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Vaquita Porpoise : World’s rarest marine mammal

Vaquita Porpoise: World’s rarest marine mammal

A new report has highlighted that only about 10 vaquita porpoise, the world’s rarest marine mammal, remain in the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez), Mexico.

  • Their numbers have plummeted due to entanglement in illegal gillnets used for catching totoaba (an endangered fish prized for its swim bladder).
    Vaquita Porpoise (Phocoena sinus)
  • The vaquita porpoise (little cow in Spanish), is the world’s most endangered marine mammal discovered in 1958.
  • Porpoises are the smallest members of the cetacean family (whales, dolphins, porpoises) and are distant relatives of dolphins, diverging around 15 million years ago.
  • Marine, restricted to the northern Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez), Mexico, mostly in shallow waters up to 50 m deep.
  • Vaquitas have dark rings around the eyes, dark patches on lips stretching to the fins. Newborns are darker with a gray fringe.
  • Their large dorsal fin helps release body heat in warm waters.
  • Protection Status: IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered. CITES: Appendix I