#0014 · 🦊 mammals
Harbour Porpoise
🇳🇱 Bruinvis ·Phocoena phocoena
📍 Zandvoort, NL-NH, NL
📍 Rotterdam, NL-ZH, NL
📍 1795 LN De Cocksdorp, Netherlands
📍 Wassenaar, Nederland
10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences
- 1. © John D Reynolds · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 2. © Ecomare/Salko de Wolf Den Hoorn Texel · CC BY-SA 4.0
- 3. © Robert de Bruijn · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
- 4. © Tuugaalik · CC BY-SA 4.0
- 5. © Erik Christensen · CC BY-SA 4.0
- 6. © naturpel · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 7. Zandvoort, NL-NH, NL:© Sealcentre Pieterburen · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 8. Rotterdam, NL-ZH, NL:© Sealcentre Pieterburen · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 9. 1795 LN De Cocksdorp, Netherlands:© Max Willems · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 10. Wassenaar, Nederland:© Rob Olivier · CC BY-NC 4.0
what is it?
The harbour porpoise ( Phocoena phocoena ) is one of six species of porpoise. It is one of the smallest marine mammals. As its name implies, it stays close to coastal areas or river estuaries, and as such, is the most familiar porpoise to whale watchers. This porpoise often ventures up rivers, and has been seen hundreds of miles from the sea. The harbour porpoise may be polytypic, with geographically distinct populations representing distinct races: P. p. phocoena ...
base stats
Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).
fun facts
- Spotted 279 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: the #14 most seen of the mammals in NL.
- 10,797 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
- Can live up to 9 years.
- Scientifically named in 1758 (268 years ago).
fact sheet
- English
- Harbour Porpoise
- Nederlands
- Bruinvis
- scientific name
- Phocoena phocoena
- class
- Mammalia
- order
- Artiodactyla
- family
- Phocoenidae
- IUCN Red List
- LC · least concern
- in NL
- native
- sightings in NL
- 279
- sightings in Europe
- 2,173
- sightings worldwide
- 10,797
- GBIF records in NL
- 65,245
- weight
- —
- length
- —
- lifespan
- 9 years
- named
- 1758
IUCN in Dutch: niet bedreigd. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: iNaturalist taxon 41440, Wikidata Q27027, GBIF 2440669, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.