   porpoises (; also called mereswine) are small cetaceans of the family phocoenidae; they are related to whales and dolphins. they are distinct from dolphins, although the word "porpoise" has been used to refer to any small dolphin, especially by sailors and fishermen. the most obvious visible difference between the two groups is that porpoises have shorter beaks and flattened, spade-shaped teeth distinct from the conical teeth of dolphins. the name derives from french pourpois, possibly from medieval latin porcopiscis (porcus pig + piscis fish; cf. classical porcus marÄ«nus ("sea hog").http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/porpoise?o=102213 porpoises, divided into six species, live in all oceans, and mostly near the shore. freshwater populations of the finless porpoise also exist. probably the best known species is the harbour porpoise, which can be found across the northern hemisphere. like all toothed whales, porpoises are predators, using sounds (echolocation in sonar form) to locate prey and to coordinate with others. they hunt fish, squid, and crustaceans. ==taxonomy and evolution==  porpoises, along with whales and dolphins, are descendants of land-living ungulates (hoofed animals) that first entered the oceans around 50 million years ago (mya). during the miocene (23 to 5 mya), mammals were fairly modern. the cetaceans diversified, and fossil evidence suggests porpoises and dolphins diverged from their last common ancestor around 15 mya. the oldest fossils are known from the shallow seas around the north pacific, with animals spreading to the european coasts and southern hemisphere only much later, during the pliocene. suborder odontoceti toothed whales *infraorder delphinida **superfamily delphinoidea ***family phocoenidae - porpoises ****genus â haborophocoena & . 2005. "harborophocoena toyoshimai, a new early pliocene porpoise (cetacea, phocoenidae) from hokkaid
Porpoises