What is the difference between porpoises and whales

While dolphins tend to have well-defined dorsal fins, whales comparatively have tiny or even no dorsal fin such as the Beluga Whale.

The second difference can be found in their neck vertebrae. Whales have evolved over time to have fused neck vertebrae — an adaptation that helps them to support the weight of their heads, while some dolphins have flexible necks.

Having teeth differentiates dolphins from whales in more ways than simple dentition. Dolphins will prey on fish and squid that they can grasp with their teeth, while baleen whales prey upon tiny crustaceans like krill and copepods. This also means dolphins have evolved different strategies for gathering food.

Dolphins rely heavily on the use of echolocation for hunting and navigation, where baleen whale songs are used for communication. There are several differences between their blowholes. Baleen whales have two blowholes, while the toothed whales, and subsequently dolphins and porpoises only have one. The structure of dolphin blowholes is also different from both whales and porpoises, which allows them to make a variety of whistle sounds to communicate with others.

Dolphins and toothed whales have some of the largest brains relative to their body size of any animals and are highly intelligent. In fact, Killer Whales have the second largest brain of any animal, only behind the Sperm Whale. Dolphins and toothed whales have a different social structure from most large whales. Dolphins are highly social animals that live in large groups or pods of related animals, where they help each other hunt, play, and rear offspring.

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Share Flipboard Email. Jennifer Kennedy. Marine Science Expert. Jennifer Kennedy, M. Updated February 23, Featured Video. Cite this Article Format. Kennedy, Jennifer. It is likely that more or fewer differences between dolphins and porpoises will be revealed as researchers continue to investigate these intriguing sentinels of the sea.

Home Ocean Facts What's the difference between dolphins and porpoises? What's the difference between dolphins and porpoises? Dolphins and porpoises differ in their faces, fins, and body shapes.