Porpoise

Porpoise (literally, "the pig-fish"), any species of the Cetacean genus Phocasna of the Dolphin family, with two or three species from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. There are twenty-five teeth on each side in each jaw; the pectoral limbs are of moderate size and oval in shape; and there is a triangular dorsal fin about the middle of the back. The Common Porpoise (P. communis), abundant round the British coasts and frequently entering large rivers, is gregarious in habit, and the gambols of schools may have suggested some of the stories of the "sea-serpent." The average length is about five feet; and the coloration is dark-grey or black above, and white below, but there is no distinct line between. They feed on fish, and, as they follow the shoals of mackerel, etc., are often taken by the fishermen in their nets. The flesh was formerly eaten; but the commercial value of the porpoise now depends on the oil obtained from its blubber and the leather into which the hide is made.