WhalesOrder Cetacea:

(from the Latin word cetus meaning sea monster)

Whales are Mammals

• Live birth• Warm-blooded• Breathe air• Have hair (very little, why?)

Two suborders of whales

• Toothed Whales (Odontoceti)

– Dolphins, porpoises, killer whales, pilot whales, sperm whales

• Baleen Whales (Mysticeti)

– Right, Blue, Gray, Fin, Humpback, and Minke Whales

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrmritter/2684355198/http://www.flickr.com/photos/twinsis/2500638119/

Baleen Whales Feed in Two Different Ways

• Humpback whales gulp and strain– Gray whales

excavate by gulping and straining sediment

• Right Whales skim, filter and lick

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9052612@N08/672510822/http://www.flickr.com/photos/masseea/4541027130/

Adaptations of Whales

• Streamlined bodies• Reduced hair• Tail adapted as fluke• Fused bones in the front “hands” make great

flippers for swimming• Layer of blubber for insulation and energy

reservoir

How are whales different from sharks?

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/92/229828080_166b9c3f50.jpghttp://www.flickr.com/photos/stjenna/2792732261/

Staying Warm

Copyright Leif Rasmuson BLUBBER

Beluga

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gandalf_grey/199275774/

Orca

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dgovoni/2079011332/

Blue Whale

http://www.flickr.com/photos/38504374@N02/3595598504/http://www.flickr.com/photos/38504374@N02/3594017307/in/photostream/

Humpback Whale

http://www.flickr.com/photos/38504374@N02/3591063943/

What do whales eat?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/76798465@N00/4170258894/http://www.flickr.com/photos/harrisonearl/4710812328/http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3325/3347049488_28d9c60c4bhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/stompy/11300916/

Skeleton

http://www.flickr.com/photos/museumwales/2764499783/

Whale Skull

http://www.flickr.com/photos/freedryk/86199297/