Who do you think of when you hear about whales? Someone will think of a huge blue giant, the most powerful sea animal. And someone will remember killer whales because of the famous film “Free Willy.” But no matter what sea dweller you have no idea, the question always arises: what does a whale breathe? How can he be long time under the water? Let's try to answer these questions.
Appearance
Whales are huge mammals that are distributed throughout the world. These giants live in all oceans, both warm and cold. A feature of their appearance is their enormous size. Thus, it is the largest. It can reach a length of more than 30 meters and weigh up to 150 tons. But there is also small species, the dimensions of which do not exceed 2 meters.
It is interesting that the head of whales is huge and reaches 1/3 of the length of the entire body. The neck is very short and not noticeable. This raises the question: what does a whale breathe, does it have nostrils like all mammals? It turns out there is. On the head, or rather on its uppermost part, there is a breathing hole. It must be said that toothed whales have only one nostril on their heads, while baleen whales have two. We all remember illustrations where a whale is depicted with a fountain above its head. So this fountain is formed when a whale exhales moist air, and by the appearance of the fountain itself you can recognize the species of cetacean.
Another common indicator of cetaceans is the presence of powerful fins. Moreover, they differ in size among different species. It is this feature that gives them the opportunity to develop considerable speed and gives excellent maneuverability. Interestingly, humpback whales have the largest pectoral fins, which look like giant wings. And a blow from a blue whale's tail can easily sink a ship.
Structural features
Another distinctive feature is that the whale is a warm-blooded animal, unlike all other inhabitants of the world's oceans. This explains that it can live in all seas, regardless of temperature environment. A huge fat layer, which reaches 1 meter in some whales, protects the animal from hypothermia. Interestingly, there is no fat in the tail, which explains why the whale does not overheat while in warm tropical waters.
The brain of animals is also unique. Hearing is most developed in cetaceans. Everyone knows the fact that the songs of whales can be heard at a distance of tens of kilometers. They also have excellent echolocation, thanks to which the giants communicate perfectly, as well as hunt and move in the water column. Their vision is also well developed. With the help of a protective fluid produced by certain glands, the whale is able to see clearly under water. All other senses are rather poorly developed.
The system has its own characteristics: the whale’s lungs are not connected to the larynx. Thus, water is not swallowed when inhaling. The nasal openings, located on the top of the head, are connected directly to the lungs. But what does a whale breathe underwater? The answer is simple: like all mammals, it holds its breath under water. Its nostrils close like valves when diving. The brain commands the entire body to engage in a kind of economy mode, resulting in oxygen flowing only to the heart and brain. This allows whales to dive to depths of up to 2000 meters.
Baleen whales
This order of cetaceans is the largest of all existing ones. These include: fin whale, sei whale, humpback whale, and minke whale. All these animals have one structural feature - they do not have teeth, but instead they have horny plates, which are called whalebones. It is from this feature that the detachment got its name.
They feed on small plankton or fish that come across their path. The way these animals feed is interesting. The whale opens its huge mouth and swallows the small change along with a huge amount of water. Then, with the help of a giant tongue, it pushes the water out like a piston, and the food that comes in remains within the mouth, without passing through the whiskers. In this way, the whale absorbs up to 6 tons of plankton per day.
Toothed whales
As everyone knows, this squad has sharp teeth. For each individual species they differ in size and shape. This category includes sperm whales, killer whales and dolphins. They differ in taste preferences. Dolphins, for example, love to hunt for fish, and killer whales prefer seals and fur seals in their diet. Sperm whales mostly hunt squid and cuttlefish, and they dive to very great depths.
All toothed whales are excellent hunters. Often killer whales, also called killer whales, can attack large baleen whales. Their favorite delicacy is huge tongues; the rest of the whale is of little interest to them. Since baleen whales are mostly solitary animals, while toothed whales are gregarious, attacks often occur.
Birth of babies
Since the whale is a warm-blooded animal, the calves are born fully formed, like all mammals. What does a whale breathe when it is born? The baby is born tail first and thanks to caring mother takes its first breath immediately after birth. The female pushes him to the surface so that the respiratory system works fully and the lungs open, just like a human’s.
It is also interesting that small whales feed on milk. U adult There are two mammary glands, but the baby whale does not suck milk, like all mammals, but receives it by injection. Next to the nipple there is a system of muscles that perform this function. In addition, the milk is very fatty and thick, so the baby gains weight very quickly - up to 100 kilograms per day. The mother and baby stay on the surface, since the baby cannot yet stay under water for a long time. As the baby whale grows, it improves in swimming and diving.
Whale songs
The way whales communicate is also unique. These creatures are capable of performing melodies. Often their singing is so harmonious and beautiful that it can calm and even put a person to sleep. It should be noted that not all giants sing. Humpback whales, which are even called singing whales, especially have these abilities. Why they make such sounds is still not known. These are presumably mating songs, but may vary from season to season.
Keith breathes with his lungs. This is amazing sea creature, which still has many mysteries that are incomprehensible to us. Until the mid-20th century, whales were simply destroyed for the needs of humanity, and today many of them are protected.
It lives in water and has a fish-like body outline, then why is it not considered a fish?
Because a whale is a marine mammal that descends from earthly ancestors. Over the course of many millennia spent in the water, whales began to resemble fish in shape, but their body structure and lifestyle remained similar to land animals.
For example, whale fins have internal structure, resembling a hand with five fingers. On the body of some whales there are even bones where the hind legs should be! But the most important difference between whales and fish is that, like all other mammals, whales feed their young with mother's milk. These babies do not hatch from eggs or eggs, but are born alive. And for some time after birth, the baby whale remains close to its mother, who takes care of it.
Since all mammals have warm blood, and the whale does not have fur to keep it warm ice water, instead it has blubber, which is a layer of subcutaneous tissue filled with fat that retains heat like a fur coat.
And whales breathe differently than fish. Instead of gills, they have lungs into which they draw air through two nostrils located at the top of their heads. When whales dive underwater, these nostrils close with small valves to keep water out. Every five to ten minutes the whale rises to the surface of the water to take a breath. First of all, he noisily spews out exhaust air through his nostrils. As a result of this, the very “fountain” that is always drawn in pictures about whales appears. Then he takes a deep breath of fresh air into his lungs and dives again to continue moving underwater.
Which whale is the biggest?
The largest whale is at the same time the largest animal in the world. This is a blue whale - its length can exceed 30 meters, and its weight reaches 125 tons.
It can be found in any seas, but most often it comes across Pacific Ocean. It belongs to the group of toothless whales (the other group is called toothed whales).
It is quite difficult to imagine that the largest animal in the world can live without teeth. How do they do this? In their mouth they have a device consisting of hundreds of horny plates called baleen. They grow on the roof of the mouth (the top of the mouth) and form something like a sieve.
The blue whale feeds in the following way: with its mouth wide open, it quickly swims through an accumulation of prey, which consists mainly of small mollusks, shrimp and fish. Closing his mouth, he forcefully pushes water out of it. The water is filtered through the whalebone, but the prey remains. The whale's mouth resembles a huge container. And the length of his head is about a third of the length of his body.
Among the toothed whales, the largest are sperm whales. They have a huge head and reach 20 meters in length. The killer whale, or killer whale (actually a large dolphin), is the only cetacean that feeds on other warm-blooded animals. The killer whale is about 9 meters long, and it easily overtakes seals. Schools of killer whales even attack large whales.
Because whales live in water and have fish-like bodies, we often compare them to fish. But their skeletal structure, circulatory system and brain are not at all similar to fish.
What can you get from whales?
At one time, whaling had a very important. Now, to most of us, the very idea of whale hunting may seem a little strange. What good can we get from these enormous creatures?
But it turns out that the amount of valuable products obtained from whale hunting is very large. Thus, excellent fat is obtained from whale blubber (fat-containing subcutaneous tissue). This fat is used for lamps, and it is also used in making soap.
Many whales have very tasty meat. Their bones are used to make fertilizer. Spermaceti, or fat, which is found in the head cavity, is obtained from sperm whales. Spermaceti is used to make ointments, cosmetics and suppositories.
Ambergris is also obtained from sperm whales, a very valuable substance produced in their intestines, which is used in the manufacture of perfumes. The teeth of the sperm whale and the tusk of the narwhal are very valuable bones, comparable to ivory. And from the skin of a white whale they produce something like leather.
Did you know that all cetaceans are mammals? Their ancestors once lived on land. They still have fins that look like five-fingered hands. But living in water for many thousands of years, they adapted to such a life.
Whales are very peculiar mammals that, due to permanent life in water they look more like fish. This group of animals has a characteristic appearance and at the same time has achieved significant diversity. Whales form a separate order of Cetaceans, but this term is a collective one. Usually this word refers to large species; small cetaceans have other names (dolphins, porpoises).
Humpback whale, or humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae).
The brightest distinctive feature of these beasts is the size. Indeed, all species of whales are simply giants of the animal world. Even the smallest species (dwarf sperm whales, for example) reach a length of 2-3 m and a weight of 400 kg, and most species have a length of 5-12 m and a weight of several tons. The largest species, the blue whale, reaches a length of 33 m and weighs 150 tons! It is several times larger in size than even the most large dinosaurs. The blue whale is the largest living creature ever to inhabit our planet!
All species of whales are characterized by an elongated, streamlined body, a very short, inactive neck and a large head. The size of the head can vary greatly between species: in small whales it is 1/5 of the body length, in large baleen whales its size can reach 1/4, and in the sperm whale the head makes up 1/3 of the body. Based on the structure of their teeth, whales are divided into two suborders: baleen and toothed. Baleen whales have no teeth at all; they are replaced by giant horny plates that hang in the mouth like a fringe. They are called whalebone.
Baleen in the mouth of a whale.
Toothed whales have teeth, their shape and size vary between species. The structure of the jaws can also be different: in baleen whales the lower jaw is much larger than the upper and is similar to a ladle; in toothed whales, on the contrary, the upper jaw is larger or equal in size to the lower one. Such differences are associated with the nature of the diet of these animals.
The difference in size of the upper and lower jaws is clearly visible on the head of a humpback whale.
The brain size of whales is relatively large, but this is primarily due to the development of the parts of the brain responsible for hearing. Whales, like dolphins, have perfect echolocation abilities; they emit sounds of various frequencies and use their reflection (echo) to navigate in space, find food and communicate with each other. Just like dolphins, whales are susceptible to an unknown pathology - they can periodically wash ashore. The animals do this unconsciously (the ability of whales to commit suicide is nothing more than a stupid prejudice), but with such persistence that scientists are still puzzling over the reason for such strange behavior. Animals washed ashore are not always old or sick; moreover, sometimes, through the efforts of rescuers, they can be returned to the sea. Most likely, the root cause of such death is disruptions in the operation of the echo sounder caused by numerous radio sources (all modern navigation uses powerful sources and repeaters of radio waves). Such electromagnetic “noise” in the ocean confuses the giants and they approach the shores; moreover, accustomed to trusting their feelings, the whales stubbornly strive in the “right” direction until they run aground. Other sense organs in whales are poorly developed: the sense of smell is in its infancy, and vision is also rather weak.
On the top of the head there is a breathing hole - a blowhole. In more primitive baleen whales it consists of two openings (“nostrils”), in toothed whales there is only one opening. Interestingly, during exhalation wet air from the lungs it creates a kind of fountain, and its shape depends on the type of whale.
A blowhole with two nostrils on the head of a gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus).
The limbs of whales are arranged in a very unusual way. The front ones have turned into flattened fins, and their size can vary greatly among different species. For example, the fins of belted teeth and sperm whales are small, and they reach their greatest development in the humpback whale.
The long fins of a humpback whale resemble wings underwater.
But whales have no hind limbs at all; in their place in the lumbar spine there are only two small bones to which the muscles of... the genital organs are attached. Driving force creates a powerful twin tail in the whale's body, but these are not modified hind legs, as some believe.
The powerful tail is used by whales for movement and protection.
The coloration of whales is varied, but discreet. More often, their body has a dark upper side and a lighter lower side; some species (Bryde's minke) may have clearly visible stripes on the underside of the head. Species such as the blue whale, gray whale, and sperm whale are uniformly gray or brown in color.
The beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) got its name for its rare White color skin.
Whales are widespread throughout all oceans (and some seas) of the globe. They are found only in deep waters; as a rule, they do not enter bays, river mouths and similar shallow waters. Whales usually move freely across the ocean, but their movement is not chaotic. Each whale species has favorite breeding grounds that they visit during certain seasons. The rest of the time, whales fatten up, but do this in areas remote from their breeding grounds. Thus, whales migrate with a cyclicity of 1 year. When feeding, whales swim at a speed of 10-20 km/h, but in case of danger they switch to a cruising speed of 50 km/h. Adult males and non-breeding females stay alone, females with cubs, as well as all animals during the breeding season form herds of 5-15 individuals. There is a peaceful atmosphere inside the herd: the whales have no internal hierarchy, they do not show aggression towards each other, in case of danger, all members of the herd try to defend themselves with common efforts, there are even cases of mutual assistance to wounded brothers. In general, whales, with their huge size and clumsiness, give the impression of stupid and uninteresting animals. But this is a false idea! These peculiar animals are endowed with developed intelligence and are not inferior to dolphins in intelligence. For example, there are cases when whales showed interest in the underwater photographers who were filming them - the animals approached people and even tried to play with them in their own way, pushing them to the surface. Another example: whalers tracked down a female whale with her calf and killed the latter. The whale carcass was transported to the cutting site in tow. All this time, the female swam nearby and tried to remove the corpse of the cub from the rope. Captive whales in captivity quickly get used to people and are able to perform tricks (to the best of their physical capabilities). Like all highly developed animals, whales love to play, while they jump high out of the water and beat their tails loudly.
Minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata).
Whales feed on a variety of marine animals, and there is a narrow specialization in the nutrition of different species. Baleen whales eat exclusively plankton - the smallest sea crustaceans. They extract it by filtering large volumes of water. To do this, the whale opens its mouth and takes water into its mouth...
Humpback whales in action open mouth like a ladle.
then with his tongue, like a piston, he pushes the water out of his mouth - the water flows freely through the whalebone, but the crustaceans remain.
A whale strains water with plankton.
Toothed whales feed on fish, which they also catch not individually, but in whole schools. Sperm whales specialize in catching deep sea fish and shellfish (mainly squid). Many whales make long dives for hunting; they can stay under water for up to 1.5 hours. The record holders for diving depth are sperm whales, which were encountered at a depth of 1 km!
Whales are very infertile animals. Females reach sexual maturity at 7-15 years, males only at 15-25. Moreover, each individual participates in reproduction no more than once every 2 years. In the mating ritual of whales there is not only no aggression, but also any kind of struggle at all. Male whales attract the attention of females with their songs! Whale voices are surprisingly delicate for animals of their size. Each species of whale has its own set of sounds, but even individuals of the same species differ in the tone of their voice. The whale's song resembles a melodic moan and sounds very loud. According to divers, when a whale sings, the water around it vibrates. Female whales can mate with several males, since there is no struggle between representatives of the stronger sex, selection occurs in a very unusual way. It turns out that the gonads of whales are enormous in size (in the sperm whale, for example, up to 10-20% of body weight) and are capable of producing a large number of sperm. Thus, among several males mating with one female, the one whose hormonal status is higher wins. Pregnancy in various species lasts 11-18 months. The female gives birth to only one calf, but it is large and developed. For example, the weight of a newborn blue whale is 2-3 tons. The calf is born tail first and, with the help of its mother, rises to the surface for its first breath. The mother often feeds the cub with very rich milk, due to which it grows quickly. The lactation period of whales is relatively short - 5-7 months. During this time, the cub manages to grow 2 times, then its growth slows down sharply. For another 1.5-2 years, the cub accompanies the mother, using her protection. In small and medium-sized whales, young animals are kept in herds until they reach sexual maturity, and sometimes later. Whales live 50-70 years.
Baby blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus).
It would seem that nothing could threaten such gigantic animals in this world. In reality, whales are very vulnerable to various dangers. In the ocean, whales have no enemies except... their own brothers. Killer whales (giant predatory dolphins often called whales) attack other species of cetaceans. Killer whales live in groups and act collectively, so even adult whales can hardly resist their coordinated attack, and the calves are completely defenseless. When attacked, whales try to escape by “flight”, swimming away from the herd of killer whales at high speed. If it was not possible to break away from the pursuit, the whale with strong blows tail tries to fight off the attackers, the mother swims under the calf from below, trying to cover it with her body.
But even in the absence of predators, whales have enough problems. Sometimes these animals experience... hunger. Massive fishing, global warming, changing sea currents undermine the food supply of whales and animals can drift for several weeks in “barren” waters. Researchers have encountered extremely emaciated animals. In the Arctic Ocean, whales often become trapped in ice. Since whales breathe air, they are forced to surface regularly to replenish their supplies. If there are no suitable polynyas around, whales break through the ice with their heads, but they do not always succeed. When the ice is thick (or the opening is small), entire herds of whales suffocate under the ice.
Minke whale in Antarctic ice.
To top it all off, whales are actively hunted by people. Despite their impressive size (or rather, because of them), whales are attractive prey for fishing. There are no useless parts in a whale carcass; everything is used: fat (blub), meat, baleen, teeth, skin. Sperm whales are suppliers of very exotic products - spermaceti and ambergris. Spermaceti, despite its name, is not whale sperm at all, but a fat-like substance from the brain. Ambergris is found in the intestines and has a pleasant smell, which is why it got its name. Both substances are very valuable raw materials in the cosmetics industry and are extremely highly valued on the world market.
As a result of the impact of unfavorable factors, the number of almost all species of whales has greatly decreased, many species are on the verge of extinction. In this regard, the World Convention on the Prohibition of Whale Fishing was adopted (especially since whaling products have lost their relevance in our time). The only country that has not signed the convention is Japan. Japanese whalers still carry out mass fishing of all whales indiscriminately, justifying themselves by the fact that whale meat... is a traditional component of Japanese cuisine. On the other hand, tourism in whale breeding grounds has gained wide popularity. Nature lovers visit such places on small boats; queues line up to tour operators for the opportunity to watch whales live and hear their songs. Attempts to keep whales in captivity run into many obstacles: large species of whales cannot be kept due to their size, baleen whales cannot be fed with plankton, and catching an adult whale without killing it is very difficult. Repeated attempts to catch the cubs led to the death of the babies even at the transportation stage. Only the smallest species of whales (beluga whales, pilot whales) take root in aquariums, but they do not breed there. Perhaps, the only way conservation of these unique animals is a widespread ban on their hunting and comprehensive protection of water resources.
The carcass of a beached blue whale is being cut up for further scientific research.
Whales are the most large mammals on the planet. These are the indigenous inhabitants of the seas and oceans. They form the order of cetaceans, and the blue whale is the largest. His maximum length reaches 33 meters, and the weight reaches 190 tons. By the will of fate, this giant and the rest of the whale brethren live in water, but breathe with their lungs. The reason for this is that millions of years ago, marine animals lived on land. For reasons unknown to science, they gradually changed their habitat and turned into underwater inhabitants.
This happened more than 50 million years ago. There was no trace of man on Earth yet, but whales were already sailing the vast oceans and were considered almost old-timers of the sea depths. Only a few species of these animals remained on land. For example, you can call hippopotamus. This representative of artiodactyls is the closest relative of the mighty marine mammals, although outwardly he looks completely different from them.
Whales are divided into two suborders. These are baleen whales and toothed whales. Distinctive feature baleen whales is the presence of whalebone. It consists of plates that correspond in composition to human nails. There is a rigid fringe along the edges of each plate. The plates grow from the upper jaw and act as a filter.
During a hunt, a baleen whale opens its huge mouth and sucks into it all living creatures nearby. These are tiny crustaceans and small fish. Then the mammal's jaws close and the ocean minnow is trapped. Sea giant presses the tip of the tongue to the upper palate and pushes water out of the mouth. In this case, the huge tongue acts as a kind of piston. The whalebone prevents the prey from slipping out. Fish and krill remain on the hard fringe. The whale licks all this living creature with its tongue and swallows it. In this way he is satisfied.
Baleen whales include the already mentioned blue whale, fin whale, sei whale, minke whale, and humpback whale. This is the so-called minke whale family. There are other families as well. For example, gray whales. They have only one type. There are also dwarf and right whales. A representative of right whales is the bowhead whale. Its difference from minke whales is that the animal’s throat does not have special grooves, due to which the pharynx increases in size. The appearance of the jaws is also radically different. The lower one resembles the bucket of a huge excavator.
Toothed whales, as the name suggests, have teeth. These are born hunters. Their food is fish and squid. In this suborder, sperm whales and killer whales set the tone. All sea and river dolphins also belong to this company. The first place in size is occupied by the sperm whale. A killer whale follows him. This dolphin can eat both fish and meat. That is, he is a real bloodthirsty predator.
Although there are a great number of species and subspecies, the structure of whales has many similarities. The lungs, whalebone and teeth present in the smaller and more aggressive brethren have already been named. Baleen whales are inherently peaceful. They are huge and good-natured. Few people dare to attack such giants. Except killer whales. But they are only interested in the fleshy tongues of powerful mammals. For predatory dolphins this is a delicacy. They cannot cope with adult blue whales and fin whales, so they choose inexperienced young people as the object of their hunt. It’s true that something like this happens quite rarely in the ocean.
Whales give birth to live babies. In baleen whales, newborns are born head first, and in toothed whales, tail first. The mother immediately pushes the baby to the surface of the water so that he can take the first breath of air in his life. Baby whales are commonly called “calves.” Newborns are large. In blue whales, the baby reaches a length of 8 meters and weighs 3 tons. And the killer whale’s calf, which is born, is 2.5 meters long and weighs 180 kg.
The mother feeds the baby milk. But he cannot take his mother's nipple into his mouth. The structure of his mouth is not adapted to this. Therefore, the female injects nutritious liquid into the baby’s mouth. Milk is very nutritious. It is thick, like sour cream, and fatty. Therefore, it is not surprising that the young whale grows by leaps and bounds and quickly gains weight.
The structure of whales is unthinkable without a powerful tail, lateral and dorsal fins. Baleen whales, however, have a small dorsal fin, and in some species it is absent altogether. In water, the mammal moves forward with the help of the caudal fin, which makes vertical oscillatory movements. At the same time, the animal’s body temperature remains at 37 degrees Celsius.
A thick layer protects whales from hypothermia subcutaneous fat. Adipose tissue envelops the entire body with the exception of the tail. It contains many blood vessels. Warm blood flowing from the body to the rear part is cooled and, thus, the huge carcass protects itself from overheating. All this once again emphasizes the rationalism and genius of Mother Nature.
Baleen whales, rising from the depths to the surface of the water, release a fountain of water reaching a height of several meters. In reality it is not water, but a stream warm air. It mixes with the cooler air of the surrounding atmosphere and turns into steam. Visually it resembles water. Each whale's fountain has its own shape and direction. It can be used to easily determine the type of mammal.
The animal usually stays under water for 20 minutes. Before plunging into the depths of the water, he does deep throat air. At the same time, the lungs very quickly take oxygen, and it enters the blood. It is gradually consumed by the body, providing the whale with a comfortable existence at depth.
The breathing holes are located on the head. When diving, they close, that is, they are like specific check valves. Some species of whales can stay underwater for up to an hour and a half.
Whales communicate with each other using echolocation, that is, ultrasound. These are high-frequency waves that have a short length. Animals themselves generate them and, thus, communicate with their brothers. In this case, the distance can be up to several hundred kilometers. Whales also use ultrasound to detect prey, such as large schools of fish.
These animals see well. But in the depths, where eternal darkness reigns, they have no need for eyes. But on the sea surface, the whale can see both the ship and the people on its deck. Salt water this inhabitant of the ocean expanses does not drink. It compensates for the need for fresh water through food. Sometimes it sucks water from ice floes, because almost all species of the huge order of cetaceans are regulars in cold southern and northern latitudes.
The life expectancy of these mammals is long. There is a strong belief that baleen whales can live for 100 years or even more. So these mighty sea animals are not only the largest on Earth, but also live the longest, leaving behind even elephants, who can easily live up to 70 years.
Despite the fact that the structure of whales completely excludes the absence of lungs, these mammals cannot live on land. Their skin immediately dries out, and baleen whales, which have enormous weight, suffocate very quickly. The weight of the body compresses the lungs, and air stops flowing into them. Therefore, marine animals do not exist outside of water. They are an integral part of the World Ocean, striking people with their greatness, perfection, and intelligence, which significantly exceeds that of terrestrial mammals.
Whales are one of the most amazing mammals that inhabit the waters of our planet. These animals are the largest of all known to mankind today. Moreover, the ocean has still not been fully explored, which is why scientists periodically discover new species of toothed whales, usually small, but still there. today has led to the fact that whale species are constantly decreasing, as well as their population, which is very sad.
Classification
All whales are divided into two large groups, so-called suborders. Although it is worth noting that scientists distinguish three suborders. One of them is ancient whales. All representatives of this group have long since died out, and there is no particular point in describing them. We will talk about animals that still swim in the oceans and seas, although there is a threat of their extinction.
One of these suborders is baleen whales. In addition, they are often called “real whales.” The second suborder is toothed whales. Smaller representatives, which include dolphins and porpoises, but more on that later. I would like to note that different types whales are being destroyed. In particular, this applies to those who have the greatest value in the fishery. This is a blue whale, fin whale, humpback whale, etc.
Types of whales: list, brief description
We will start with the largest and most ancient. This includes a wide variety of whale species that are worthy of your attention. It’s easy to guess that you can recognize such an animal by the whiskers in its mouth. By the way, whalebone is also valued, so these animals often become the prey of poachers. Most big representative of this suborder is the blue whale. The largest recorded individual reaches a length of about 30 meters and weighs 150 tons. Moreover, these are completely peaceful animals, whose diet mostly consists of plankton and mollusks.
The bowhead whale is a prominent representative baleen whales. The length of this giant sometimes reaches 20 meters, the body of the animal is black, without stripes. It is noteworthy that the head makes up approximately 30% of the total length of the whale. It lives exclusively in the Arctic seas. Today it is an almost extinct species that is extremely rare. The reason for this was whaling.
Dwarf and right whales
The southern right whale is somewhat similar to the bowhead whale both in appearance and size. Therefore, an inexperienced person can confuse them. Although it is easy to guess that the habitat of the animals is very different. Southern right whales cannot be found in the Arctic seas, just as bowhead whales cannot be seen in temperate zone Quiet and Atlantic Oceans. From about the 10th century AD, whaling for right whales only expanded. Today, these animals are fully protected, judging by the latest data, the reproductive trends of the genus are positive.
All types of whales, a list of which you can see in this article, are amazing and unique. Take, for example, the pygmy whale. It was called that because of its small size. Typically, individuals do not grow more than 6 meters in length. But if you do not take this parameter into account, then otherwise the animal is no different from its relatives.
Endangered whales
The gray whale family is one of the most exterminated at present. This is enough major representatives 15 meters long, without a dorsal fin. In the 18th century, the population numbered approximately 30 thousand individuals. As a result of active whaling, the number of gray whales dropped to 250 individuals by 1947. After this, the family of gray whales was taken under permanent protection; today there are about 6 thousand of these animals.
It is impossible not to mention the minke whale family. These include humpback whales and true minke whales. Both are endangered whale species. If back in the 30s of this century there were approximately 250 thousand fin whales in Antarctica, today this figure is five times less. Of the 100,000 that once lived in Antarctica in the 1930s, by 1962 only 1,000-3,000 individuals remained alive. The situation is approximately the same with sei whales and humpback whales, which are under constant protection. The largest representative of the striped whales is the blue one. He is the only species of whale that leads a nomadic lifestyle.
Toothed whales: types and description
The suborder of toothed whales includes a large number of families. What they have in common is the presence of teeth, although their sizes and number may differ significantly. Almost all representatives have small sizes bodies. The only exception is the sperm whale. Of course, oceanic dolphins are the most famous of the suborder of toothed whales. Most of them are small animals.
The easiest way is appearance identify a white whale. This can be done by the color of his skin. small, usually up to 5 meters. They are found almost everywhere. Sometimes these whales swim to places where they cannot live. It is impossible not to highlight the only representative of the narwhal genus - the narwhal. They are somewhat similar to white whales. True, narwhals have a 2-2.5-meter tusk on their heads, which is characteristic only of males. The length of the animal is about 5 meters.
Porpoises and dolphins
So we come to the dolphin subfamily. It should be noted that it includes a large number of species and even more subspecies. Only about half of the whales known today. For example, a common brown dolphin or simply a porpoise is usually no more than 2 meters in length. The back of the animal is black, and the belly is almost white. Dolphins for the most part prefer warm waters and temperate latitudes. They often swim far up rivers. Interestingly, a special race of porpoises lives in the Black Sea.
The following species of porpoises live in different parts of the seas and oceans:
black featherless, etc.
Californian;
In all species, the differences are insignificant, as are the sizes. In general, although the animals are predatory, they are very peaceful. Studies have shown that some species of whales and dolphins have highly developed brains. What makes dolphins truly amazing is their ability to communicate - echolocation. This is a kind of language, most of the sounds of which are still incomprehensible to humans today.
Genus of sperm whales
As noted above, sperm whales are the real giants among all toothed whales. Animals can reach approximately 20 meters in length. These are gregarious whales that can be found in all the oceans of planet Earth. The exception is females and young whales, which prefer to be in warm waters. Today it is not a fully explored species. In particular, it is unknown whether males return from their long-distance migrations. Scientists still have not figured out why they swim so far, although the most likely theory is that they are looking for food. Commercially, the sperm whale is very valuable. This became especially noticeable in the years after the Second World War. Near the coasts of Chile and Peru, these animals, in particular the females, were practically destroyed, which seriously threatened the population. Even today, toothed whales are hunted and exterminated in all the oceans of the world. Animal species are of no particular importance to humans.
Conclusion
Here we have looked at the main types of whales. The names of these animals were assigned by more than one people of the world and not only in the 21st century. Unfortunately, even today there is active fishing. How many species of whales are left today? About 40, and this despite the fact that before there were more than a hundred of them. It is one thing when this process is controlled, and quite another when there is uncontrolled capture and destruction.
Of course, we can talk endlessly about the fact that insulin and other hormones are extracted from the whale’s brain, and vitamin A from the liver. In addition, the meat is used to make expensive sausages. But all this can be found in nature without destroying different kinds whales and without reducing their population. Well, that’s all that can be said about whales and the diversity of their species. For the most part, these are calm animals that rarely attack humans.