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Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and porpoises. Dolphins and porpoises may be considered whales from a formal, cladistic perspective.
Balaenoptera sibbaldii Sars , 1875. The blue whale ( Balaenoptera musculus) is a marine mammal and a baleen whale. Reaching a maximum confirmed length of 29.9 meters (98 ft) and weighing up to 199 tonnes (196 long tons; 219 short tons), it is the largest animal known ever to have existed. [3] [a] The blue whale's long and slender body can be of ...
Cetacea. Cetacea ( / sɪˈteɪʃə /; from Latin cetus ' whale ', from Ancient Greek κῆτος ( kêtos) ' huge fish, sea monster ') [3] is an infraorder of aquatic mammals belonging to the order Artiodactyla that includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. Key characteristics are their fully aquatic lifestyle, streamlined body shape, often ...
Marine mammals are mammals that rely on marine (saltwater) ecosystems for their existence. They include animals such as cetaceans ( whales, dolphins and porpoises ), pinnipeds ( seals, sea lions and walruses ), sirenians ( manatees and dugongs ), sea otters and polar bears. They are an informal group, unified only by their reliance on marine ...
The humpback whale ( Megaptera novaeangliae) is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the only species in the genus Megaptera. Adults range in length from 14–17 m (46–56 ft) and weigh up to 40 metric tons (44 short tons). The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with long pectoral fins ...
Orca gladiator (Bonnaterre, 1789) The orca ( Orcinus orca ), or killer whale, is a toothed whale that is the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. It is the only extant species in the genus Orcinus. Orcas are recognizable by their black-and-white patterned body.
List of cetaceans. Cetacea is an infraorder that comprises the 94 species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises. It is divided into toothed whales (Odontoceti) and baleen whales (Mysticeti), which diverged from each other in the Eocene some 50 million years ago (mya). Cetaceans are descended from land-dwelling hoofed mammals, and the now extinct ...
The bowhead whale ( Balaena mysticetus) is a species of baleen whale belonging to the family Balaenidae and is the only living representative of the genus Balaena. It is the only baleen whale endemic to the Arctic and subarctic waters, and is named after its characteristic massive triangular skull, which it uses to break through Arctic ice.