baleen whales
Krill-straining ocean giants
Baleen whales are the larger of the two main whale groups, distinguished by plates of keratin (baleen) that hang from their upper jaws instead of teeth.
They filter enormous quantities of small fish and krill by taking in water and straining it through these plates.
Baleen whales include the largest animals ever to exist: blue whales, humpbacks, and right whales.
Extracting nutrients from water
Structural hair protein
- blowholeWhale's breathing aperture
- flukesParasitic flatworms or lucky accidents
- bristlesCoarse animal hairs
- flippersFoot-worn swim aids
rostrum · blowholes · dorsal fin · blubber · pectoral fins · jaw · skull · vertebrae
At risk of extinction
- threatenedExpressed intent to harm
- extinctionComplete vanishing of a species
- whalingHunting large sea mammals
- bycatchNon-target species caught accidentally
marine pollution · noise pollution · habitat loss · climate change · protected species · sanctuary · moratorium · stranding
Breaking through something
- flukingSucceeding by accident
- spoutingEmitting in streams
- divingEntering water deliberately
- surfacingComing to the surface
logging · spy-hop · rolling · lunging · resting · nursing · social grouping
Sounds produced by voice
- callsContacts by telephone
- singingVocal music-making
- frequenciesOccurrence rates or wavelengths
- communicationExchanging ideas or information
mating calls · hydrophones · sound production · low-frequency · moans · groans · pulses
Sites where species reproduce
- long-distance travelMovement across great spans
- Antarctic watersSeas near the South Pole
- coastal routesRoads following the shoreline
- ocean currentsLarge-scale seawater movement
fat reserves · navigation · birthing · annual cycle · overwintering
filter feeding
Extracting nutrients from water
- krillSmall marine crustaceans
- planktonDrifting marine microlife
- engulfingSurrounding and consuming completely
straining · zooplankton · copepods · foraging
keratin
Structural hair protein
- blowholeWhale's breathing aperture
- flukesParasitic flatworms or lucky accidents
- bristlesCoarse animal hairs
flippers · rostrum · blowholes · dorsal fin · blubber · pectoral fins · jaw · skull · vertebrae · rib cage
endangered
At risk of extinction
- threatenedExpressed intent to harm
- extinctionComplete vanishing of a species
- whalingHunting large sea mammals
bycatch · marine pollution · noise pollution · habitat loss · climate change · protected species · sanctuary · moratorium · stranding
breaching
Breaking through something
surfacing · logging · spy-hop · rolling · lunging · resting · nursing · social grouping
vocalizations
Sounds produced by voice
- callsContacts by telephone
- singingVocal music-making
- frequenciesOccurrence rates or wavelengths
communication · mating calls · hydrophones · sound production · low-frequency · moans · groans · pulses
breeding grounds
Sites where species reproduce
- long-distance travelMovement across great spans
- Antarctic watersSeas near the South Pole
- coastal routesRoads following the shoreline
ocean currents · fat reserves · navigation · birthing · annual cycle · overwintering
- Cetaceansdolphin, dolphins, porpoise, orca, beluga
- large herbivoreselephants, African elephants, Asian elephants, rhinos, black rhinos
- marine mammalsdolphin, dolphins, porpoise, seals, seal
- Fossil Cetaceans
- marine ecosystemsphytoplankton, oceans, zooplankton, marine life, krill
- CenozoicPaleocene, Miocene, Pliocene, Pleistocene, Holocene
baleen whalesdolphins
Smart aquatic mammals
porpoises · sperm whales · orcas · killer whales · narwhals