12. Cetaceans (Whales)

Baleen

Horny plates suspended from either side of the roof of a baleen whales mouth. The frayed inner edges of the baleen plates filter plankton and small fish from the water for food. Also called whalebone.

Blow

The explosive burst of air exhaled by a whale on surfacing. This exhaled breath is often visible as a spout which is probably caused in part by the change in pressure as the air is forced from the blowhole. The warm moist breath which condenses as it encounters the cold sea air may also account for the visible spout. Small amounts of water covering the whale's blowhole as it surfaces may also help to give the blow its mist appearance.

Blowhole

A whale's nostril, located at the top of the animal's head. Toothed whales have one blowhole opening; baleen whales have a double blowhole

Blubber

Blanket of fat and fibrous tissue under the skin of whales which provides warmth and energy storage.

Calf

The young of a whale, dolphin or porpoise

Cetacean

A member of the order Cetacea, including whales, dolphins and porpoises

Dolphin

A small toothed whale. The names dolphin and porpoise are commonly used interchangeably, although dolphins have pointed, cone-shaped teeth in contrast to the spade- shaped teeth of a porpoise

Dorsal Fin

Back Fin. This acts as a stabilizing fin which may help to prevent whales from rolling from side to side.

Fluke

The horizontal tail fin of a cetacean

Krill

A shrimp-like crustacean which is consumed in large numbers by some baleen whales.

Mysticetes

Sub-order of cetaceans referred to to as a baleen whales.

Odontocetes

Sub-order of cetaceans referred to as a toothed whale. From the Greek "odontos", meaning teeth and "Kelos", meaning whale.

Pectoral Fin

Side fin or flipper. On cetaceans these fins act as stabilizers or are used for steering

Plankton

Free-floating or drifting aquatic plants or animals which provide the base of the ocean food chain.

Pod

A social unit or "school" or whales, also called a herd

Porpoise

A small toothed whale with spade-shaped teeth. See dolphin.

Rorquals

Name given to some baleen whales by Norwegian whalers. The name comes from the Norwegian words "ror", meaning tube, and "hval", meaning whale, and refers to the ventral grooves on the animal's throat and chest.

Ventral Grooves

Folds on the throat and chest of some baleen whales. These grooves distend to allow the whale's throat to expand during feeding.

orca

The apex predator fo the ocean. ONE species made up of 10 ecotypes

southern residents

The most studied orca ecotype, these guys live in Washington state and feed on salmon.

northern atlantic orca

This ecotype of orca live in the northern arctic and hunt by forming a round "carousel" and stunning fish out of the school by smacking them with their tail.

type a

southern hemisphere orca who live in the ice free areas and feed on minke whales

type b

southern hemisphere orca who live in the pack ice and feed on seals.

type c

southern hemisphere orca who feed in the denser ice and eat toothfish.

type D

orca who live around New Zealand and hunt the stingrays.

orca vs. great white

boring movie where the orca rams the shark in the gills, flips it over and waits for it suffocate. lunchtime is in about 15 minutes. yikes.

Shamu

the name Seaworld used to call EVERY orca in its shows.

Marine Mammal Protection Act

A 1972 U.S. act to protect declining populations of marine mammals

grey whale

Eschrichtius robustus, these baleen whales are a dark color, migrate and have been known to stir up the mud on the bottom of the ocean to snack on crabs and clams.

sperm whale

Physeter macrocephalus, These giants have 200 teeth and a big square noggin....and would really like to be renamed.

humpback whale

Megaptera novaeangliae, These friendly whales sing to each other as they migrate and have been known to put on shows for whale watchers.

pilot whale

Globicephala macrorhynchus, one of the smallest of the "whales" this crew is the most often mass stranded of the bunch.

beluga whale

Delphinapterus leucas, beautiful white whales who live in the arctic.

blue whale

Balaenoptera musculus, The largest creature EVER.

Vaquita

Phocoena sinus. The tiniest of the cetaceans, these guys are critically endangered (less than 30 of them left) because they get caught in fishing nets and tourists do silly things like pick them up out of the water and take selfies. UGH.

Japan, Norway, Iceland

these countries still hunt for whales on an industrial scale

Threats to Whales

noise pollution, chemical pollution, climate change, boat strikes, harmful algal blooms, overexploitation of prey

IWC

International Whaling Commission (group of nations who set policy on whaling)

The IWC moratorium on hunting whales was first passed in 1986 and provides that

whaling can be continued for scientific purposes (Iceland and Japan still do this) and since 1996, the moratorium has been renewed from year to year.

Bryde's Whale

Balaenoptera brydei, one of the most numerous of the whale species. Often commercially hunted.