whale guide

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BELUGA WHALE

Delphinapterus leucas

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The beluga whale is a small, toothed whale that is white as an adult. The beluga's body is stout and has a small, blunt head with a small beak, tiny eyes, thick layers of blubber, and a rounded melon. They have one blowhole. Beluga means "white one" in Russian. Its genus, Delphinapterus, means "whale without fins", and the species, leucas, means white. The beluga is also called the white whale, the white porpoise, the sea canary (because of its songs), and the squid hound (due to its diet). Unlike most other cetaceans, the beluga's seven neck vertebrae are not fused, giving it a flexible, well-defined neck.

ORCA

Orcinus orca

The "Killer Whale"

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The orca or killer whale is a toothed whale that is an efficient predator, even attacking huge young blue whales. Their only enemy is human beings. Orcas live in small, close-knit, life-long pods and have 1 blowhole. The killer whale belongs to the family of dolphins and is the biggest dolphin. It is sometimes called the "wolf of the sea" because its behavior is similar to that of wolves.

BLUE WHALE

Balaenoptera musculus

Blue whales are rorqual whales, whales that have pleated throat grooves that allow their throat to expand during the huge intake of water during filter feeding. Blue whales have 50-70 throat grooves that run from the throat to mid-body.

SPERM WHALE

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The sperm whale is a toothed whale that lives in pods. It has a huge brain that weighs about 20 pounds (9 kg); it is the largest brain of any animal. The sperm whale has a single blowhole that is s-shaped and about 20 inches long. The blowhole is located on the left side of the front if its huge head. The sperm whale has a 4-12 inch thick layer of blubber.

Sperm whales produce ambergris, a dark, waxy substance (related to cholesterol) that is produced in the lower intestines, and is sometimes found containing squid beaks. Ambergris may help protect the sperm whale from the stings on the giant squid, its major food. Large lumps of ambergris may be vomited up by the sperm whale.

The fictional Moby d*** was a sperm whale.

HUMPBACK WHALE

Megaptera novaeangliae

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The humpback whale is a baleen whale and a rorqual whale that sings amazing songs. It performs complex and cooperative feeding techniques. The humpback has a bulky head with bumpy protuberances (tubercles), each with a bristle. Humpbacks are acrobats of the ocean, breaching and slapping the water. They live in pods and have 2 blowholes. The name humpback describes the motion it makes as it arches its back out of the water in preparation for a dive.

The Narwhal (meaning "corpse whale" in Old Norse) is a rarely seen Arctic whale. This social whale is known for the VERY long tooth that males have. Very little is known about this whale.

NARWHAL

THE TOOTH

All narwhals have two teeth in their upper jaw. After the first year of a male narwhal's life, its left tooth grows outward, spirally. This long, single tooth projects from its upper jaw and can grow to be 7-10 feet (2-3 m) long. Tusks are usually twisted in a counterclockwise direction and have a hollow interior. The tusk's function is uncertain, perhaps used as a formidable jousting weapon in courtship and dominance rivalry, in obtaining food, and/or for channeling and amplifying sonar pulses (which they emit). The tusk is not used in hunting. Long ago, narwhal sightings reinforced (or started) the unicorn legends.

BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN

Tursiops truncatus

The Atlantic bottlenose dolphins are small cetaceans that have a long, beaklike snout, a falcate (sickle-shaped) dorsal fin, and sharp teeth. They are Odontoceti (toothed whales) and have one blowhole. These dolphins live in small groups called pods.

i didn't write this down it's from a web called zoom whales :)

 
wut does this have to do with wuts on ya mind and tamagotchis any way......WOW?

 
I love whales too, but what was the actual point of this post? To inform us what different kinds of whales look like and do? I'm not trying to sound rude, I'm just curious. :pochitchi:

 
Interesting.. I love Whales too. They are so majestic and unique there is so much we don't know about them but they are fascinating. I hate hearing about it when one washes up on shore & dies though. It is really sad! :*(

 
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