Whales

Whale is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacca. The term sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes dolphins and porpoises, which belong to the suborder Odontoceti (toothed whales). This suborder includes the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale, and beluga whale. The other cetacean suborder, Mysticeti (baleen whales), comprises filter feeders who eat organisms caught by straining seawater through a comblink structure found in the mouth called baleen. This suborder includes the blue whale, the humpback whale, the bowhead whale and the minke whale. All cetacceans have forelimbs modified as fits, a tail with horizontal flukes, and nasal openings (blowholes) on top of the head.

• Huge!
• Friendly
• Can hold their breath for a long time

Whale Anatomy

1. Blowhole: Whales breathe via blowholes; baleen whales have two and toothed whales have one. These are located on the top of the head, allowing the animal to remain almost completely submerged while breathing. Breathing involves expelling stale air (which is warm and moist), as well as some mucus and excess water form the blowhole, forming an upward, steamy spout, followed by inhaling fresh aiir into the lungs. Spout shapes differ among speies, which facilitates identification.
2. Ears:The whale ear has specific adaptations to the marine environment. In humans, the middle ear works as an impedance equalizer between the outside air's low impedance and the cochlear's fluid high impedance. In aquatic mammals, such as whales, however, there is no great difference between the outer and inner environments. Instead of sound passing throught he outer ear to the middle ear, whales receive sound through the throat, from which it passes through a low-impedance fat-filled cavity to the inner ear. The whale ear is acoustically isolated from the skull by air-filled sinus pockets, which allow for greater directional hearing underwater.

Pictures!

Whale jumping out of water

Killer whale jumping out of water