People use the terms dolphins, porpoises, and whales to describe marine mammals belonging to the order cetacea, and often use them interchangeably. The orca, or killer whale, for example, is actually the largest member of the dolphin family.
Dolphins are by far more prevalent than porpoises. Most scientists agree thatbthere are 32 dolphin species & only 6 porpoise species.
So whats the difference? It essentially comes down to their faces, their fins, and their figures. Dolphins tend to have prominent, elingated "beaks" & cone-shaped teeth, while porpoises have smaller mouths & spade-shaped teeth. The dolphins hooked or curved dorsal fin also differs from the porpoises triangular fin. Generally speaking, dolphin bodies are leaner, and porpoise's are portly.
Dolphins are also more talkative. Dolphins make whistling sounds through their blowholes to communicate with one another underwater. Scientists are pretty sure that porpoises dont do this, and some think this may be due to structural differences in the porpoise's blowholes.
Dolphins and porpoises have many similarities, one of which is their extreme intelligence. Both have large, complex brains & a structure in their foreheads called the melon, with which they generate sonar to.navigate their underwater world.
It's likely that more, or fewer, differences between dolphins and porpoises will be revealed as researchers continue to investigate these intriguing sentinels of the sea.
Source: {http://www.oceansearvice.noaa.gov/facts/dolphin_porpoise.html}
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