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Glite Dictionary
vaquita

vaquita

1 9.9
A small animal like a dolphin that lives only in the Gulf of California and is dying out
  • noun
  • /vəˈkiːtə/
  • US
translation icon : vaquita
  • Due to illegal fishing practices, the population of the vaquita has dramatically declined in recent years.
  • vaquita porpoise
  • vaquita population
  • vaquita vulnerable to extinction

Examples

  • Researchers are working hard to protect the vaquita, which is the smallest porpoise species on the planet.

  • For example, the critically endangered vaquita, or Gulf porpoise, lives only in the upper northern Gulf of California, and only a few hundred individuals remain, the researchers noted.

    Blog text (13)

  • The vaquita, a small porpoise, is critically endangered and can only be found in the Gulf of California.

Synonyms

Phocoena sinus
vsvaquita
  • Specialized
9.9

A small sea mammal like a dolphin that lives only in the Gulf of California and is almost extinct

is the common everyday name used outside specialist scientific contexts

Surface Forms

vaquita singular
vaquitas plural

Etymology

Vaquita comes from the Spanish word vaca 'cow' plus the small-ending -ita 'little', so it literally means 'little cow'. People called this tiny porpoise the 'little cow of the sea', which is why vaquita now names the small, endangered marine mammal found in the Gulf of California.