“The finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides) is one of six porpoise species. In the waters around Japan, at the northern end of its range, it is known as the sunameri (砂滑). A freshwater population found in the Yangtze River in China is known locally as the jiangzhu (江猪) or “river pig”.
The finless porpoise lives in the coastal waters of Asia, especially around Korea, India, China, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Japan. A unique fresh water population (N. p. asiaeorientalis) is found in the Yangtze River. At the western end, their range includes the length of the western coast of India and continues up into the Persian Gulf. Throughout their range, the porpoises stay in shallow waters (up to 50 m [160 ft]), close to the shore, in waters with soft or sandy seabeds.
Adults are a uniform, light grey colour. Newborn calves are mostly black with grey around the dorsal ridge area, becoming fully grey after four to six months. Adults grow more than 1.55 m (5 ft) in length and up to 30–45 kg (65–100 lb) in weight. Males become sexually mature at around four to six years of age, and females at around six to 9 years of age.
Finless porpoises are reported to eat fish and shrimp in the Yangtze River, and fish, shrimp and squid in the Yellow Sea/Bohai area and off Pakistan. In Japanese waters, they are known to eat fish, shrimp, squid, cuttle fish and octopuses. They are opportunistic feeders using various kinds of available food items available in their habitat. Seasonal changes in their diets have not been studied. They also apparently ingest some plant material when living in estuaries, mangroves, and rivers, including leaves, rice, and eggs deposited on vegetation.
Finless porpoises are generally found as singles, pairs, or in groups of up to 12, although aggregations of up to about 50 have been reported. Recent data suggest the basic unit of a finless porpoise pod is a mother/calf pair or two adults, and schools of three or more individuals are aggregations of these units or of solitary individuals. Social structure seems to be underdeveloped in the species, and the mother/calf pair is probably the only stable social unit”. – Wikipedia
The finless porpoise lives in the coastal waters of Asia, especially around Korea, India, China, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Japan. A unique fresh water population (N. p. asiaeorientalis) is found in the Yangtze River. At the western end, their range includes the length of the western coast of India and continues up into the Persian Gulf. Throughout their range, the porpoises stay in shallow waters (up to 50 m [160 ft]), close to the shore, in waters with soft or sandy seabeds.
Adults are a uniform, light grey colour. Newborn calves are mostly black with grey around the dorsal ridge area, becoming fully grey after four to six months. Adults grow more than 1.55 m (5 ft) in length and up to 30–45 kg (65–100 lb) in weight. Males become sexually mature at around four to six years of age, and females at around six to 9 years of age.
Finless porpoises are reported to eat fish and shrimp in the Yangtze River, and fish, shrimp and squid in the Yellow Sea/Bohai area and off Pakistan. In Japanese waters, they are known to eat fish, shrimp, squid, cuttle fish and octopuses. They are opportunistic feeders using various kinds of available food items available in their habitat. Seasonal changes in their diets have not been studied. They also apparently ingest some plant material when living in estuaries, mangroves, and rivers, including leaves, rice, and eggs deposited on vegetation.
Finless porpoises are generally found as singles, pairs, or in groups of up to 12, although aggregations of up to about 50 have been reported. Recent data suggest the basic unit of a finless porpoise pod is a mother/calf pair or two adults, and schools of three or more individuals are aggregations of these units or of solitary individuals. Social structure seems to be underdeveloped in the species, and the mother/calf pair is probably the only stable social unit”. – Wikipedia
A worker carries a Finless Porpoise to shore to inspect it at the Tongling Freshwater Dolphin Nature Reserve March 21, 2005 in Tongling of Anhui Province, China. The habitat of many endangered species of the Yangtze River, including the Finless Porpoise and Yangtze River Dolphin, has been damaged by the development of the Gezhouba and Three Gorges Dam projects. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)
A newly born Yangtze finless porpoise (C) swims with his mother (top) and brother at the Hydrobiology Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences on June 3, 2007 in Wuhan of Hubei Province, China. A male Yangtze finless porpoise, a cousin of the baiji dolphin and the sixth in the hydrobiology institute, was born on June 2 with 2.3 feet (0.701 m) long and 11 pounds (4,99 kg) weight. Yangtze finless porpoise is the only porpoise in the world that lives in freshwater and the small dark grey mammal classified as endangered by the IUCN which meaning it is facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)
20 Feb 2012 12:23:00,
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