vaquita
/vəˈkiːtə
/noun
A small porpoise found in the Gulf of California and now endangered.
- Phocoena sinus, family Phocoenidae.
- The critically endangered vaquita - a tiny porpoise inhabiting Mexico's Gulf of California - is teetering on the brink of extinction.
- The Mexican government set up a reserve in 1993 to protect the vaquita porpoises, which become entangled in fishing nets and drown.
Origin
1950s: Spanish, diminutive of vaca 'cow', from Latin vacca.