Finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides )
Family Phocoenidae
Description: As its common name implies, the most obvious distinguishing feature of the finless porpoise is the lack of a dorsal fin. Otherwise, it is similar in shape to the other five species of porpoise found elsewhere in the world, with a blunt head, small flippers and notched tail flukes. Finless porpoises are small, measuring well under 2m at adulthood. They are a uniform grey colour, with a ridge along the back and many tiny bumps on the back and on the back of the head. They surface in an irregular pattern, appearing slow on the surface, but underwater they move at some speed.
Habitat: Hunts in the shallow water channels that weave their way between the sandbanks and mangrove-lined islands so typical of the western UAE waters of Arabian Gulf. This region provides cover for the secretive habits of the finless porpoise, whose habitat in the rest of the Arabian Gulf and elsewhere in the world has been drastically reduced.
Range: Extremely limited. A single record of a dead animal found on the island of Murawah in western UAE waters is all that is known of the species in this country.
Comments: The tiny bumps, called ‘tubercles’, that line a ridge along the adult’s back are thought to provide grip for calves, which are reputedly carried by their parents. This behaviour is unknown in any other cetacean. Local fishermen call this species ‘Fa’ima’ and claim that it enters water less than a metre deep to give birth, usually at night.