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3. What's the difference between dolphins and porpoises?

**What's the difference between dolphins and porpoises?**  Dolphins and porpoises differ in their **faces, fins, and body shapes** a dolphin*Dolphins have longer noses, bigger mouths, more curved dorsal fins, and longer, leaner bodies than porpoises. The Northeastern Offshore Spotted Dolphin, shown here,  has a falcate, or sickle-shaped dorsal fin and light spotting on the belly.*  *The harbor porpoise has small pointed flippers and no beak. The dorsal fin is small and triangle-shaped.*
 People use the terms dolphins, porpoises, and whales to  describe marine mammals belonging to the order Cetacea (from the Greek work *ketos,* “large sea creature”), 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 that there are 32 dolphin species (plus five closely related  species of river dolphin) and only six porpoise species. So what’s the difference? It essentially comes down to their  faces (who can forget Flipper’s famous “grin”?), their fins, and their figures.  Dolphins tend to have prominent, elongated “beaks” and cone-shaped teeth, while  porpoises have smaller mouths and spade-shaped teeth. The dolphin’s hooked or  curved dorsal fin (the one in the middle of the animal’s back) also differs  from the porpoise’s triangular dorsal fin. Generally speaking, dolphin bodies are  leaner, and porpoises’ are portly. Dolphins are also more talkative than porpoises. Dolphins  make whistling sounds through their blowholes to communicate with one another  underwater. Scientists are pretty sure that porpoises do not do this, and some think  this may be due to structural differences in the porpoise’s blowhole. Dolphins and porpoises have many similarities, one of which is their extreme intelligence. Both have large, complex brains and a structure in their foreheads, called the melon, with which they focus sound waves used to navigate their underwater world. It is likely that more (or fewer) differences between  dolphins and porpoises will be revealed as researchers continue to investigate  these intriguing sentinels of the sea.
 More **Information** Cetaceans: Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises Marine Mammals   Get **Social** Social
  **Last updated:** 09/27/23 **Author:** NOAA How to cite this article Contact Us


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