Vaquita utilize sound to locate food on the bottom of the Gulf of California. The sound adaption is known as echolocation. The Vaquita sends out sound beams from the phonic lips with the melon acting as an acoustic lens which bounces back (echoes) to lower jaw and the brain interprets the echo to determine size, distance, and speed of objects or organisms. The Vaquita's acoustic signals are similar to other Phocoenidae but their click structure has a greater maximum frequency and a slightly less bandwidth.

Like all mammals, vaquita need oxygen to live which is acquired from air. Vaquita along with all marine mammals have adaptions to their respiratory systems which allow them to dive. They breath through a blowhole located on top of their head which facilitates taking breaths without having to break surface with whole body and special muscles which create a nasal plug to prevent water from entering their airway when underwater. Their lungs have more alveoli and two capillary sets to facilitate gas exchange. During a dive the air is present in rigid spaces of the lungs and alveoli collapse. They store oxygen in their lungs, blood, and 48 muscles. (Graic, 2021). Also, their trachea is not attached to esophagus like other mammals, is highly rigid, lacks muscles, and is less collapsible compared to other mammals.

The muscular system consists of muscles, bones, ligaments, and tendons which are very similar again to humans. Marine mammals, however, have high concentrations of myoglobin - a protein that carries and stores oxygen. The epaxial muscle controls the fluke (tail) in an upward motion and the hypaxial muscle controls the fluke in a downward motion. A special feature in the thoracic cage of marine mammals is a joint in most of the ribs which allows the cage to collapse when the animal dives and is exposed to high pressure.