KEYWORDS: dolphin taxonomy whale taxonomy porpoise taxonomy dolphin species whale species porpoise species baleen whales toothed whales
The terms "whales", "dolphins", and "porpoises", are not scientific and have been used interchangeably throughout history. Usually the term "whale" is used to describe a large cetacean whereas smaller cetaceans are usually called dolphins or popoises. Porpoises however, should refer only to the six species belonging to the family Phocoenidae. To make matters worse, there is also a dolphin fish, better known as mahi-mahi or dorado.
Taxonomy is the science of classification - it is an organized method of dividing plants and animals into groups. It is one of the 'languages' of biology.
All known living organisms (animals and plants), are classified as species, genera, and higher categories. This form of "bookkeeping", known as taxonomy, was started by Swedish physician and naturalist, Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778), in his work Systema Naturae, in 1735. His "binomial" system gave all then known animal and plant species a two part scientific name; a capitalized generic name, and a trivial name, that isn't. Scientific names were usually, and still are today, given in latin or greek, as well as being italicized or underlined. 1758, the year that the tenth edition of Linnaeus' work was published, is regarded as the official starting point of our modern taxonomy. As new plants and animals have been discovered, Linnaeus' classification system has grown and evolved.
As common names vary by country and even region, having standard scientific names that are recognized all over the world, is very important. Otherwise how would people in different parts of the world talk about animals and be certain that they both know exactly which animal they are talking about? Taxonomy however, remains a continuously contested science as new
| THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF THE WAY THE BLUE WHALE FITS INTO THE CLASSIFICATION SCHEME: |
| kingdom | Animalia |
|
| phylum | Chordata |
vertebrates (amphibians, birds, fish, mammals, reptiles |
| class | Mammalia |
mammals |
| order | Cetacea |
marine mammals |
| family | Balaenopteridae |
rorquals |
| genus | Balaenoptera |
from the Latin balaena for "whale" and the Greek pteron for "wing" or "fin". * |
species
(common
name: | musculus
BLUE WHALE) |
from the Latin musculus, dimunutive of mus for mouse (perhaps meant as a joke, but sometimes also interpreted as muscular). * |
| * from Leatherwood, Stephen, and Randall R. Reeves. The Sierra Club Handbook of Whales and Dolphins. Paintings by Larry Foster. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1983. 47. |
species are still being discovered and recent developments in the field of DNA (deoxyribonicleic acid) are challenging the old classification, based largely on anatomical similarities and evolutionary descent.
Below, shows the most current classification of the order of Cetacea. From the latin word cetus, and Greek ketos, meaning large sea creature or monster, it includes all known living whales, dolphins, and porpoises. This list will undoubtedly change as researchers find out more and more about cetaceans
The terms "whales", "dolphins", and "porpoises", are not scientific and have been used interchangeably throughout history. Usually the term "whale" is used to describe a large cetacean whereas smaller cetaceans are usually called dolphins or popoises. Porpoises however, should refer only to the six species belonging to the family Phocoenidae. To make matters worse, there is also a dolphin fish, better known as mahi-mahi or dorado.
English common names used in the list are by no means standardized but follow mostly those used by the IWC (International Whaling Commission). Classification follows largely Dale W. Rice's, (1998) Marine Mammals of the World: Systematics and Distribution, special publication No. 4. by the Society of Marine Mammology
A guide to the pronunciation of biological Latin in English speech can be found at www.saltspring.com/capewest/pron.htm.
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