Sci Fi Story

Dolphin
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Cetace
Suborder: Odontoceti
Family: Delphinidae and Platanistoidea

Porpoise
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Cetacea
Family: Phocoenidae


Ok, here's the dilema...I'm standing at the rail of the drilling rig, looking down on the resupply vessel. Vertigo ensues as the Work Boat bounces on the evening seas. I'm just sort of day dreaming as the sun sets on the horizon. My only guilty pleasure of the day "aside from sneaking baked goods".

Anyways, a large mammalian animal breaks the surface and I think to myself, "OK, is that a dolphin or a porpoise? I eventually tire of watching the creature swim around and play near the rig, and decide to look up dolphin and porpoise on wikipedia...

"Porpoises are related to whales and dolphins. They are distinct from dolphins, although the word "porpoise" has been used to refer to any small dolphin, especially by sailors and fishermen. The most obvious visible difference between the two groups is that porpoises have flattened, spade-shaped teeth distinct from the conical teeth of dolphins."

Source: Wikipedia.

I guess I'll never know, but its irritating, and my mind keeps wrapping around the fact that the way you tell these two distinct Families of creatures apart is by their teeth.

Oh well, back to the grind.