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The food of the Common porpoise ( Phocaena phocaena )
Author(s) -
Rae Bennet B.
Publication year - 1965
Publication title -
proceedings of the zoological society of london
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.915
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1469-7998
pISSN - 0370-2774
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-7998.1965.tb05204.x
Subject(s) - whiting , porpoise , herring , pelagic zone , fishery , biology , predation , fish <actinopterygii> , habit , zoology , ecology , psychology , harbour , computer science , psychotherapist , programming language
The stomach contents of porpoises from Scottish waters were examined primarily to ascertain if these animals prey on salmon. The dominant fish in the food were clupeoids and gadoids with herring and whiting the commonest individual species. The food types were predominantly pelagic in habit and most of the fish eaten appeared to be less than 25 cm in length. No evidence of salmon was found in the stomachs and from a study of the jaws and dentition of the common porpoise it seems unlikely that the animal is able to eat any fish as large as a salmon.