Whales
Order Cetacea:
(from the Latin word cetus meaning sea monster)
Whales are Mammals
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Live birth
Warm-blooded
Breathe air
Have hair (very little, why?)
Two suborders of whales
• Toothed Whales (Odontoceti)
– Dolphins, porpoises, killer
whales, pilot whales, sperm
whales
• Baleen Whales (Mysticeti)
– Right, Blue, Gray, Fin,
Humpback, and Minke
Whales
http://www.flickr.com/photos/twinsis/2500638119/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrmritter/2684355198/
Baleen Whales Feed in Two Different Ways
• Humpback whales
gulp and strain
– Gray whales
excavate by
gulping and
straining sediment
• Right Whales skim,
filter and lick
http://www.flickr.com/photos/masseea/4541027130/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9052612@N08/672510822/
Adaptations of Whales
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Streamlined bodies
Reduced hair
Tail adapted as fluke
Fused bones in the front “hands” make great
flippers for swimming
• Layer of blubber for insulation and energy
reservoir
How are whales different from sharks?
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/92/229828080_166b9c3f50.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stjenna/2792732261/
Staying Warm
Copyright Leif Rasmuson
BLUBBER
Beluga
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gandalf_grey/199275774/
Orca
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dgovoni/2079011332/
Blue Whale
http://www.flickr.com/photos/38504374@N02/3594017307/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/38504374@N02/3595598504/
Humpback Whale
http://www.flickr.com/photos/38504374@N02/3591063943/
What do whales eat?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/76798465@N00/4170258894/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/harrisonearl/4710812328/
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3325/3347049488_28d9c60c4b
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stompy/11300916/
Skeleton
http://www.flickr.com/photos/museumwales/2764499783/
Whale Skull
http://www.flickr.com/photos/freedryk/86199297/