Different baleen whales use a variety of sounds including singing, moans and short pulses. Baleen whale group sizes are generally small; they often appear to be alone but are found to be in acoustic contact with others.
Large groups of baleen whales are generally uncommon. Baleen whales are grouped into four families: rorqual; right; gray; and pygmy right whale. However, the exact number of species currently 15 and their relationships to one another are still matters of hot debate as scientists are finding what they believe to be new species within species.
This is thought to refer to the long folds of skin in the lower jaw. The right whale and bowhead whale family is made up of three right whale species and the bowhead whale. They are enormous, rotund, stocky whales who can grow up to 20m and weigh 90 tonnes 90,kg. They have huge heads measuring up to a third of the total length and their backs are smooth with no dorsal fin or ridge. Right whales and bowhead whales are slow swimmers; they skim feed or graze using their impressively long baleen plates to filter food from seawater.
These whales were intensively hunted during the commercial whaling years and are struggling to recover; in fact both the North Atlantic right whale and the North Pacific right whale are endangered and continue to decline in numbers.
Subsistence whaling of bowhead whales is still practised by Alaskan and Greenlandic aboriginal subsistence whalers. The gray whale family only has one member — the gray whale. Gray whales are the most coastal of all baleen whales as they live in shallow water where they feed on the seafloor. They swim on their sides, close to the seabed and suck muddy sediments into their mouth and sieve out their prey using short, course baleen plates in their mouths. Gray whales grow up to Their skin is very mottled and this is caused by patches of whale lice and parasitic barnacles living on them.
They have a bumpy dorsal ridge and no dorsal fin. Gray whales undertake the longest migrations by a mammal species. The pygmy right whale family like the gray whale, has a single member! As the name suggests, this is a relatively small whale by baleen whale standards up to 6. There is very little known about the pygmy right whale as they are rarely seen at sea.
Pygmy right whales are found only in the southern hemisphere and their exact range is unknown. Scientific Name : Megaptera novaeangliae Length: meters Weight: tonnes. The humpback whales are easily identified by their long pectoral fin and bulky body. As the only member of the genus Megaptera, humpback whales have other bodily attributes distinctive to them. Humpbacks are very popular among whale watchers and enthusiasts due to their frisky surfacing behavior spy-hopping, tail-slapping, etc.
Audio of a singing humpback whale. It is a cosmopolitan species inhabits every ocean and major seas , and its estimated worldwide populations are close to 80, A gray whale showing its baleen. Scientific Name : Eschrichtius robustus Length: meters Weight: tonnes. The grey or grey back whale is the only extant species of genus Eschrichtius. As the name suggests, grey whales are dark grey in color and have numerous white spots all over their body.
The grey whales feature a slightly lifted midline known as the dorsal ridge instead of the dorsal fin. Their population is located in two pockets of the world; eastern North Pacific and western North Pacific. In , a grey whale traveled across the Pacific ocean, covering a record-setting distance of more than 22, km. Scientific Name : Cephalorhynchus hectori Length: 1. Not only are they the smallest, but also one of the rarest dolphins on Earth.
They are overall pale grey in appearance. As the name suggests, pygmy killer whales are a much smaller version of the killer whales, also known as Orcas. They are known to feed on small fish and even common dolphins. Apart from physical characteristics and a few behavioral traits, not much is known about this species.
Their range extends from about 35 degrees north to 35 degrees south. A large population of Pygmy killer whales inhabits in the Pacific between the coast of Japan and Hawaii.
Scientific Name : Globicephala macrorhynchus Length: 5. The short-finned pilot whale is one of the two whale species of the genus Globicephala the other being the long-finned pilot whale Globicephala melas. As the name suggests, both species are distinguished by the length of their flippers. Short-finned pilot whales also have relatively smaller jaws and feature numerous white spots or scars all over the body. Scientific Name : Orcinus orca Length: meters Weight: 6 tonnes. Killer whales, also known as orcas, are at the very top of the marine food chain.
They are known to hunt other predatory species such as tiger sharks, great white sharks, and feisty leopard seals.
They also prey on larger whales, including the sperm whale and grey whale. The killer whale is a highly social marine animal bound by complex social structures. Individuals live in a matriline society in which they spend their entire life with their mothers. A false killer whale pod Image Courtesy: Juan Ortega. Scientific Name : Pseudorca crassidens Length: 6 meters Weight: 2, kg. The false killer whale got its name because of its skull, which is identical to that of killer whales.
They are well known for their erratic behavior. There are reported instances of false killer whales approaching and offering fish to human divers. But on the other hand, they are also known to take fish off the nets and hooks forcefully. Load More. Please help us save whales and dolphins. Adopt Adopt a dolphin and help us protect these amazing creatures. Adopt a Dolphin. Donate Your gifts help us take action for whales and dolphins.
Support our work. A toothed whale , it finds its prey using echolocation. The population of beluga whales in Cook Inlet, Alaska, is listed as endangered, but other populations aren't listed. Bottlenose dolphins are one of the most well-known and well-studied marine mammals. Their gray coloration and "smiling" appearance make them easily recognizable.
Bottlenose dolphins are toothed whales that live in pods of up to several hundred animals. They can be found close to shore, especially in the southeastern U. Risso's dolphins are medium-sized toothed whales that grow to about 13 feet long. Adults have stout gray bodies that may have a heavily scarred appearance. The pygmy sperm whale is an odontocete, or toothed whale, with teeth only on its lower jaw, like the much larger sperm whale.
It's a fairly small whale with a squarish head and stocky appearance. The pygmy sperm whale reaches average lengths of 10 feet and weighs about pounds. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads.
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