Harbour Porpoise in Denmark; photo credit Erik Christensen

The main difference between a dolphin and a porpoise is size; porpoises are generally smaller, reaching a length of up to 2.5 metres. The smallest dolphin, the Maui Dolphin, reaches just 1.2 metres. The largest member of the dolphin family is the Killer Whale or Orca, that can be up to 9.5 metres long. The Orca, although called a whale is actually a member of the order Cetacea, which includes dolphins and porpoises.

Porpoises have a triangular dorsal fin, whereas dolphins’ dorsal fins are more hooked shaped. Porpoises also have flattened, spade shaped teeth, whereas dolphins’ teeth are conical in shape. Porpoises’ heads are more blunt and less rounded than dolphins’ heads. Porpoises also have a stouter, more compact body shape.

Porpoises are less adaptable to captivity than their dolphin or orca cousin; so you won’t find many in public aquariums. There are however, more endangered or threatened species of dolphins than there are of porpoises. The Vaquita porpoise, native to the Northern California coast is endangered; with as few as 100 left in the world. Both the Ganges and the Yangtze River Dolphins are Critically Endangered or Functionally Extinct – no individual Yangtze River Dolphins have been documented. If an animal if Functionally Extinct, there are either: no individuals found, or the ones in existence are too advanced in age to be viable reproductive specimens.

Ganges River Dolphin Photo Courtesy of worldwildlife.org

The Ganges River Dolphin is actually one of two subspecies of the South Asian River Dolphin. The other is the Indus River Dolphin. These two dolphins have not interbred in many hundreds, and possibly thousands of years. The Indus River dolphin may have as few as 1000 individuals. The Ganges River Dolphin may have a couple thousand individuals; but there habitat is extremely threatened with dam building projects and pollution.

There are different types of Amino acids; but this article refers to the Amino acids needed for protein synthesis in the human body. Amino acids are the building blocks of polypeptide chains which are the building blocks of protein. The human body uses 20 different amino acids in our genetic code. In most cases, our bodies can manufacture 11 of the 20 amino acids used to build protein molecules, but we need to derive the other 9 amino acids from our diet. These 9 that cannot be synthesized without nutrients in our food are called Essential Amino acids. They include the following list with a selection of foods they can be found in. The list of foods is in no way to be considered comprehensive or exhaustive (as I am not a medical professional), but rather a sampling of the foods that these amino acids can be found in.

Isoleucine – found in eggs, soy protein, seaweed, turkey, chicken, lamb and cheese

Leucine – found in soy protein concentrate, peanuts, wheat germ, almonds, lentils, chick peas, corn and brown rice

Lysine – found in soy, red meat, lamb, poultry, cheese, certain fish and eggs

Methionone – sesame seeds, Brazil nuts, fish and cereal grains

Phenylalanine – dried egg white powder, dried whole egg powder, peanut flour, seeds, soy flour, soy meal, some fish, frozen tofu, and cheese. An important non-food source is Aspartame.

Threonine – cottage cheese, poultry, fish, meat and lentils

Tryptophan – chocolate, oats, dried dates, milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, red meat, eggs, fish, and poultry

Valine – cottage cheese, fish, poultry, peanuts, sesame seeds and lentils

Histidine – soy protein isolate,dried egg white, parmesean cheese, sesame flour, peanut flower, dried frozen tofu, defatted soy flour.

There are two provisionally needed amino acids that some people cannot manufacture without dietary sources. Tyrosine can be manufactured from Phenylalanine, but in individuals suffering from PKU – an inability to digest Phenylalanine, Tyrosine may be deficient. Secondly, Selenocysteine, is an unclassified Amino acid that may be deficient in some populations.