Finless porpoise (finless porpoise)

Japanese: スナメリ(砂滑) - スナメリ（英語表記）finless porpoise

A mammal of the family Porpoiseae (illustration) in the suborder Odontoceti. It has a round head and no dorsal fin, is a coastal or riverine dolphin measuring less than 1.9m in length. It inhabits waters shallower than 50m deep. It is also called the name, shark or serpent whale. Newborns are brown all over, but adults are pale gray. It lacks a dorsal fin, and has a protuberance about 1cm wide to severalcm high on the back from head to tail. The forehead bulges out roundly, and it has no beak. It has 15 to 20 teeth arranged in a row, above, below, and to the left and right. The tooth crowns are flat. It is found in the Persian Gulf, through the Indian Ocean, Singapore, Borneo, and China, and in Japan, with the northern limit being the Noto Peninsula and Sendai.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

ハクジラ亜目ネズミイルカ科の哺乳類（イラスト）。頭が丸く背びれがない，沿岸ないし河川性の全長1.9m以下のイルカ。水深50m以浅に生息する。ナメ，スザメ，ゼゴンドウなどとも呼ばれる。新生児は全身褐色であるが，成体では淡灰色となる。背びれを欠き，頭から尾部に至る背面に幅1～数cm，高さ1cm程度の隆起がある。前頭部は丸く膨らみ，くちばしはない。歯は上下左右に15～20本ある。歯冠は扁平。ペルシア湾からインド洋，シンガポール，ボルネオ，中国を経て日本まで分布し，北限は能登半島と仙台。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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