Dolphins
Dolphins and porpoises are both cataceans, i.e. marine mammals, and are closely related to whales. Dolphins belong to the family Delphinidae and are up to 30 feet long. Porpoises , belonging to family Phocoenidae are smaller, but stouter than dolphins.
Dolphin vs Porpoise - Difference and Comparison
Australian researchers have discovered a new species of dolphin living right under their, uh, bottlenoses. A population of 100 dolphins in Port Phillip Bay and 50 in the Gippsland Lakes on Australia's southern coast have been proven to be genetically unique from dolphins anywhere else in the world, Monash University doctoral researcher Kate Charlton-Robb said in a university release. "We're very pleased to announce that yes it is a new dolphin species, and I have called it Tersiops Australis," Charlton-Robb said in an interview with Radio Australia . The new species has been given the common name the Burrunan dolphin, meaning "large sea fish of the porpoise kind" in Aboriginal languages, she said. The Burrunan dolphins were originally thought to be one of two bottlenose species, but researchers used DNA and skull comparisons to establish they were a new species.
New species of dolphin discovered off Australia
Dolphins & Other Animals
Dolphin Intelligence
Humans & Dolphins