Whale species
Whales are divided into two main groups: baleen whales, scientifically called Mysticeti, and toothed whales, known scientifically as Odontoceti.
Baleen whales are called by this name because their mouths contain baleen sheets made from keratin that filter plankton from the water.
This type of whale is characterized by having two nozzles at the highest of its head. Toothed whales have teeth rather than plates, and that they kill fish and squid.
they're distinguished by their ability to spot their surroundings using bio-sonar (echolocation).
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| types of whales |
Baleen whales
Among the foremost important sorts of baleen whales are the following:
- The blue whale
It is scientifically referred to as Balaenoptera musculus, and it's the most important animal that lives on the earth Earth; it reaches 100 feet long and might weigh 100–190 tons.
It also makes the loudest sounds within the kingdom Animalia.
Because the whale's low-frequency sound can travel from the North Pole to the South Pole, the blue whale's body is grey or blue speckled with light-colored spots.
- Fin whale
It is scientifically referred to as common rorqual, and it's the second largest animal on the planet's surface.
It is characterized by speed and asymmetry of colours on either side of its head.
it's a white spot on the correct side of the submaxilla, although this spot isn't found on the left side.
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- Sai whale
Scientifically referred to as (Balaenoptera Borealis), it's a streamlined whale with a dark back, a white ventral area, and highly curved dorsal fins. it's one in every of the fastest whales.
- Bryde's Whale
It is scientifically called Balaenoptera edeni, and this whale is called after the name of Breedy, after Johann Pride, who built the primary whale stations in South Africa.
Bryde's whales are 40 to 55 feet long and weigh around 45 tons.
They look almost like whales, except that they need three bumps on their heads instead of one.
- Omura's Whale
Scientifically referred to as (Balaenoptera omurai), it lives within the Pacific and Indian Oceans, including southern Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, and therefore the Solomon Sea.
Scientists believed that this whale could be a small priding whale, but genetic studies have proven that it's a separate species, and Omura's whale is comparable in shape to the Sai whale, and it's one bump on its head, and it resembles a rorqual with asymmetrical colours on its head.
- Humpback Whale
Scientifically referred to as baleen whale, it ranges between 40 and 50 feet long, weighs, on average, 20-30 tons, and has wing-like pectoral fins up to fifteen feet long.
This whale is legendary for its long migrations between its feeding and breeding places, and it often fasts for a period of up to many months during the winter breeding season.
- Gray Whale
Scientifically referred to as devilfish, this whale is grey with light spots and dots, approximately 45 feet long, and might weigh between 30 and 40 tons.
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- The Common Minke Whale
Scientifically referred to as (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), the common rorqual is split into three subspecies: the Atlantic Ocean lesser rorqual, the Pacific Ocean razorback, and also the dwarf piked whale.
- The Antarctic Minke Whale
Scientifically referred to as (Balaenoptera bonaerensis), this whale differs from the common rorqual in this its pectoral fins are grey instead of grayish-white, and it had been recognised as a separate species from the common Balaenoptera acutorostrata within the 1990s.
- Bowhead Whale
This whale, scientifically called (Balaena mysticetus), lives within the polar regions, therefore the layer of fat that covers its body is thick to safeguard it from the cold. It can weigh up to 100 tons, and range in length from 45-60 feet..
- Right Whale of the North Atlantic
It is known scientifically as (Eubalaena glacialis), and is characterized by the presence of a texture of coarse skin on its head, and it weighs 80 tons, and reaches a length of 60 feet.
- The Southern Right Whale
It is known scientifically as (Eubalaena australis), a large whale that reaches 45–55 feet long and weighs up to 60 tons, and is known for swimming during strong winds by raising its tail above water level.
- Pygmy Right Whale
Scientifically referred to as (Caperea marginata), it lives within the temperate waters of the hemisphere, specifically between 30 and 55 degrees south latitude.
it's the tiniest and least known kind of whalebone whale. These whales are up to twenty feet long and weigh nearly 5 tons.
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| the whale |
Toothed whales
Among the kinds of toothed whales are the following:
- Sperm Whale
It is scientifically referred to as Physeter macrocephalus, and it's the biggest of the toothed whales. Its head is square in shape, and it's 20–26 conical teeth on either side of the lower jawbone.
- Pygmy Sperm Whale
Known scientifically as pygmy sperm whale, it's 10 feet long and weighs (900) pounds.
- Beluga Whales
Scientifically called (Delphinapterus leucas), it's called the ocean canary thanks to the distinctive sounds it makes.
Breeding whales
Whales have reproductive organs that are pulled inside their body while swimming. A female whale can mate with a large number of males in one season.
To reduce the chance of drowning, the fertilization is internal, the biological time is extended by up to two years, and then at least one calf comes out from the side of the tail first.
The length of the newborn whale ranges from one third to half the length of its mother.
The mother breastfeeds the calf from a pair of nipples that are located within the back of the abdomen near the opening of the genitals.
In most species of whale, the mother continues to breastfeed the calf for an entire year, and also the links between them are therefore very close.
The milk of female whales is thick and rich in fat, and therefore the whale reaches maturity when it's between seven and ten years old.
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The way whales communicate
Whales communicate with one another by releasing sounds that other whales can hear for long distances up to miles under water, and there are multiple patterns for those sounds made by whales, including what expresses moaning or crying, especially when exposed to a specific danger like the attack of other predators, or perhaps humans attack for hunting, and also the whale can make sounds for a call or distress.
These different sounds are emitted by whales by air rushing from the nozzle at the highest of the whale's head, so enlarged by fat that's massed within the jaw of the whale.