Whales resemble fish because of their fins and hydrodynamic bodies, but have far more in common anatomically with other mammals. Whales have very distinct characteristics and features like their diet, habitat, lifespan, and breeding and social structure.
There are two types of whales, toothed whales (Odontoceti) and baleen whales (Mysticeti). Toothed whales are predators that use their teeth to catch squid, fish, marine mammals, etc. Baleen whales have a sieve-like structure called baleen that catches huge amounts of tiny krill for nourishment and as a food source. They are also generally larger than toothed whales; and there are 10 species of baleen whales. Different species of whales vary drastically in terms of both size and weight. Baleen whales in the Mysticeti suborder are generally larger than those of the Odontoceti suborder. The Mysticeti group includes the blue whale the largest animal ever to live on the planet. The species can be up to 100 ft long (30m), and weigh as much as 150 tons (136 metric tons)—approximately 300,000 lbs. The sperm whale is the largest toothed-whale, reaching up to 70 ft (21m) in length and 59 tons (54 metric tons) in weight. The smallest baleen whale is the pygmy right, which averages a length of only 20 ft and a weight of 4 tons (6m/3.6 metric tons).
Whales resemble fish because of their fins and hydrodynamic bodies, but have far more in common anatomically with other mammals. Whales have very distinct characteristics and features like their diet, habitat, lifespan, and breeding and social structure.
There are two types of whales, toothed whales (Odontoceti) and baleen whales (Mysticeti). Toothed whales are predators that use their teeth to catch squid, fish, marine mammals, etc. Baleen whales have a sieve-like structure called baleen that catches huge amounts of tiny krill for nourishment and as a food source. They are also generally larger than toothed whales; and there are 10 species of baleen whales. Different species of whales vary drastically in terms of both size and weight. Baleen whales in the Mysticeti suborder are generally larger than those of the Odontoceti suborder. The Mysticeti group includes the blue whale the largest animal ever to live on the planet. The species can be up to 100 ft long (30m), and weigh as much as 150 tons (136 metric tons)—approximately 300,000 lbs. The sperm whale is the largest toothed-whale, reaching up to 70 ft (21m) in length and 59 tons (54 metric tons) in weight. The smallest baleen whale is the pygmy right, which averages a length of only 20 ft and a weight of 4 tons (6m/3.6 metric tons).
Whales resemble fish because of their fins and hydrodynamic bodies, but have far more in common anatomically with other mammals. Whales have very distinct characteristics and features like their diet, habitat, lifespan, and breeding and social structure. There are two types of whales, toothed whales (Odontoceti)