THE COMMON PORPOISE 



Genus Phocaena. 



THE COMMON PORPOISE. 



Phoccena communis, Cuvier. 

 Plate 49. 



The Common Porpoise, the smallest and most abundant of British 

 Cetaceans, usually measures from 4 to 5 feet and occasionally more in 

 length. The head is rounded and has no external beak. Each jaw is 

 furnished with about 25 teeth, which are spade-shaped and not conical 

 as in many of this group. The triangular dorsal fin is placed about the 

 middle of the back. 



The colour of the upper parts is a glossy greyish black, which is 

 more or less blended into the white of the throat and belly. The 

 Porpoise is a common species on both sides of the Atlantic, keeping 

 mostly near the Coasts. It is abundant all round the British shores and 

 the Atlantic Coasts of France as well as those of Northern Europe, but 

 rarely occurs in the Mediterranean. It goes as far north as Baffin's Bay 

 and southwards to the North American coast. 



The Porpoise is also found in the Pacific on the western side of 

 America. 



These animals are very sociable, moving about in ' schools,' when 

 their black triangular dorsal fins and backs may often be seen above the 

 surface of the water as they follow and play around a vessel at sea, 

 or swim with an easy-going rolling motion among the waters close 



inshore. 



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