Fin Whales
It’s the second largest species of whale, commonly also known as the, ‘greyhound of the sea’, because of its speed. They are found world over, migrating in the summer to breed. They travel in small pods, even solitary at times. They are known to dive, as deep as 800 feet, when hunting for squids or fishes. They grow to be nearly 90 feet long and can weigh up to 70 tons. Unlike other whales, they may not need any feed whole of winter, as they rely on their accumulated blubber for energy.
Posts Tagged ‘types of whales’
Whales | Fin Whales
20
Apr
Whales | Beluga Whales
20
Apr
Beluga Whales
They are also called as white whales; though they are born gray or brown, they turn white upon reaching sexual maturity. Their color makes them easily distinguishable among other whales. They are found in the Arctic Ocean’s coastal waters and in subarctic waters. Their migration depends on the environmental conditions. They range from 13 to 20 feet in length and weigh around 2200 pounds. They are social mammals, living and hunting together in small groups. They mostly hunt for schooling fishes, which are found in abundance in the coastal area. They have two unusual characteristics; first they never chew their food; they swallow it whole and second, have flexible necks, that enables them to turn its head in all directions.
Whales- Orca Whales
20
Apr
Orca Whales
Most of the times, they hunt together in pods of 40. They often frequent coastal waters, but can also be found in regions close to the Equator. They prey on marine mammals as well fish. They can even grab seals and polar bears right off the ice, using their four inches long teeth. They use a variety of sounds to communicate and each pod is known to have its own typical sound. They have distinctive black-and-white coloring and perform in many aquarium shows.
types of whales
19
Apr
The suborder Mysticeti includes the types of whales known as baleen whales and contains four families, which includes the Gray whale, the rorquals, the Right Whales and the Humpback Whale which resides in a genus all it’s own. The largest animal ever to live on the earth, the Blue Whale, is a baleen whale and a member of the group known as rorquals, so called because they have pleated throats. Reaching lengths in excess of 33 metres there are estimated to be only between 6,000 and 14,000 Blue Whales remaining in the oceans of the world, the majority in the southern hemisphere. Baleen whales are filter feeders and largely eat krill (euphausids), copepods and small schooling fish. These types of whales suffered badly at the hands of whalers during the last century and their numbers have been seriously depleted.
Different Types of Whales
Mysticeti
Currently taxonomists divide the mysticetes into the following four families although recently the fact that the Gray Whale stands alone in the family Eschrichtiidae has been challenged.
- Balaenopteridae – Rorquals
- Eschrichtiidae – Gray Whale
- Balaenidae – Right Whales
- Neobalaenidae – Pygmy Right Whale
The suborder Odontoceti, the largest within the order Cetacea, comprises the toothed whales, which includes all dolphins and porpoises. Between them, the ten families contain 36 genera and 70 species, which include Sperm Whales, White Whales, the little known Beaked Whales and Pilot and Killer Whales. The largest Odontocete or toothed whale is the Sperm Whale reaching lengths of 20 metres. An animal of great extremes the Sperm Whale has the largest brain of any animal and probably makes the deepest dive of any whale, possibly up to 3000 metres deep that may last up to two hours in duration. The Sperm Whale is truly global in its coverage and may be found in all oceans of the world.
Odontoceti
- Physeteridae – Sperm Whales
- Kogiidae – Dwarf and Pygmy Sperm Whales
- Monodontidae – White Whales and Narwhal
- Ziphiidae – Beaked Whales and Bottlenose Whales
- Delphinidae – Dolphins, Humpbacked Dolphins, Pilot & Killer Whales
- Plantanistidae, Iniidae, Lipotidae, Pontoporiidae – River Dolphins
- Phocoenidae – Porpoises
