Differences between Dolphin, Whales and Porpoise:

    The most obvious difference between whales, dolphins and porpoises is their size. Whales are unarguably the largest with the adult Blue whale growing to 24 - 30m (~80 - 100ft); the next largest are dolphins which are generally about 2 - 4 meters (~6 - 12ft) long and porpoise are the smallest at 1.5 - 2.5 meters (~4 - 7 ft) depending on the species.
    Other differences can be found in the teeth, or in some cases the lack of teeth. Some whales called the Odontoceti or ‘Toothed Whales’ have conical teeth which are used to eat fish and squid, dolphins and porpoise are part of this group and so are classed as species of the greater whale family. Other whales called Baleen Whales use baleen which is an elastic, horny material that hangs in fringed plates from their upper jaws. Baleen is used to filter krill and zooplankton from the water.
    Dolphins and porpoises are separated taxonomically by their teeth; dolphins have conical teeth and porpoise have spade-shaped teeth. The different teeth being designed to catch different sized fish.
    The are some other differences between dolphins and porpoise; for instance dolphins have a proportionally larger and more curved dorsal fin than porpoises and longer 'beak' like rostrums where as porpoises have shorter more 'snout' like ones. Also dolphins move in large, more socially complex pods than porpoises and tend to be more acrobatic at the surface.

    Taxonomy is a biological term used to classify organisms in an ordered system that indicates natural relationships. The system is hierarchical, with Kingdom being the highest and most general class, i.e. animal kingdom, plant kingdom etc


    Examples include:

    Bottlenose Dolphin - Tursiops truncatus

    Kingdom Animalia
    Phylum Chordata
    Class Mammalia
    Order Cetacea
    [Suborder] Odontoceti
    Family Delphinidae
    Genus Tursiops
    Species truncatus


    		 Blue Whale - Balaenoptera musculus

    Kingdom Animalia
    Phylum Chordata
    Class Mammalia
    Order Cetacea
    [Suborder] Mysticeti
    Family Balaenopteridae
    Genus Balaenoptera
    Species musculus


    		 Dall's Porpoise - Phocoenoides dalli

    Kingdom Animalia
    Phylum Chordata
    Class Mammalia
    Order Cetacea
    [Suborder] Odontoceti
    Family Phocoenidae
    Genus Phocoenoides
    Species dalli