<P> Porpoises are a group of fully aquatic marine mammals that are sometimes referred to as mereswine , all of which are classified under the family Phocoenidae , parvorder Odontoceti ( toothed whales ) . There are six extant species of porpoise . They are small toothed whales that are very closely related to oceanic dolphins . The most obvious visible difference between the two groups is that porpoises have shorter beaks and flattened , spade - shaped teeth distinct from the conical teeth of dolphins . Porpoises , and other cetaceans , belong to the clade Cetartiodactyla with even - toed ungulates , and their closest living relatives are the hippopotamuses , having diverged from them about 40 million years ago . </P>
<P> Porpoises are a group of fully aquatic marine mammals that are sometimes referred to as mereswine , all of which are classified under the family Phocoenidae , parvorder Odontoceti ( toothed whales ) . There are six extant species of porpoise . They are small toothed whales that are very closely related to oceanic dolphins . The most obvious visible difference between the two groups is that porpoises have shorter beaks and flattened , spade - shaped teeth distinct from the conical teeth of dolphins . Porpoises , and other cetaceans , belong to the clade Cetartiodactyla with even - toed ungulates , and their closest living relatives are the hippopotamuses , having diverged from them about 40 million years ago . </P>
what is the difference between a dolphin and a porpus
what is the difference between a dolphin and a porpus
porpoises have shorter beaks and flattened , spade - shaped teeth distinct from the conical teeth of dolphins
porpoises have shorter beaks and flattened , spade - shaped teeth distinct from the conical teeth of dolphins