Whale definition, any of the larger marine mammals of the order Cetacea, especially as distinguished from the smaller dolphins and porpoises, having a fishlike body, forelimbs modified into flippers, and a head that is horizontally flattened.
Whales belong to the order Cetacea which has 79 species, including Dolphins, Porpoises and Killer Whales (orcas).
The name ‘Whale’ is quite a confusing term when classifying these large mammals. Some Whales that are called ‘Whales’ are not actually Whales. It can refer to all cetaceans, to just the larger ones, or only to members of particular families within the order Cetacea.
- Whale definition, any of the larger marine mammals of the order Cetacea, especially as distinguished from the smaller dolphins and porpoises, having a fishlike body, forelimbs modified into flippers, and a head that is horizontally flattened.
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Whales are those cetaceans which are neither Dolphins (i.e. members of the families Delphinidae or Platanistoidea) nor Porpoises. This can lead to some confusion because Orcas (‘Killer Whales’) and Pilot Whales have ‘whale’ in their name, however, they are Dolphins for the purpose of classification.
All Whales, just like Dolphins and Porpoises, are descendants of land-living mammals. It was about 50 million years ago that they first entered the waters on our planet. Whales probably descended from the order Artiodactyla which contains the even-toed ungulate mammals.
Whales are divided into two suborders:
Baleen Whales: These Whales have a sieve-like structure in the upper jaw made of keratin (the same substance rhino horns are made of) which they use to filter plankton from the water. Baleen Whales are the largest species of whale. For example: a Humpback Whale is a baleen Whale.
Toothed Whales: These Whales have teeth and are carnivores which means they feed upon meat such as fish and squid. An outstanding ability of this group is that they are able to sense their surrounding environment through echolocation (a biological sonar used by several mammals such as Bats, Dolphins and Whales). Killer Whales and Sperm Whales are Toothed Whales.
Whale Characteristics
Whales are mammals most fully adapted to aquatic life. Their body is a stream-lined shape which allows them to glide gracefully through the water. Their forelimbs are modified into flippers. Their tiny hind limbs are vestigial; they do not attach to the backbone and are hidden within the body. The tail has horizontal flukes. Whales are practically hairless and are insulated by a thick layer of blubber.
Like all mammals, whales breathe air into lungs, are warm-blooded and feed their young milk from mammary glands.
Different species of whale are different characteristically including appearance, size and shape. 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.
All whales breathe through ‘blow-holes’ which are located on the top of their heads. This allows them to submerge beneath the surface of the water for long periods of time. Baleen Whales have two blow-holes on the top of their heads whereas Toothed Whales only have one. Some whales, such as the Sperm Whale, can stay underwater for up to two hours holding a single breath.
Largest and Smallest Whales
The size of a whale differs among species. The Blue Whale is the largest known mammal that has ever lived and the largest living animal, measuring up to 30 metres (93 feet) in length and weighing 180 tons.
The smallest Cetacean is Hectors dolphin which is less than 5 feet long. Outside of the dolphin family, the smallest whale is the Dwarf Sperm Whale which measures 8.5 feet long (2.6 metres).
Loudest Whale
The loudest Whale is also the Blue Whale, their call can reach up to 188 decibels and can be heard over hundreds even thousands of miles away. The Blue Whale is louder than a jet plane which reaches 140 decibels. The loudest a human can shout is about 70 decibels. Sounds that reach 120 – 130 decibels are quite painful to human ears!
Fastest Whale
The fastest swimming whale is the Killer Whale or Orcas. These whales can reach speeds of 30 miles per hour although the Dall’s Porpoise and the Sei Whale may be even faster.
Killer Whales are also the deadliest Whales in the oceans. Everyday, an Orcas needs to eat hundreds of pound of fish, marine mammals (including other whales), squid, sea birds, etc. Killer Whales need to eat 3 – 4% of their body weight each day (baby whales (calves) eat about 10% of their body weight daily). Food is generally swallowed whole and not chewed at all. Killer Whales are skilled hunters, they either hunt alone or in Pods (schools of whales) which circle the prey and is a more efficient way of hunting.
Deepest Diving Whale
The deepest diver is the Sperm Whale who dive to 10,500 feet to prey on Giant Squids.
These deep dives last as long as 40 minutes each time, with occasional 10 minute breaks at the surface. The Sperm Whale also has the largest brain of all whales. Its brain weighs around 20 pounds (9 kilograms).
Most Musical Whale
The most musical whale is the Humpback Whale whose complex noises create beautiful tunes. These whales are also the noisiest Whales (not the loudest). Their squeaks and grunts are long, varied and haunting.
The most beautiful sounds are made when they are in warm waters, however, in colder waters, their sounds are a little rougher. The songs have the largest range of frequencies used by whales, ranging from 20 – 9,000 Hertz.
Whale with the longest tooth
The Narwhal has the longest tooth which measures up to 7 – 10 feet (2 – 3 metres) long.
Whale with the longest baleen
The Bowhead whales have the longest baleen. The Bowhead Whale has around 350 pairs of black baleen plates with silver-coloured bristles hanging from its jaws. The baleen is very fine and measure about 175.5 inches long and 14 inches wide.
The Most Stable Pod of Whales
Killer Whales and Pilot Whales live in extremely large pods that contain many generations of whales. They live comfortably together, congregating and helping each other with hunting, feeding, migrating and caring for the young.
More Fascinating Animals to Learn About
| Whales are large, intelligent, aquatic mammals. They breathe air through blowhole(s) into lungs (unlike fish who breathe using gills). Whales have sleek, streamlined bodies that move easily through the water. They are the only mammals, other than manatees (seacows), that live their entire lives in the water, and the only mammals that have adapted to life in the open oceans. | Whales breathe air. They are NOT fish. They are mammals that spend their entire lives in the water. |
Cetaceans are the group of mammals that includes the whales, dolphins, and porpoises. | Like all mammals:
|
| The biggest whale is the blue whale, which grows to be about 94 feet (29 m) long - the height of a 9-story building. These enormous animals eat about 4 tons of tiny krill each day, obtained by filter feeding through baleen. Adult blue whales have no predators except man. The smallest whale is the dwarf sperm whale which as an adult is only 8.5 feet (2.6 m) long. | The blue whale is the largest animal that has ever existed on Earth. It is larger than any of the dinosaurs were. They are also the loudest animal on Earth. |
TWO TYPES OF CETACEANS
Whalewisdom
Cetaceans include the whales, dolphins and porpoises. There are over 75 species of Cetaceans. Whales belong to the order Cetacea (from the Greek word 'ketos' which means whale), which is divided into the following groups:
Toothed whales (Odontoceti) - predators that use their peg-like teeth to catch fish, squid, and marine mammals, swallowing them whole. They have one blowhole (nostril) and use echolocation to hunt. There are about 66 species of toothed whales. | Baleen whales (Mysticeti) - predators that sieve tiny crustaceans, small fish, and other tiny organisms from the water with baleen. Baleen is a comb-like structure that filters the baleen whales' food from the water. Baleen whales are larger than the toothed whales and have 2 blowholes (nostrils). There are 10 species of baleen whales. |
SWIMMING AND OTHER WATER ACTIVITIES
| Whales have a streamlined shape and almost no hair as adults (it would cause drag while swimming). Killer whales and Shortfin Pilot whales are the fastest, swimming up to 30 miles per hour (48 kph). | Whales swim by moving their muscular tail (flukes) up and down. Fish swim by moving their tails left and right. |
Breaching: Many whales are very acrobatic, even breaching (jumping) high out of the water and then slapping the water as they come back down. Sometimes they twirl around while breaching. Breaching may be purely for play or may be used to loosen skin parasites or have some social meaning.
Spyhopping: This is another cetacean activity in which the whale pokes its head out of the water and turns around, perhaps to take a look around.
Lobtailing: Some whales stick their tail out of the water into the air, swing it around, and then slap it on the water's surface; this is called lobtailing. It makes a very loud sound. The meaning or purpose of lobtailing is unknown, but may be done as a warning to the rest of the pod of danger.
Logging: Logging is when a whale lies still at the surface of the water, resting, with its tail hanging down. While floating motionless, part of the head, the dorsal fin or parts of the back are exposed at the surface.
MIGRATION
| Many ceteaceans, especially baleen whales, migrate over very long distances each year. They travel, sometimes in groups (pods), from cold-water feeding grounds to warm-water breeding grounds. | Gray whales make the longest seasonal migration of any of the whales. They travel about 12,500 miles each year. |
SOCIAL BEHAVIOR
Cetaceans have very strong social ties. The strongest social ties are between mother and calf. A social group of whales is called a pod. Baleen whales travel alone or in small pods. The toothed whales travel in large, sometimes stable pods. The toothed whales frequently hunt their prey in groups, migrate together, and share care of their young.
REPRODUCTION
Young cetaceans are frequently mottled in color, camouflaging them from predators. Newborns have a sparse covering of hair which they lose as adults. |
WHALE SONGS
Complex whales songs can be heard for miles under the water. The humpback's song can last for 30 minutes. Baleen whales sing low-frequency songs; toothed whales emit whistles and clicks that they use for echolocation The songs are thought to be used in attracting mates, to keep track of offspring, and for the toothed whales, to locate prey.
CLASSIFICATION OF CETACEANS
Cetaceans are divided into the following suborders:
- Odontoceti (toothed whales) - killer whales or orcas , beluga whales , narwhals , sperm whales , the beaked whales, dolphins , and porpoises.
- Mysticeti (mustached whales) or baleen whales - blue whales , humpback whales , gray whales , bowhead whales , minke whales, and right whales. These large whales are filter feeders and are among the largest animals on earth. They have baleen plates instead of teeth, which are used to filter tiny organisms, like krill and small fish from the water. They use their tongue to dislodge the food from the baleen and swallow it. Baleen is made of keratin, the same protein that our hair and nails are made of.
- Archaeoceti - the extinct whales, which includes Basilosaurus, the earliest-known primitive Eocene whale.
PRIMITIVE WHALES AND EVOLUTION
Primitive whales evolved during the mid-Eocene period, about 50 million years ago. Fossil remains indicate that whales evolved from hoofed land mammals - perhaps the shore-dwelling, hyena-like Mesonychid that returned, bit by bit, to the sea roughly 50 million years ago.
Another possible step in whale ancestry is the otter-like Ambulocetus, an extinct mammal the size of a sea lion, 10 feet (3 m) long and about 650 pounds. Its limbs allowed it to swim and could also support it on land. It had long, powerful jaws with shark-like teeth, a small brains, and a pelvis fused to its backbone (like land-dwelling mammals but unlike whales).
Basilosaurus, a very primitive, extinct whale, had a tiny head and pointed snout with teeth, unlike modern-day whales which have large heads and a blunter snout. It was about 82 feet (25 m) long.
ENDANGERED WHALES
There are many species of whales that are in danger of going extinct. Most baleen whales (the huge whales targeted by commercial whalers) are listed as endangered or protected species. Most other whale species are doing well and are not endangered.
Grade 3 - 5 Quizzes to Print
- General whale questions.
- More general whale questions.
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