Whales, dolphins and porpoises belong to the order Cetacea. The following
taxonomy provides the most complete and up-to-date* reference in terms
of current research in the field of cetacean taxonomy. The list provides
common (vernacular) names, scientific names and the names for subspecies
where these have been described. A number of the subspecies below have
not yet been named, and in such cases these are simply referred to as
subsp. in the list. The common names assigned for these animals are
based upon their distribution.
The links below provide a detailed fact file
for those cetacean species most commonly found in the Moray Firth
and North Sea.
Order CETACEA (86
species)
Suborder MYSTICETI. The Baleen (Moustached)
Whales (14 species)
The baleen whales are filter feeders which sieve
food from the seawater with baleen; hair-fringed plates made from
keratin (the same material as fingernails are made from). The minke
whale is the most common of the baleen whales in the Moray Firth,
although other species have been recorded in these waters including
the fin whale, Sei whale and, for the first time in 2001, the humpback
whale.
Family Balaenidae. Right whales
| Eubalaena glacialis
|
North
Atlantic right whale |
|
| Eubalaena australis |
Southern right whale |
|
| Eubalaena japonica |
North Pacific right whale |
|
| Balaena mysticetus
|
Bowhead whale |
|
Family Neobalaenidae. Pygmy right whale
| Caperea marginata |
Pygmy right whale |
|
Family Eschrichtiidae.Gray
whale
| Eschrichtius robustus |
Gray whale |
|
Family Balaenopteridae.
Rorquals (8
species)
Subfamily Megapterinae
Subfamily Balaenopterinae
| Balaenoptera
acutorostrata |
Minke
whale |
B. a. acutorostrata Atlantic
minke Whale
B. a. scammoni North Pacific minke Whale
B. a. subsp. Dwarf minke Whale
|
| Balaenoptera
bonarensis |
Antarctic
minke whale |
|
|
Balaenoptera edeni
|
Eden’s whale |
|
|
Balaenoptera brydei
|
Bryde’s
whale |
|
|
Balaenoptera borealis
|
Sei
whale |
B. b. borealis Northern sei whale
B. b. schlegllii Southern sei whale
|
| Balaenoptera
physalis |
Fin
whale |
B. p. physalus Northern fin whale
B.p. quoyi Southern fin whale
|
|
Balaenoptera musculus
|
Blue whale
|
B. m.
musculus Northern blue whale
B. m. indica Indian Ocean blue whale
B. m. brevicauda Pygmy blue whale
B. m. intermedia Southern blue whale |
Suborder ODONTOCETI. The Toothed
Whales (72 species)
This group contains:
the beaked whales
(Ziphiidae), the freshwater river
dolphins; beluga whales and narwhal (Monodontidae); dolphin species
(Delphinidae); the porpoises (Phocoenidae); and the sperm and pygmy
sperm whales (Physeteridae and Kogiidae). Of the beaked whales, only
the Northern bottlenose whale has been recorded in the Moray Firth.
Sperm whales sporadically occur in this area of the North Sea, but
the individuals entering the shallow Scottish firths usually become
stranded on the beaches.
 Family
Physeteridae. Sperm whale
Family Kogiidae. Pygmy sperm whales
| Kogia breviceps |
Pygmy sperm whale |
|
| Kogia simia |
Dwarf sperm whale |
|
Family Ziphiidae.
Beaked whales (21 species)
| Ziphius cavirostris |
Cuvier’s beaked whale |
|
| Berardius arnuxii |
Arnoux’s beaked whale |
|
| Berardius bairdii |
North Pacific bottlenose whale |
|
| Tasmacetus shepherdi |
Tasman beaked whale |
|
Subfamily Hyperoodontidae
| Indopacetus pacificus |
Indo-Pacific beaked
whale |
|
| Hyperoodon ampullatus |
Northern
bottlenose whale |
|
| Hyperoodon planifrons |
Southern bottlenose
whale |
|
|
Mesoplodon hectori
|
Hector’s
beaked whale |
|
|
Mesoplodon mirus
|
True’s beaked
whale |
|
|
Mesoplodon europaeus
|
Gervais’ beaked whale
|
|
|
Mesoplodon bidens
|
Sowerby’s
beaked whale |
|
|
Mesoplodon grayi
|
Gray’s beaked whale
|
|
|
Mesoplodon peruvianus
|
Pygmy beaked whale |
|
|
Mesoplodon bowdoini
|
Andrew’s
beaked whale |
|
|
Mesoplodon bahamondi
|
Bahamonde’s
beaked whale |
|
|
Mesoplodon carlhubbsi
|
Hubb’s beaked
whale |
|
|
Mesoplodon gingkgodens
|
Ginko-toothed beaked
whale |
|
|
Mesoplodon stejnegeri
|
Stejneger’s
beaked whale |
|
|
Mesoplodon layardii
|
Layard’s beaked whale |
|
| Mesoplodon densirostris
|
Blainville’s beaked
whale |
|
Family Platanistidae. Indian river-dolphin
| Platanista gangetica |
Indian river-dolphin |
P. g. minor Indus river-dolphin
P. g. gangetica Ganges river-dolphin
|
Family Iniidae. Amazon
river-dolphin
| Inia geoffrensis
|
Amazon river-dolphin
|
I. g. humboldtiana
Orinoco river-dolphin
I. g. geoffrensis Amazon river-dolphin
I. g. boliviensis Rio Madeira river-dolphin |
Family Lipotidae.
Chinese river-dolphin
| Lipotes vexillifer |
Yangtse river-dolphin
|
|
Family Pontoporiidae. La Plata dolphin
| Pontoporia blainvillei |
La Plata dolphin |
|
Family Monodontidae.
Beluga and narwhal
| Monodon monocerus |
Narwhal |
|
| Delphinapterus leucas |
Beluga |
|
 Family
Delphinidae. Dolphins (36 species)
|
Cephalorhynchus commersonii
|
Commerson’s dolphin |
|
|
Cephalorhynchus eutropia
|
Chilean
dolphin |
|
|
Cephalorhynchus heavisidii
|
Heaviside’s
dolphin |
|
|
Cephalorhynchus hectori
|
Hector’s
dolphin |
|
|
Stena bredanensis
|
Rough-toothed
dolphin |
|
|
Sousa teuszi Atlantic
|
Humpback
dolphin |
|
|
Sousa plumbea
|
Indian humpback
dolphin |
|
|
Sousa chinensis
|
Pacific
humpback dolphin |
|
|
Sotalia fluviatilis
|
Tucuxi |
S. f. guianensis
Atlantic coast tucuxi
S. f. fluviatilis Amazon river tucuxi |
|
Tursiops truncatus
|
Bottlenose
dolphin |
|
|
Tursiops aduncus
|
Indian Ocean
bottlenose dolphin |
|
|
Stenella attenuata
|
Pantropical
spotted dolphin |
S. a.
graffmani Eastern Pacific coastal spotted dolphin
S. a. subsp. Hawaiian spotted dolphin
S. a. subsp. Eastern Pacific offshore spotted dolphin |
|
Stenella frontalis
|
Atlantic
spotted dolphin |
|
|
Stenella longirostris
|
Spinner
dolphin |
S. l. longirostris Cosmopolitan spinner
dolphin
S. l. orientalis Tropical Pacific spinner dolphin
S. l. centroamericana Central American spinner dolphin
|
|
Stenella clymene
|
Clymene
dolphin |
|
|
Stenella coeruleoalba
|
Striped
dolphin |
|
|
Delphinus delphis
|
Short-beaked
common dolphin |
|
|
Delphinus capensis
|
Long-beaked common dolphin |
|
|
Delphinus tropicalis
|
Arabian
common dolphin |
|
|
Lagenodelphis hosei
|
Fraser’s
dolphin |
|
|
Lagenorhynchus albirostris
|
White-beaked
dolphin |
|
|
Lagenorhynchus acutus
|
Atlantic
whitesided dolphin |
|
|
Lagenorhynchus obliquidens
|
Pacific
whitesided dolphin |
|
|
Lagenorhynchus obscurus
|
Dusky dolphin |
L. o. fitzroyi South American dusky dolphin
L. o. obscurus South African dusky
dolphin
L. o. subsp. New Zealand dusky dolphin
|
|
Lagenorhynchus australis
|
Blackchinned
dolphin |
|
|
Lagenorhynchus cruciger
|
Hourglass
dolphin |
|
|
Lissodelphis borealis
|
Northern
right-whale dolphin |
|
|
Lissodelphis peronii
|
Southern
right-whale dolphin |
|
|
Grampus griseus
|
Risso’s
Dolphin |
|
|
Peponocephala electra
|
Melonheaded
whale |
|
|
Feresa attenuata
|
Pygmy killer
whale |
|
|
Pseudorca crassidens
|
False killer
whale |
|
|
Orcinus orca
|
Killer
whale |
|
|
Globicephala melas
|
Longfinned
pilot whale |
|
|
Globicephala macrorhyncus
|
Shortfinned pilot whale |
|
| Orcaella brevirostris
|
Irrawaddy dolphin |
|
| Orcaella heinsohni |
Australian snubfin dolphin |
|
Family Phocoenidae.
Porpoises (6 Species)
| Neophocaena phocaenoides |
Finless porpoise |
N. p. phocaenoides Indo-Pacific
finless porpoise
N. p. sunameri Chinese finless porpoise
N. p. asiaorientalis Yangtse finless porpoise |
| Phocoena phocoena |
Harbour porpoise
|
P. p. phocoena North Atlantic
harbour Porpoise
P. p. subsp. Western North Pacific harbour Porpoise
P. p. vomerina Eastern North Pacific harbour Porpoise |
| Phocoena sinus |
Golfa de California porpoise
or vaquita |
| Austrophocaena dioptrica
|
Spectacled porpoise |
|
| Phocoena spinipinnis
|
Black porpoise or Burmeister's
porpoise |
| Phocoenoides dalli |
Dall’s porpoise |
P. d. dalli North Pacific
Dall’s porpoise
P. d. truei West Pacific Dall’s porpoise |
* Rice, D.W. (1998). Marine Mammals of the World.
Systematics and Distribution. Special Publication No.4. The Society
for Marine Mammalogy.
International Whaling Commission (2001). Annex U.
Report of the Working Group on Nomenclature. Journal of Cetacean Research
and Management.3: 363 - 365.
Hoezel (Ed.) (2001). Marine Mammal Biology: An Evolutionary
Approach. Blackwell Science Ltd. Oxford.
| 