? Vaquita Conservation status: Critical
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Cetacea Suborder: Odontoceti Family: Phocoenidae Genus: Phocoena Species: P. sinus
Binomial name
Phocoena sinus Norris & McFarland, 1958
Vaquita range

The Vaquita (Phocoena sinus) is a rare species of porpoise. It is endemic to the northern part of the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez). Estimates of the number of individuals alive range from 100 ^[1][2] to 300 ^[2] making it amongst the most endangered of all marine mammals ^[1]. The word "vaquita" is Spanish for little cow. Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Phyla Porifera (sponges) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria (coral, jellyfish, anemones) Placozoa (trichoplax) Subregnum Bilateria (bilateral symmetry) Acoelomorpha (basal) Orthonectida (parasitic to flatworms, echinoderms, etc. ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicatas Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... Orders Subclass Multituberculata (extinct) Plagiaulacida Cimolodonta Subclass Palaeoryctoides (extinct) Subclass Triconodonta (extinct) Subclass Eutheria (includes extinct ancestors)/Placentalia (excludes extinct ancestors) Afrosoricida Artiodactyla Carnivora Cetacea Chiroptera Cimolesta (extinct) Creodonta (extinct) Condylarthra (extinct) Dermoptera Desmostylia (extinct) Embrithopoda (extinct) Hyracoidea Insectivora Lagomorpha Litopterna (extinct) Macroscelidea Mesonychia (extinct) Notoungulata (extinct) Perissodactyla Pholidota Plesiadapiformes... Suborders Mysticeti Odontoceti (see text for families) The order Cetacea 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. ... 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 method of naming species. ... Image File history File links , User:Pcb21 after User:Vardion. ... Genera Neophocaena Phocoena - Harbor porpoises Phocoenoides - Dalls Porpoises The porpoises are small cetaceans of the family Phocoenidae; they are related to whales and dolphins. ... The Gulf of California (also known as the Sea of Cortez or Sea of Cortés; locally known in the Spanish language as Mar de Cortés or, much less frequently, Golfo de California) is a body of water that separates the Baja California Peninsula from the Mexican mainland. ... The Gulf of California (highlighted) The Gulf of California (also known as the Sea of Cortez or Sea of Cortés; locally known in the Spanish language as Mar de Cortés or, much less frequently, Golfo de California) is a body of water that separates the Baja California Peninsula... A marine mammal is a mammal that is primarily ocean-dwelling or depends on the ocean for its food. ...

Other names include Cochito, Gulf of California Harbor Porpoise, Gulf of California Porpoise, Gulf Porpoise, Hafenschweinswal, and Marsouin du Golfe de Californie.

Physical description

The Vaquita has a classic porpoise shape—stocky and curved into a concave shape when viewed from the side. It is the smallest of the porpoises and thus amongst the smallest of all cetaceans. Individuals may grow up to 150 cm in length and weigh up to 50 kilograms. They have a dark colouring around the eyes and mouth. The upper side of the body is medium to dark grey. The underside is off-white to light grey but the demarcation between the sides is indistinct. The dorsal fin is in the centre of the back and larger than other porpoise fins. Suborders Mysticeti Odontoceti (see text for families) The order Cetacea includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. ... Dorsal Fin of the Orca A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of fishes, whales, dolphins and porpoises. ...

Conservation

Vaquita have never been hunted directly. Indeed their continued existence was only confirmed by a dedicated survey in 1985. However it is known that the Vaquita population is declining, and that this is due to animals becoming trapped in gillnets intended for capturing another species endemic to the Gulf, the tototaba. CIRVA, the Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita, concluded in 2000 that between 39 and 84 individuals are killed each year by such gillnets. The Vaquita is listed by the IUCN and the Convention on International Trade in the Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora in the most critical category at risk of extinction. In order to try to prevent extinction, the Mexican government has created a nature reserve covering the upper part of the Gulf of California and the Colorado River delta. CIRVA is recommending that this reserve be extended southwards to cover the full known area of the Vaquita's range and that trawlers be completely banned from the reserve area. Even if the number of Vaquita killed by fisheries is reduced to zero concerns remain amongst conservationists. Use of chlorinated pesticides, reduced flow of freshwater from the Colorado River due to irrigation and depression due to interbreeding (see references) may also have a detrimental effect. A gillnet is a type of fishing net, a type of which is the driftnet (which is a drifting gillnet - i. ... The World Conservation Union or International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. ... The Colorado River from the bottom of Marble Canyon, in the Upper Grand Canyon Colorado River in the Grand Canyon from Desert View The Colorado River is a river in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately 1,450 mi (2,330 km) long, draining a part of the...

References

1. Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises, Carwardine, 1995, ISBN 0751327816
2. Aquarium Passport Book, Aquarium of the Pacific 2005
3. Preventing the extinction of a small population: Vaquita fishery mortality and mitigation strategies D'Agrosa, Lennert and Vidal. Conservational Biology vol 14. pages 1110-1119
4. Examining the risk of inbreeding depression in a naturally rare cetacean, the Vaquita, Taylor and Rojas-Bracho, Marine Mammal Science Vol 15. Pages 1004-1028.
5. National Audubon Society: Guide to Marine Mammals of the World, Reeves et al 2002, ISBN 0375411410