Dall's porpoise

흑백돌고래(달쇠돌고래)

A stocky black porpoise with a panda-like white flank patch. One of the fastest small cetaceans, it swims at up to about 55 km/h and throws up a V-shaped "rooster tail" of spray.

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At a glance

Class: Mammals
Lives in: Coastal North Pacific
Diet: Fish eater
Weight: about 160 kg
Length: about 2 m
Top speed: about 55 km/h
Conservation status: Least Concern (IUCN LC)
Habitat: open ocean, coasts

Quick answers

Where does the Dall's porpoise live?

It lives in open ocean, coasts of the Pacific Ocean. On the globe you can find it near Coastal North Pacific.

How big is the Dall's porpoise?

It grows to about 2 m and 160 kg.

What does the Dall's porpoise eat?

Its diet: fish eater.

How fast is the Dall's porpoise?

It can reach about 55 km/h.

Is the Dall's porpoise endangered?

It is listed as Least Concern (IUCN LC).

Dall's porpoise is the largest porpoise in the world and lives only in the North Pacific, from California in the east to the seas near Japan and the Okhotsk Sea in the west. It is named after the American naturalist W. H. Dall.

It has a wide, strong body, a small head with no beak, and a triangular fin in the middle of its back. Its colours are mostly black with white or grey patches on the flank and belly, so it looks a bit like a small panda or a tiny orca. Adults grow up to 2.3 metres and weigh 130 to 220 kilograms.

Two colour types

Scientists have found two colour forms. The dalli type has the white patch along its sides, while the truei type of the western Pacific has a white belly patch that reaches farther forward. They used to be considered two separate species in 1911 but are now treated as subspecies of one. Males are larger than females and develop a deeper tail base and a fin that leans forward.

Fast swimmer

Dall's porpoise is among the fastest of the small whales and dolphins, swimming at up to about 55 kilometres per hour. When it speeds along the surface it throws up a V-shaped fountain of spray known as a 'rooster tail'. Calves are about 100 centimetres long at birth and grey, without the frosty edge to the flippers and tail that adults have.

Fun facts

One of the fastest small cetaceans, it throws up a V-shaped 'rooster tail' of spray when it swims fast.
It is the largest porpoise in the world.
Calves are about 1 metre long at birth.
Its fast swimming throws up a V-shaped 'rooster tail' of spray.
It was once described as two separate species.