach boats and will bow- and stern-ride, but may lose interest, unless the boat is travelling quickly. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 435 pixelsFull resolution (1281 × 696 pixel, file size: 674 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) This is a cropped version of: http://en. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 435 pixelsFull resolution (1281 × 696 pixel, file size: 674 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) This is a cropped version of: http://en. ... Prince William Sound, on the south coast of Alaska. ... Binomial name Orcinus orca Linnaeus, 1758 Orca range (in blue) The Orca or Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) is the largest species of the oceanic dolphin family (Delphinidae). ...

Dall's Porpoises appear in small groups (about 2– 10 in number). The groups appear not to be tight knit and may aggregate together at good feeding grounds. On very rare occasions a thousand or more individual may be seen at the same time. They feed on a variety of fish and cephalopods. Shoals of fish such as herring, anchovies and mackerel are common meals. A giant grouper at the Georgia Aquarium Fish are aquatic vertebrates that are typically cold-blooded; covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins. ... Orders Subclass Nautiloidea †Plectronocerida †Ellesmerocerida †Actinocerida †Pseudorthocerida †Endocerida †Tarphycerida †Oncocerida †Discosorida Nautilida †Orthocerida †Ascocerida †Bactritida Subclass †Ammonoidea †Goniatitida †Ceratitida †Ammonitida Subclass Coleoidea †Belemnoidea †Aulacocerida †Belemnitida †Hematitida †Phragmoteuthida Neocoleoidea (most living cephalopods) ?†Boletzkyida Sepiida Sepiolida Spirulida Teuthida Octopoda Vampyromorphida The cephalopods (Greek plural (kephalópoda); head-foot) are the mollusk class... Species Clupea alba Clupea bentincki Clupea caspiopontica Clupea chrysotaenia Clupea elongata Clupea halec Clupea harengus Clupea inermis Clupea leachii Clupea lineolata Clupea minima Clupea mirabilis Clupea pallasii Clupea sardinacaroli Clupea sulcata Herrings are small oily fish of the genus Clupea found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Atlantic... {{Taxobox classis = Actinopterygii | ordo = Clupeiformes | familia = Engraulidae | subdivision_ranks = Genera | subdivision = Amazonsprattus Anchoa Anchovia Anchiovella Cetengraulis Coilia Encrasicholina Engraulis Jurengraulis Lycengraulis Lycothrissa Papuengraulis Pterengraulis Setipinna Stolephorus Thryssa }} The anchovies are a family large but uncommon schooling saltwater plankton-feeding fish. ... Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of fish, mostly, but not exclusively, from the family Scombridae. ...

Hybrids

Baird et al (1998) determined through DNA sequencing that a fetus found in British Columbia was an intergeneric hybrid of a Dall's Porpoise and a Harbour Porpoise. This hybrid may not be rare— it may describe the origins of some atypically coloured individuals that otherwise appear to be Dall's Porpoises spotted off the coast of Vancouver Island. DNA sequencing is the process of determining the order of the nucleotide bases, adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine, in a DNA oligonucleotide. ... Motto: Splendor Sine Occasu (Latin: Splendour without diminishment) Capital Victoria Largest city Vancouver Official languages English Government - Lieutenant-Governor Iona Campagnolo - Premier Gordon Campbell (BC Liberal) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament - House seats 36 - Senate seats 6 Confederation July 20, 1871 (6th province) Area  Ranked 4th - Total 944,735 km... // This article is about a biological term. ... Binomial name Phocoena phocoena Linnaeus, 1758 Harbour Porpoise range The Harbour Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) is one of six species of porpoise, and so one of about eighty cetacean species. ... Vancouver Island is separated from mainland British Columbia by the Strait of Georgia and the Queen Charlotte Strait, and from Washington by the Juan De Fuca Strait. ...

Conservation

Many Dall's Porpoises are killed each year as bycatch in fishing nets. A serious cause of concern is the hunting of Dall's Porpoises by harpoon by Japanese hunters. The number of porpoise killed each year rose dramatically following the moratoria on hunting larger cetaceans introduced in the mid-1980s. 1988 saw the greatest number, 40,000, killed. A quota of 18,000 individuals per year is now in operation. However, concern remains that this is sufficient to deplete populations in the western Pacific. Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... In fisheries science, by-catch refers to species caught in a fishery intended to target another species, as well as reproductively_immature juveniles of the target species. ...

References

• Cetacean Specialist Group (1996). Phocoenoides dalli. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 09 May 2006. Database entry includes a lengthy justification of why this species is dependent on conservation
• Phocoenoides dalli (TSN 180480). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 18 March 2006.
• Dall's Porpoise in the Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals Thomas A. Jefferson, 1998. ISBN 0-12-551340-2
• National Audubon Society Guide to Marine Mammals of the World Reeves et al, 2002. ISBN 0-375-41141-0.
• Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises Carwardine, 1995. ISBN 0-7513-2781-6
• An intergenetic breed in the family Phocoenoidae, Canadian Journal of Zoology, Baird, Willis, Guenther, Wilson and White 1998. Vol 76 pages 198-204.