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Whales
Whales are aquatic mammals that breathe air through blowhole(s). Based on the way that whales feed there are two distinct groups of whales.
Toothed whales (e.g. Killer Whales, Sperm Whales, and Beluga Whales) prey on fish and squid, whilst baleen whales (e.g. Humpback Whales, Gray Whales, and Minke Whales) filter plankton and small fish from the water as they swim.
The Sperm Whale is the largest species of toothed whale. The male can be as much as 60 feet long and weigh as much as 70 tonnes.
The main food source of sperm whales are giant squid which live over 5000m down in the depths of the oceans.
The beluga whale is a small, toothed whale. Adult beluga whales are white. Beluga whales live in Arctic and sub-Arctic waters. They feed on a range of fish, worms etc.
The male narwhales are easily identified by the tusk, sometimes as long as 3 metres in length, that grows from the left tooth (there are initially only two teeth) in their uppper jaw.
They are social animals, generally hunting in groups (known as pods) and tend to stay in the cold waters of the Arctic ocean throughout the year.
Humpback whales are found throughout the oceans.
They are baleen whales which means they have rows of flat, flexible plates arranged in two parallel rows. They filter huge amounts of water through these plates and eat over a ton of krill and small fish every day.
Peponocephala electra melon-headed whale User: Keith Mullin. image in public domain |
 narwhales Author: Glenn Williams work by the U.S. government Image in public domain |
 jumping humpback whale User: Zorankovacevic Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 Generic |
Orcinus orca Orcas User: Clayoquot Work by the U.S. government image in public domain |
 Killer whales Source: NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Image in public domain |
 humpback whale breaching User: Wwelles14 GNU Free Documentation License 1.2 |
 sperm whales User: Pacman National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Image in public domain |
 beluga whales User: Diliff GNU Free Documentation License |
beluga whales
humpback whale breaching
jumping humpback whale
killer whale looking around
killer whales
melon-headed whale
narwhales
sperm whale
Baleen whales
| Balaenoptera omurai | No common name yet in usage |
| Blue Whale | Balaenoptera musculus |
| Bowhead Whale | Balaena mysticetus |
| Bryde's Whale | Balaenoptera brydei |
| Fin Whale | Balaenoptera physalus |
| Gray Whale | Eschrichtius robustus |
| Humpback Whale | Megaptera novaeangliae |
| North Atlantic Right Whale | Eubalaena glacialis |
| North Pacific Right Whale | Eubalaena japonica |
| Northern Minke Whale | Balaenoptera acutorostrata |
| Pygmy Bryde's Whale | (Eden's Whale) Balaenoptera edeni |
| Pygmy Right Whale | Caperea marginata |
| Sei Whale | Balaenoptera borealis |
| Southern Minke Whale | Antarctic Minke Whale) Balaenoptera bonaerensis |
| Southern Right Whale | Eubalaena australis |
Toothed whales
| Andrews' Beaked Whale | Mesoplodon bowdoini |
| Arnoux's Beaked Whale | Berardius arnuxii |
| Bahamonde's Beaked Whale | Mesoplodon bahamondi |
| Baird's Beaked Whale (North Pacific Bottlenose Whale) |
Berardius bairdii |
| Beluga | Delphinapterus leucas |
| Blainville's Beaked Whale | Mesoplodon densirostris |
| Cuvier's Beaked Whale | Ziphius cavirostris |
| Dwarf Sperm Whale | Kogia sima |
| Gervais' Beaked Whale | Mesoplodon europaeus |
| Ginkgo-toothed Beaked Whale | Mesoplodon ginkgodens |
| Gray's Beaked Whale | Mesoplodon grayi |
| Hector's Beaked Whale | Mesoplodon hectori |
| Hubbs' Beaked Whale | Mesoplodon carlhubbsi |
| Layard's Beaked Whale | Mesoplodon layardii |
| Longman's Beaked Whale (Indo-Pacific Beaked Whale) |
Indopacetus pacificus |
| Meli Melius Faticus | |
| Narwhal | Monodon monoceros |
| Northern Bottlenose Whale | Hyperoodon ampullatus |
| Perrin's Beaked Whale | Mesoplodon perrini |
| Pygmy Beaked Whale | Mesoplodon peruvianus |
| Pygmy Sperm Whale | Kogia breviceps |
| Shepherd's Beaked Whale (Tasman Beaked Whale) |
Tasmacetus shepherdi |
| Southern Bottlenose Whale | Hyperoodon planifrons |
| Sowerby's Beaked Whale | Mesoplodon bidens |
| Sperm Whale | Physeter macrocephalus |
| Stejneger's Beaked Whale | Mesoplodon stejnegeri |
| True's Beaked Whale | mirus |
| Pilot Whale |
Source: Wikipedia List of whale species
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