Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises
Order: Cetacea Family: Eschrichtiidae
One species of gray whale occurs in California's waters.
- Gray whale, Eschrichtius robustus (migrant)
Order: Cetacea Family: Balaenopteridae
6 species of rorquals occur in California's waters.
- Minke whale, Balaenoptera acutorostrata
- Bryde's whale Balaenoptera cf. brydei (vagrant)
- Sei whale, Balaenoptera borealis
- Blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus
- Fin whale, Balaenoptera physalus
- Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Order: Cetacea Family: Balaenidae
One species of right whale occurs in California's waters.
- North Pacific Right Whale - Eubalaena japonica (vagrant)
Order: Cetacea Family: Delphinidae
11 species of dolphins occur in California's waters.
- Short-beaked Common Dolphin, Delphinus delphis
- Long-beaked Common Dolphin, Delphinus capensis
- Short-finned Pilot Whale, Globicephala macrorhynchus
- Risso's Dolphin, Grampus griseus
- White-sided Dolphin, Lagenorhynchus obliquidens
- Northern Right Whale Dolphin, Lissodelphis borealis
- Killer Whale, Orcinus orca
- False Killer Whale, Pseudorca crassidens (vagrant)
- Pantropical Spotted Dolphin, Stenella attenuata (vagrant)
- Striped Dolphin, Stenella coeruleoalba
- Rough-toothed Dolphin, Steno bredanensis (vagrant)
- Bottlenose Dolphin, Tursiops truncatus
Order: Cetacea Family: Phocoenidae
2 species of porpoises occur in California's waters.
- Dall's Porpoise - Phocoenoides dalli
- Harbour Porpoise - Phocoena phocoena
Order: Cetacea Family: Physeteridae
3 species of sperm whales occur in California's waters.
- Pygmy Sperm Whale - Kogia breviceps
- Dwarf Sperm Whale - Kogia sima
- Sperm Whale - Physeter macrocephalus
Order: Cetacea Family: Ziphiidae
8 species of beaked whales occur in California's waters.
- Giant beaked whale, Berardius bairdii
- Hubbs' Beaked Whale, Mesoplodon carlhubbsi
- Blainville's Beaked Whale, Mesoplodon densirostris
- Ginkgo-toothed Beaked Whale, Mesoplodon ginkgodens
- Perrin's Beaked Whale, Mesoplodon perrini
- Pygmy beaked whale Mesoplodon peruvianus (one record)
- Stejneger's Beaked Whale, Mesoplodon stejnegeri
- Cuvier's Beaked Whale, Ziphius cavirostris
Read more about this topic: List Of Mammals Of California
Famous quotes containing the word dolphins:
“headland beyond stormy headland plunging like dolphins through the
gray sea-smoke
Into pale sea, look west at the hill of water: it is half the
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Eyeball of water,”
—Robinson Jeffers (1887–1962)