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Burmeister's Porpoise (Phocoena spinipinnis) is a species of porpoise endemic to the coast of South America. It was first described by Hermann Burmeister, for whom the species is named, in 1865.

1 Population and distribution

Whilst Burmeister's Porpoise seems to be relatively common in its range, little work has been done to survey the species. Its range appears to be continuous in coastal waters from northern Peru in the Pacific round Tierra del Fuego and upto southern Brazil in the AtlanticFor other uses, see Atlantic (disambiguation The Atlantic Ocean is Earth's second-largest ocean, covering approximately one-fifth of its surface. The ocean's name, derived from Greek mythology, means the " Sea of Atlas". This ocean occupies an elongated,. The total population is at least in the tens of thousands. Whilst usually described as staying very close to the sure, individuals have been spotted as far as 50km from the shore and in the freshwater Valivia River in southern Chile.

2 Physical description

Most photographs of Burmeister's Porpoises are taken of dead specimens and show the animal to be coloured black. This phenomenon gave rise to the earlier common name, the Black Porpoise. However live individuals are typically a dark grey colour. They turn black in just a few minutes after death. The underside varies in colour but is usually a lighter grey. Burmeister's are about 150cm long when fully mature and weigh 50-75kg. The maximum recorded weight is that of a female at 105kg. They have a shallow indentation at their blowhole set just in front of the eyes. The shape and placement of the dorsal finDorsal Fin of the Orca A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of fishes, whales, dolphins and porpoises. Its main purpose is to stabilise the animal against rolling and assist in sudden turns. Some animals have developed dorsal fins with protective fu is unusual for a cetacean - it is triangular rather than curved and points backwards more than upwards. It is located about three-quarters of the way along the back - further back than any other dolphin or porpoise. These features are sufficient to distinguish the porpoise from the similar-sized Chilean DolphinChilean Dolphin : Animalia : Chordata : Mammalia : Eutheria : Cetacea : Odontoceti : Delphinidae Cephalorhynchus Eutropia Binomial name Cephalorhynchus eutropia The Chilean Dolphin Cephalorhynchus eutropia , also known as the Black Dolphin (although this which is found in the porpoise's Pacific range.

3 Behaviour

Burmeister's Porpoise is difficult to observe. It appears to be shy, shows little of its body when surfacing and will move quickly away from approaching boats. They are typically seen alone or in pairs with occasional larger groups. One report from Chile saw a group of 70 in number. The porpoise feeds on various pelagic fish such as anchoviesAnchovies European anchovy Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Clupeiformes Family Engraulidae Genera Amazonsprattus Anchoa Anchovia Anchiovella Cetengraulis Coilia Encrasicholina Engraulis Jurengrauli, hakeThe term hake refers to various fish in the families Gadidae ( subfamily Phycinae) and Merlucciidae (both subfamilies Merlucciinae and Steindachneriinae). Merluccius bilinearis Silver Hake Silver Hake grows to a length of 30 inches (75 cm) and up to 5 lb and mackerelA mackerel is any one of a number of different species of fish, mostly in the family Scombridae. They occur in all tropical and temperate seas. Most live offshore in the oceanic environment but a few, like the Spanish mackerel Scomberomorus maculatus ente.