Harbor Porpoise

1
Harbor Porpoise
By Christopher Chavez
2
Taxonomy The harbor porpoise is generally
considered to be a single species. Some have
suggested three subspecies Phocoena phocoena
relicta in the Azov and Black Seas, Phocoena
phocoena phocoena in the North Atlantic and
Phocoena phocoena vomerina in the North Pacific
(Klinowksa, 1991). However, this subdivision is
not widely accepted.
3
Appearance              The harbor porpoise is
a small, stocky animal.The dorsal side is brown
or dark grey, converging to a lighter grey on the
flanks. The triangular dorsal fin is located in
the middle of the back (Minasian et al, 1984).
The average length is 1.5 m. with a maximum size
of about 2 m. Females are slightly larger than
males. They weigh 45-65 kg, with a maximum of 90
kg (Evans, 1987 Peet et al., 1992).