by Carolyn Kraft on 03/12/2010
Image credit: www.whales.org.au
1. The name Burmeister’s porpoise can be traced back to Hermann Burmeister, who first described the porpoise in 1865. It’s great that he identified the porpoise, but it’s a bit of a bummer name for the porpoise, sounds like a beer name. But the scientific name makes up for it: Phocoena spinipinnis.
2. As with most porpoises, the Burmeister’s has a triangular dorsal fin, which is unique thanks to a gentle slope towards the flukes.
3. Burmeister’s porpoises are dark gray, grow to be about six feet long and weigh about 160 pounds, with females being slightly larger than males.
4. These porpoises live in the coastal waters of the East and West side of South America and for some reason the Burmeister’s living in the Atlantic Ocean tend to be larger, closer to 6.5 feet long. Read more…
by Carolyn Kraft on 03/10/2010
Photo credit: Sophie Webb / NOAA
1. The name Bryde’s is actually pronounced in a way that sounds like “brutus,” so if you hear someone say the brutus whale, they are talking about the Bryde’s whale.
2. Bryde’s whales have the distinction of being the “least known of the large baleen whales,” according to the Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals. There is still debate on how many species of Bryde’s whales exist and what to name them scientifically.
3. Reaching up to 50 feet in length, Bryde’s whales are considered to be medium sized baleen whales.
4. Females generally tend to be two feet longer than males.
5. The baleen of the Bryde’s whale matches the coloring on it’s body, both darker shades of gray. This is accented by a white belly.
6. Considered to be opportunistic feeders, Bryde’s whales are open to eating what ever may cross their path including several types of fish, copepods and cephalopods.
7. Bryde’s whales are typically spotted traveling in pods of two to three and can travel up to 12 to 15 mph.
8. They prefer hanging out in the temperate and tropical waters of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans.
9. Females reproduce every two years, with a gestation period of about 11 to 12 months.
