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Dall's Porpoise
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Dall's Porpoise
Description |
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Dall's
porpoise has an extremely robust and muscular body,
especially through the mid-section, and the male is
considerably thicker than the female. Its head is very
small and rounded, appearing smaller than it really
is because of the powerfully built body. The head slopes
steeply to a short poorly defined beak. Its mouth is
small and narrow, with 19 to 23 very small spade-shaped
teeth in each side of the upper jaw and about 20 to
24 teeth in each side of the lower jaw. The teeth of
Dall's porpoise are most unusual. Each tooth is separated
by rigid, protruding growths called "gum teeth."
Since its teeth are so small, these horny growths might
be of help in grasping slippery food such as squid.
The lower jaw extends slightly beyond the upper. In
addition to a dorsal (upper) hump, there is a large
hump located slightly forward of the flukes on the ventral
(under) part of the body, which makes the animal look
somewhat malformed. This ventral hump is more pronounced
in adult males. There are few accounts of eye color
in cetaceans, but Dall's porpoise is an exception; its
eye has been described as having a black or dark blue
iris and a deep, iridescent blue-green pupil. |
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