Spectacled Porpoise - Taxonomy

Taxonomy

The spectacled porpoise was first described by Lahille in 1912 from a specimen found on a beach near Buenos Aires. A skull later found in Tierra del Fuego was initially thought to be another species, provisionally named Phocoena dioptrica but the individual was later shown to be a spectacled porpoise and this name remains a synonym. The Latin word dioptrica refers to the double eye rings characterizing the creature.