Pania the New Zealand Mermaid with Hector's Dolphin or Pania of the Reef coloring page

 This is my free coloring pages blog.

I have drawn over 3000 pictures for you to print and color for free. 

People have permission to print and color these pictures for kids or adults to color.

Today I have drawn and now post a picture from a New Zealand Maori legend.

It is of Pania of the Reef, a New Zealand Mermaid.

She is seen with a dolphin that is only found in New Zealand...

Hector's Dolphin.

Post publication note:  I noticed some problems so I changed several parts of the drawing, including the face, body shape, plus I added a sea turtle.  So, I posted that drawing after the first one.

Pania the New Zealand Mermaid with Hector's Dolphin

(Also known as Pania of the Reef)

Pania the New Zealand Mermaid with Hector's Dolphin - modified

(Also known as Pania of the Reef)   

This is the modified version.  You can decide which do you like most.

The Maori culture tells of mischievous and kind merpeople.    It also tells of some that are sirens that lead sailors to their doom.  I like the idea of benevolent merpeople.  In fact, I like to think that the times merpeople lure a sailor to their doom is because the sailor is an evil person, like a bloodthirsty pirate. 

One legend tells of Pania, who was a mermaid who spent her days out on the reef, in the ocean, and her nights were spent with her husband and family on land. Her husband was the son of a Maori chief.  I like this legend because I like to think that merpeople COULD be able to transform themselves into mortal human form.  I also like to think that they could intermarry with humans if both parties wished to marry.

Hector's Dolphin is the world's smallest dolphin. It is only 3 feet 11 inches to 5 feet 3 inches long.  That is 1.2 to 1.6 meters in length.  They weigh between 88 and 132 lbs.  That is 40 to 60 kg.  They can live for up to 22 years or more.  They become sexually mature, so they can reproduce around 6-9 years old.  Males are sexually mature about a year before females are. Females give live birth and nurse their calf for about a year.  Females continue to reproduce about every 2-3 years up to the end of their lives. There is a Maui subspecies that sometimes interbreeds in border waters where territory overlaps. 

 You must be able to identify the sea turtle. Considering its size and location near New Zealand, it must be an Olive Ridley Sea Turtle.  They are only about two feet or around 0.6 meters long. They are a very critically endangered species. 

NOTE:  This drawing is found in printable form by clicking on either the "Fantasy" button or the "Animals" button.  Then scroll down to this title.  It should be at or near the bottom of the list of drawing titles IF you are accessing this page in May of 2025.  I hope you enjoy coloring this mermaid and the other marine life that is seen with her.  Do you see the clownfish?  Do you see the jellyfish?  Do you see the tiny shark?  Do you see the other reef fish?  Do you see the small, young tuna?

For fun you might want to try to locate all the differences in the two drawings.   Below is a list but probably not a comprehensive list:  

sea turtle    wider body     face shape     hair is curly in one drawing and straight in the other

more bubbles    one more layer of sediment in the continental shelf      more and wider hair

more and longer tentacles on Portuguese Man O War      shadow on throat     eye shape

eyebrows        nose shape      nose has shadown       dolphin makings or shading