WHALES

Whales are members of the Cetacea order of marine mammals. Whales are cetaceans which are neither dolphins (i.e. members of the families Delphinidae or Platanistoidae) nor porpoises. Orcas (Killer Whales) and Pilot whales have "whale" in their name, but they are dolphins for the purpose of classification. The term whale is also sometimes used to refer to all cetaceans or just larger cetaceans.

Anatomy:
Like all mammals, whales breathe air into lungs, are warm-blooded, feed their young milk from mammary glands, and have some (although very little) hair. The body is fusiform, resembling the streamlined form of a fish. The forelimbs, also called flippers, are paddle-shaped. The end of the tail holds the fluke, or tail fins, which provide propulsion by vertical movement. Although whales generally do not possess hind limbs, some whales (such as sperm whales and baleen whales) sometimes have rudimentary hind limbs; some even with feet and digits. Most species of whale bear a fin on their backs known as a dorsal fin. Beneath the skin lies a layer of fat, the blubber. It serves as an energy reservoir and also as insulation. Whales have a four-chambered heart. The neck vertebrae are fused in most whales, which provides stability during swimming at the expense of flexibility. They have a pelvis bone, which is a vestigial structure. Whales breathe through their blowholes, located on the top of the head so the animal can remain submerged. Baleen whales have two; toothed whales have one. The shapes of whales' spouts when exhaling after a dive, when seen from the right angle, differ between species. Whales have a unique respiratory system that lets them stay underwater for long periods of time without taking in oxygen. Some whales, such as the Sperm Whale, can stay underwater for up to two hours holding a single breath. The Blue Whale is the largest known mammal that has ever lived, and the largest living animal, at up to 35 m (105ft) long and 150 tons. Whales generally live for 30-90 years, depending on their species, and on rare occasions can be found to live over a century. Recently a fragment of a lance used by commercial whalers in the 19th century has been found in a bowhead whale caught off Alaska, which showed the whale to be between 115 and 130 years old. Furthermore, a technique for dating age from aspartic acid racemization in the whale eye, combined with a harpoon fragment, indicates an age of 211 years for one male, making bowhead whales the longest lived extant mammal species. This is the method by which the publicized errant Humphrey the whale was identified in three separate sightings.



Behavior:
A Humpback Whale breaching.Whales are widely classed as predators, but their food ranges from microscopic plankton to very large fish. Males are called bulls; females, cows. The young are called calves. As mammals, whales breathe air and must surface to get oxygen. This is done through a blowhole. Many whales also exhibit other surfacing behaviours such as breaching and tail slapping. Because of their environment (and unlike many animals), whales are conscious breathers: they decide when to breathe. All mammals sleep, including whales, but they cannot afford to fall into an unconscious state for too long, since they need to be conscious in order to breathe. It is thought that only one hemisphere of their brains sleeps at a time, so that whales are never completely asleep, but still get the rest they need. This is thought because whales often sleep with with only one eye open. Whales also communicate with each other using lyrical sounds, called whale song. Being so large and powerful, these sounds are also extremely loud (depending on the species); sperm whales have only been heard making clicks, as all toothed whales (Odontoceti) use echolocation and can be heard for many miles. They have been known to generate about 20,000 acoustic watts of sound at 163 decibels. Females give birth to a single calf. Nursing time is long (more than one year in many species), which is associated with a strong bond between mother and young. In most whales reproductive maturity occurs late, typically at seven to ten years. This mode of reproduction spawns few offspring, but provides each with a high probability of survival in the wild. The male genitals are retracted into cavities of the body during swimming, so as to be streamlined and reduce drag. Most whales do not maintain fixed partnerships during mating; in many species the females have several mates each season. At birth newborn are delivered tail-first, minimising the risk of drowning. Whale cows nurse by actively squirting milk the consistency of toothpaste into the mouths of their young preventing loss to the surrounding aquatic environment

The baleen whales form the Mysticeti, one of two suborders of the Cetacea (whales, dolphins and porpoises). Baleen whales are characterized by having baleen plates for filtering food from water, rather than having teeth. Living Mysticeti species have teeth only during the embryonal phase. Fossil Mysticeti had teeth before baleen evolved. In baleen whales, unlike with most other marine mammals, the female is larger than the male, and the largest animal ever to have lived is found in this group. The suborder contains four families and fourteen fully known species. Balaenoptera omurai is a recent discovery and little is known of it, no common name has been assigned to it yet. The scientific name derives from the Greek word mystax, which means "moustache".
Bowhead Whale, Balaena mysticetus
The Bowhead Whale (Balaena mysticetus), also known as Greenland Right Whale or Arctic Whale, is a baleen whale of the right whale family Balaenidae. A stocky dark-coloured whale without a dorsal fin, it can grow to 20 metres (66 ft) in length. Estimated maximum weight of this thick-bodied species is 136 tonnes (152 tons), second only to the Blue Whale, although the Bowhead lags behind several other whales in maximum length. The Bowhead spends all of its life in fertile Arctic waters, unlike other whales that migrate for feeding or reproduction.

Atlantic Northern Right Whale, Eubalaena glacialis
The North Atlantic Right Whale (Eubalaena glacialis) is a baleen whale, one of three species formerly called classified as the Right Whale belonging to the genus Eubalaena. About 300 North Atlantic Right Whales live in the North Atlantic Ocean. Like other right whales, North Atlantic Right Whales are readily distinguished from other whales by the callosities on their heads, a broad back without a dorsal fin, and a long arching mouth that begins above the eye. The body of the whale is very dark grey or black, occasionally with some white patches on the belly. The right whale's callosities appear white, not due to skin pigmentation, but to large colonies of cyamids or whale lice. Adult right whales average 35-55 feet (10.7-16.8 meters) in length and weigh up to 70 tons (63,500 kilograms); the largest measured have been 60 feet long and 117 tons (106,500 kilograms). Females are larger than males and first give birth at age nine or 10 after a yearlong gestation; the interval between births seems to have increased in recent years and now averages three to six years. Calves are 13-15 feet long at birth. There is little data on their life span, but it's believed to be at least 50 years, and closely related species may live more than a century.



Pacific Northern Right Whale, Eubalaena japonica
The North Pacific Right Whale is a whale species belonging to the Eubalaena genus. Its scientific name is Eubalaena japonica. Estimates of its population range from 100 to 300 individuals.

Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis
The Southern Right Whale (Eubalaena australis) is a baleen whale, one of three species classified as the Right Whale belonging to the genus Eubalaena. Around 7,500 Southern Right Whales are spread throughout the southern part of the Southern Hemisphere.

Fin Whale, Balaenoptera physalus
The Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus), also called the Finback Whale or Razorback or Common Rorqual, is a marine mammal belonging to the suborder of baleen whales. It is the second largest whale and the second largest living animal after the Blue Whale, growing to nearly 27 meters (88 ft) long. Long and slender, the Fin Whale's body is brownish-grey with a paler underside. There are at least two distinct subspecies: the Northern Fin Whale of the North Atlantic, and the larger Antarctic Fin Whale of the Southern Ocean. It is found in all the world's major oceans, from polar to tropical waters. It is absent only from waters close to the ice pack at both the north and south poles and relatively small areas of water away from the open ocean. The highest population density occurs in temperate and cool waters. Its food consists of small schooling fish, squid and crustaceans including mysids and krill.

Sei Whale, Balaenoptera borealis
The Sei Whale, Balaenoptera borealis, is a baleen whale, the third largest rorqual after the Blue Whale and the Fin Whale. It can be found worldwide in all oceans and adjoining seas, and prefers deep off-shore waters. It tends to avoid polar and tropical waters and semi-enclosed bodies of water. The Sei Whale migrates annually from cool and subpolar waters in summer to temperate and subtropical waters for winter, although in most areas the exact migration routes are not well known. The whales reach lengths of up to 20 metres (66 ft) long and weigh up to 45 tonnes (50 tons). It consumes an average of 900 kilograms (2,000 lb) of food each day, primarily copepods and krill, and other zooplankton. It is among the fastest of all cetaceans, and can reach speeds of up to 50 kilometres per hour (31 mi/hr, 27 knots) over short distances.

Bryde's Whale, Balaenoptera brydei
Bryde’s Whales are the least-known and in many ways the most unusual of the rorquals. They are small by rorqual standards no more than about 25 tonnes prefer tropical and temperate waters to the polar seas that other whales in their family frequent; are largely coastal rather than pelagic, and although they retain the characteristic plates of whalebone that the baleen whales use to sieve small creatures from the waters with, their diet is composed almost entirely of fish.

Blue Whale, Balaenoptera musculus
The Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is a marine mammal belonging to the suborder of baleen whales (called Mysticeti). At up to 33 metres (110 ft) in length and 181 metric tonnes (200 short tons) or more in weight, it is believed to be the largest animal ever to have existed.

Northern Minke Whale, Balaenoptera acutorostrata
Southern Minke Whale, (Antarctic Minke Whale) Balaenoptera bonaerensis
The Minke Whale or Lesser Rorqual is a marine mammal belonging to the suborder of baleen whales. The Minke Whale was first identified by Lacepede in 1804.

Humpback Whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
The humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is a baleen whale. One of the larger rorqual species, adults range in length from 12-16 metres (40-50 ft) and weigh approximately 36,000 kilograms (79,000 lb). The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. It is an acrobatic animal, often breaching and slapping the water. Males produce a complex whale song, which lasts for 10 to 20 minutes and is repeated for hours at a time. The purpose of the song is not yet clear, although it appears to have a role in mating. Found in oceans and seas around the world, humpback whales typically migrate up to 25,000 kilometres each year. Humpbacks feed only in summer, in polar waters, and migrate to tropical or sub-tropical waters to breed and give birth in the winter. During the winter, humpbacks fast and live off their fat reserves. The species' diet consists mostly of krill and small fish. Humpbacks have a diverse repertoire of feeding methods, including the spectacular bubble net feeding technique.

Gray Whale, Eschrichtius robustus
The Gray Whale or Grey Whale (Eschrichtius robustus) is a whale that travels between feeding and breeding grounds yearly. It reaches a length of about 16 meters (52 ft), a weight of 36 tons and an age of 50-60 years. Gray Whales were once called Devil Fish because of their fighting behavior when hunted. The Gray Whale is the sole species in the genus Eschrichtius, which in turn is the sole genus in the family Eschrichtiidae. This animal is one of the oldest species of mammals, having been on Earth for about 30 million years. Gray Whales are distributed in a North-eastern Pacific (American) population and critically endangered North-western Pacific (Asian) population. A third population in the North Atlantic became extinct in the 17th century.

Pygmy Right Whale, Caperea marginata
The Pygmy Right Whale (Caperea marginata) is a baleen whale, the sole member of the family Neobalaenidae. First described by Gray in 1846, it is the smallest of the baleen whales, ranging between 4 and 6.5 m in length and 3,000 and 3,500 kg in mass. Despite its name, the Pygmy Right Whale has more in common with the Gray Whale and rorquals than the Bowhead and Right Whales. The Pygmy Right Whale is found in the Southern Ocean in the lower reaches of the Southern Hemisphere, and feeds on copepods and euphausiids. Little is known about its population or social habits.

Toothed whales:
The toothed whales form the Odontoceti, the second suborder of the cetaceans. As the name suggests, the suborder is characterized by having teeth, rather than baleen. Toothed whales are active hunters, feeding on fish, squid, and in some cases marine mammals. As well as the following whales, the sub-order also contains the porpoises and dolphins. Toothed whales have a single blowhole on the top of the head, which was formed from one of the nostrils becoming dominant over the other, rather than from them both fusing together.
Sperm Whale, Physeter macrocephalus
The sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) is the largest of all toothed whales, making them the Earth's largest living carnivore and largest living toothed animal. The whale was named after the milky-white waxy substance, spermaceti, found in its head and originally mistaken for sperm. It has a cosmopolitan distribution across the worlds oceans. The species feeds on squid and fish, diving as deep as 2,200 metres (7,200 ft) in order to obtain its prey, making it the deepest diving mammal in the world. Pods of females and young live separately from older males.

Dwarf Sperm Whale, Kogia sima
The dwarf sperm whale (Kogia sima) is one of three species of whale in the sperm whale family. They are not often sighted at sea and most of our understanding of the creatures comes from the study of washed-up specimens.

Pygmy Sperm Whale, Kogia breviceps
The pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps) is one of three species of toothed whale in the sperm whale family. They are not often sighted at sea, and most of our understanding of the creatures comes from the study of washed-up specimens.

Cuvier's Beaked Whale, Ziphius cavirostris
Cuvier's Beaked Whale, Ziphius cavirostris is the most widely distributed of all the beaked whales. It is the only member of the genus Ziphius. Another common name for the species is Goose-beaked Whale on account of the fact that its head is said to be shaped like the beak of a goose. In fact, sightings of this creature were interpreted, during the Middle Ages, as a monster with a fish's body and an owl's head. This marine mammal was first described by Georges Cuvier in 1823 from part of a skull found in France in 1804.

Arnoux's Beaked Whale, Berardius arnuxii
Arnoux's Beaked Whale was described in 1851 by Duvernoy from a skull found in New Zealand. Berard was the captain of the ship that carried the skull from New Zealand to France where Duvernoy analysed it. Arnoux was the doctor on board the ship.

Baird's Beaked Whale (North Pacific Bottlenose Whale), Berardius bairdii
Baird's Beaked Whale was first described by Leonhard Hess Stejneger in 1883 from a specimen found in the Bering Sea. It's named for Spencer Fullerton Baird, a past Secretary of the Smithsonian Institute.

Shepherd's Beaked Whale (Tasman Beaked Whale), Tasmacetus shepherdi
Shepherd's Beaked Whale (Tasmacetus shepherdi) also commonly called the Tasman Beaked Whale or simply the Tasman Whale is a cetacean of the family Ziphidae. The whale has hardly been studied at all. No certain identification has been made at sea and only 28 specimens have been recorded stranded.

Northern Bottlenose Whale, Hyperoodon ampullatus
The Northern Bottlenose Whale is endemic to the North Atlantic Ocean and occurs in cool and subarctic waters. It is found in the Davis Strait, the Labrador Sea, the Greenland Sea and the Barents Sea. They prefer deep water. Total population is unknown but likely to be of the order of 10,000.

Southern Bottlenose Whale, Hyperoodon planifrons
The Southern Bottlenose Whale has a circumpolar distribution in the Southern Ocean. It is found as far south as the Antarctic coast and as north as the tip of South Africa, New Zealand's North Island and the southern parts of Brazil. There is thought to be a global population in excess of 500,000.

Hector's Beaked Whale, Mesoplodon hectori
Hector's Beaked Whale, Mesoplodon hectori, is a small Mesoplodont living in the Southern Hemisphere. This whale is named after Sir James Hector, a founder of the colonial museum in Wellington, New Zealand. Some specimens that have washed up and been sighted in California that were once thought to belong to this species have subsequently been shown through analysis of mtDNA and detailed morhological examination to be a new species,Perrin's Beaked Whale (Dalebout et al. 2002). As of 2007, they have yet to be seen alive in the wild.

True's Beaked Whale, Mesoplodon mirus
The True's Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon mirus) is a relatively conventional species of Mesoplodont. The common name is in reference to Frederick W. True, a curator at the United States National Museum (now the Smithsonian). There are two distinct populations in the Atlantic and Indian ocean (this species is absent in the tropics) and subspecies may need to be established.

Gervais' Beaked Whale, Mesoplodon europaeus
Gervais' Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon europaeus), sometimes known as the Antillian Beaked Whale, Gulf Steam Beaked Whale, or European Beaked Whale (from which its scientific name is derived) is the most frequently stranding type of Mesoplodont whale off the coast of North America. It has also stranded off South America and Africa.

Sowerby's Beaked Whale, Mesoplodon bidens
Sowerby's Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon bidens), also known as the North Atlantic/North Sea Beaked Whale, was the first beaked whale to be described. Its name, bidens, derives from the two teeth present in the jaw, now known to be a very common feature among the genus.

Gray's Beaked Whale, Mesoplodon grayi
Gray's Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon grayi), sometimes known as Haast's Beaked Whale, the Scamperdown Whale, or the Southern beaked whale is one better known members of the genus Mesoplodon. The scientific name is in reference to John Edward Gray, a zoologist at the British Museum. This species is fairly gregarious and strands relatively frequently for a beaked whale. It is notable for being the only beaked whale, other than Shepherd's Beaked Whale (not a Mesoplodon), that has numerous teeth.

Andrews' Beaked Whale, Mesoplodon bowdoini
Andrews' Beak Whale (Mesoplodon bowdoini), sometimes known as the Deep-crest Beaked Whale or Splay Toothed Whale, is one of the most poorly known members of a poorly known genus. The specific name bowdoini is in reference to George S. Bowdoin, a donor to the American Museum of Natural History. This species is noteworthy for not having yet been observed in the wild as of 2002.

Bahamonde's Beaked Whale, Mesoplodon bahamondi
The Spade-toothed Whale (Mesoplodon traversii) was a name given to a partial beaked whale jaw found on Pitt Island (New Zealand) in 1872 figured in 1873 by Hector and described the next year by John Edward Gray who named it honor of Henry Hammersley Travers, the collector. This was eventually lumped with Layard's Beaked Whales, starting as early as 1878 (Hector 1878, who in fact never considered the specimen to be specifically distinct). A calvaria found in the 1950s at White Island (also New Zealand) initially remained undescribed but later was believed to be from a Ginkgo-toothed Beaked Whale (Baker & van Helden 1999). In 1986, a damaged calvaria was found washed up on Robinson Crusoe Island (Chile), and was described as a new species, Mesoplodon bahamondi or Bahamonde's Beaked Whale.

Hubbs' Beaked Whale, Mesoplodon carlhubbsi
Hubbs' Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon carlshubbi) was initially thought to be an Andrews' Beaked Whale when discovered by ichthyologist Carl Hubbs, however it was named in his honor when it was discovered to be a new species. This species has the typically bizarre dentition found in the genus, but its main outstanding features are a white "cap" on the head and very extensive scarring. The species is known from 31 strandings and one possible sighting.

Ginkgo-toothed Beaked Whale, Mesoplodon ginkgodens
The Ginkgo-toothed Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon ginkgodens) is a poorly known species of whale even for a beaked whale, and was named for the unusual shape of its dual teeth. It is a fairly typical looking species, but is notable for the males not having any scarring.

Stejneger's Beaked Whale, Mesoplodon stejnegeri
Stejneger's Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon stejnegeri), sometimes known as the Bering Sea Beaked Whale or the Saber-toothed Whale is a poorly known member of the genus Mesoplodon. Leonhard Hess Stejneger initially described the species in 1885 from a skull, and nothing more of the species was known for nearly a century. The late 1970s saw several strandings, but it was not until 1994 that the external appearance was described from fresh specimens. The most noteworthy characteristic of the males is the very large, saber-like teeth, hence the name.

Layard's Beaked Whale, Mesoplodon layardii
Layard's Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon layardii), also known as the Strap-toothed Whale or the Long-toothed whale is a large Mesoplodont with some of the most bizarre teeth of any mammal. The common and scientific name was given in honor of Edgar Leopold Layard, the curator of the South African Museum who wrote an initial description of a skull.

Blainville's Beaked Whale, Mesoplodon densirostris
Blainville's Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon densirostris), or the Dense-beaked Whale, is the widest ranging mesoplodont whale and perhaps the most documented. The name "densirostris" is a latinized form of "dense beak". Off the northeastern Bahamas, the animals are particularly well documented, and a photo identification project started sometime after 2002.

Perrin's Beaked Whale, Mesoplodon perrini
Perrin's Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon perrini) is the newest species of Beaked Whale to be described. It was first found in May 1975 off the coast of California, with four more specimens showing up until September 1997. They were initially identified as Hector's Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon hectori), except for the most recent one which was assumed to be a neonate Cuvier's Beaked Whale. Following inclusion of one of these specimens in a mtDNA sequence database of beaked whales, it turned out that they seemed well distinct from M. hectori (Dalebout et al. 1998). It was subsequently confirmed that the other "Hector's" specimens from California belonged to the same undescribed taxon (Dalebout 2002). The new species was formally described in 2002 by Dalebout et al.; its common and specific names are a tribute to cetologist William F. Perrin.

Narwhal, Monodon monoceros
The Narwhal (Monodon monoceros) is an Arctic species of cetacean. It is a creature rarely found south of latitude 70°N. It is one of two species of white whale in the Monodontidae family (the other is the Beluga whale). It is possibly also related to the Irrawaddy dolphin.

Beluga, Delphinapterus leucas
The Beluga Whale or White Whale (Delphinapterus leucas) is an Arctic and sub-Arctic species of cetacean. It is one of two members of the family Monodontidae, along with the Narwhal. This marine mammal is commonly referred to simply as the Beluga or Sea Canary due to its high pitched squeaks. It is up to 5 metres in length and an unmistakable all white in color with a distinctive melon-shaped head.

Extinct whales
Another group of whales was the Archaeoceti, which is now extinct, these were believed to be some of the earliest whales which gave rise to modern whales. Mainly only genera are known and no specific species. Not all extinct whales are from the Archaeoceti group. Pakicetus
Pakicetus is a genus of extinct cetaceans found in the early Eocene (55.8 ± 0.2 - 33.9 ± 0.1 Ma) of Pakistan, hence their name. The strata where the fossils were found was then part of the coast of the Tethys Sea.

Ambulocetus
Ambulocetus ("walking whale") was an early cetacean that could walk as well as swim. It lived during early Eocene some 50-49 milion years ago. It is a transitional fossil that shows how whales evolved from land-living mammals. Having the appearance of a 3 metre long mammalian crocodile, it was clearly amphibious, as its back legs are better adapted for swimming than for walking on land, and it probably swam by undulating its back vertically, as otters and whales do. It has been speculated that Ambulocetids hunted like crocodiles, lurking in the shallows to snatch unsuspecting prey.

Basilosaurus
Basilosaurus ("King Lizard") was a genus of cetacean that lived from 40 to 34 million years ago in the Eocene. Its fossilized remains were first discovered in the southern United States (Louisiana), and were initially believed to be some sort of reptilian sea monster, hence the suffix -"saurus". Fossils from at least two other species of this taxon have been found in Egypt and Pakistan. Basilosaurus averaged about 18 meters (60 feet) in length, and displayed an unparalleled degree of elongation compared with modern whales. Their very small vestigial hind limbs have also been a matter of interest for paleontologists. The species is the state fossil of Mississippi and Alabama.

Squalodon
Squalodon is an extinct genus of whales, belonging to the superfamily Squalodontoidea and family Squalodontidae. Named by Grateloup in 1840, it was originally believed to be an iguanodontid dinosaur but has since been reclassified. The name Squalodon comes from Squallus, a genus of shark.

Mammalodon colliveri
Mammalodon colliveri is an extinct species of whale fossil which was first discovered in 1932. It is an early baleen whale which still had teeth as opposed to baleen plates.

Janjucetus hunderi - thought to have been an early baleen whale, with remnants of teeth
Janjucetus was a genus of fossil whale that represents a basal form of the Mysticeti, a group which includes the extant baleen whales. The only known species, Janjucetus hunderi, lived during the Late Oligocene, about 25 million years ago in coastal seas off southeast Australia. Unlike modern mysticetes, it was equipped with large teeth for gripping and shredding prey and probably lacked baleen. Janjucetus was likely to have been a raptorial predator that captured large single prey animals rather than bulk-feeding on.

Harrison's Whale, Eobalaenoptera harrisoni - fossil species first discovered June 2004. Eobalaenoptera harrisoni is an extinct species of baleen whale. The species was first described in June 2004 by researchers at the Virginia Museum of Natural His.

BLUE WHALE: (Balaenoptera musculus).
The blue whale is the largest animal to inhabit the Earth. The blue whale lifespan is estimated to be 80 years. They measure 70 to 80 feet in length. Weigh around 90 to 150 tons.



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