THE COMMON PORPOISE 
„ Genus Phocaena. 
THE COMMON PORPOISE. 
Phocama 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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