Cetology (from Greek: κητος, cetus, "whale"; and λόγος, logos, "knowledge") is the branch of marine mammal science that studies the approximately eighty species of whales, dolphins, and porpoise in the scientific order Cetacea. A Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), a member of Order Cetacea A Leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx), a member of infrafamily Pinnipedia A West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus), a member of Order Sirenia A pair of Sea Otters (Enhydra lutris), a member of family Mustelidae A Polar bear (Ursus maritimus), a member... Whales are the largest species of exclusively aquatic placental mammals, members of the order Cetacea, which also includes dolphins and porpoises. ... This article is about the dolphin mammal. ... Genera Neophocaena Phocoena - Harbor porpoise Phocoenoides - Dalls porpoise The porpoises are small cetaceans of the family Phocoenidae; they are related to whales and dolphins. ... Suborders Mysticeti Odontoceti Archaeoceti (extinct) (see text for families) The order Cetacea (IPA: , L. cetus, whale) includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. ...

Cetologists, or those who practice cetology, seek to understand and explain cetacean evolution, distribution, morphology, behavior, community dynamics, and other topics. This article is about evolution in biology. ... The term morphology in biology refers to the outward appearance (shape, structure, colour, pattern) of an organism or taxon and its component parts. ...

History

Observations about Cetacea have been recorded since at least classical times. Ancient Greek fisherpeople created an artificial notch on the dorsal fin of dolphins entangled in nets so that they could tell them apart years later.

Approximately 2,300 years ago, Aristotle carefully took notes on cetaceans while traveling on boats with fisherpeople in the Aegean Sea. In his book Historia animalium (History of animals), Aristotle was careful enough to distinguish between the baleen whales and toothed whales, a taxonomical separation still used today. He also described the Sperm Whale and the common dolphin, stating that they can live for at least twenty-five or thirty years. His achievement was remarkable for its time, because even today it is very difficult to estimate the life-span of advanced marine animals. For other uses, see Aristotle (disambiguation). ... Look up Aegean Sea in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... History of Animals (or Historia Animalium, or On the History of Animals) is a zoological natural history text by Aristotle. ... Families Balaenidae Balaenopteridae Eschrichtiidae Neobalaenidae Scientifically known as the Mysticeti, the baleen whales, also called whalebone whales or great whales, form a suborder of the order cetacea. ... Families See text The toothed whales (systematic name Odontoceti) form a suborder of the cetaceans. ... Binomial name Linnaeus, 1758 Sperm Whale range (in blue) The Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) is the largest of all toothed whales and is the largest toothed animal alive, measuring up to 18 metres (60 ft) long. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ...

After Aristotle's death, much of the knowledge he had gained about cetaceans was lost, only to be re-discovered during the Renaissance. This article is about the European Renaissance of the 14th-17th centuries. ...

Many of the Medieval texts on cetaceans comes mainly from Scandinavia and Iceland, most come about around the mid 13 century. The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times. ... For other uses, see Scandinavia (disambiguation). ...

One of the more well known one is Speculum Regale. In this text is described various species that lived around the Island of Iceland. It mentions "orcs" that had dog like teeth and would demonstrate the same kind of aggression towards other cetaceans as wild dogs would do to other terrestrial animals. The text even illustrated the hunting technique of Orcs, which are now called Orcas. Terrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land, as compared with aquatic animals, which live predominantly or entirely in the water (e. ...

The Speculum Regale describes other cetaceans, including the Sperm Whale, and Narwhale. Many times they were seen as terrible monsters, such as killers of men, and destroyers of ships. They even bore them odd names such as "Pig Whale", "Horse Whale", and "Red Whale". Binomial name Linnaeus, 1758 Sperm Whale range (in blue) The Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) is the largest of all toothed whales and is the largest toothed animal alive, measuring up to 18 metres (60 ft) long. ... Binomial name Monodon monoceros Linnaeus, 1758 Narwhal range The Narwhal (Monodon monoceros) is an Arctic species of cetacean similar in size and shape to a dolphin. ...

But not all creatures described were said to be fierce. Some were seen to be good. Such as the whale that would drive shoals of herring towards the shore. This was seen as very helpful to fisherman.

Much of the early studies of Cetology was based off dead specimens and myth. The little information that was gathered was usually length, and a rough outer body anatomy. Because these animals live in water their entire lives, early scientists did not have the technology to go study these animals further. It wasn't until the 1500s that things would begin to change. That cetaceans would be proved to be mammals rather than fish.

Aristotle, as said above, argued they were mammals. But Pliny the Eldar stated that they were fish, and it was followed by many naturalists. It wasn't until Pierre Belon (1517-1575) and G. Rondelet (1507-1566) came along and persisted on convincing they were mammals. They argued that the animals had lungs and a Uterus. Just like Mammals do. It would not be until 1758 when Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778) published the tenth edition of [[Systema naturae]]. It was then that they were seen as mammals. Pierre Belon (1517‑1564) was a French naturalist. ... Carl Linnaeus, Latinized as Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as  , (May 13, 1707[1] – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist[2] who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of nomenclature. ...

Only decades later, French zoologist and paleontologist, Baron Georges Cuvier (1769-1832) described the animals as mammals without any hind legs. Skeletons were put together and displayed in the first Natural History Museums, and on a closer look and comparisons with other extinct animal fossils led zoologists to conclude that cetaceans came from a family of ancient land mammals. Zoology (Greek zoon = animal and logos = word) is the biological discipline which involves the study of animals. ... A paleontologist carefully chips rock from a column of dinosaur vertebrae. ... Georges Cuvier Baron Georges Leopold Chretien Frédéric Dagobert Cuvier (August 23, 1769 - May 13, French naturalist, He was born at Montbéliard (then Mömpelgard in Württemberg) under the name of Johann Leopold Nicolaus Friedrich Kuefer, and was the son of a retired officer on half-pay...

Between the 9th-20th century, much of our information on cetaceans came from Whalers. Whalers were by far the people who knew most about the animals. But this information only went from Migration routes to an outer anatomy, and only little information of behavior.

When the 1960s came around, it was then that people started studying the animals intensively. This came from both concern about wild populations and also the capture of larger animals such as the Orca, and gaining popularity of dolphin shows in Marine Parks.

Now even today, the study of cetaceans is hard to get into. Very little colleges. And the ones that do, are not that in depth or only go for half the year. Most studies of cetology are privately owned and underfunded.

Studying a Cetacean

Scientists have a hard time studying an animal that can only be seen every so often, and it becomes harder when that animal is so adapted to life in a world that humans are not.

Cetaceans only spend 10% of their time on the surface, and all they do at the surface is breath. There is very little behavior seen at the surface.

It is also impossible to find any signs that an animal has been in an area. Cetaceans do not leave tracks that can be followed, nor do they leave dung that can tell important information about their diet. Many times Cetology consists of sitting, waiting, and paying close attention.

Cetologists use equipment including hydrophones to listen to calls of communicating animals, binoculars and other optical devices for scanning the horizon, cameras, notes, and a few other devices and tools.

Identifying Individuals

Eventually scientists wanted to know an exact population number; they needed to find a fool-proof, yet simple, way to identify individual specimen.

One such successful system is photography. This system was highly popularized by Mike Bigg, a pioneer in modern Killer Whale research. During the mid 1970s, Mike Bigg and Graeme Ellis photographed local orcas in the British Columbian seas. After looking at the photos, they realized they could recognize certain individual whales by looking at the shape and condition of the dorsal fin, and also the shape of the saddle patch. These are as unique as a human fingerprint; no one animal's looks exactly like another's. After they could recognize certain individuals, they found that the animals travel in stable groups called pods.

The photographic system has also worked well in humpback whale studies. Researchers use the color of the pectoral fins and color of the fluke to identify individuals. Scars from orca attacks found on the flukes of humpbacks are also used in identification.

To this day, researchers use photo identification to identify specific specimen and, if necessary, a group of such specimen.

No branch of zoology is so much involved as that which is entitled Cetology. Zoology (from Greek: ζῴον, zoion, animal; and λόγος, logos, knowledge) is the biological discipline which involves the study of animals. ...

– William Scoresby (as qtd in Moby Dick) William Scoresby (5 October 1789 - 21 March 1857), English Arctic explorer, scientist and divine, was born near Whitby in Yorkshire. ... For other uses, see Moby-Dick in popular culture. ...

See also

• Category:Cetologists

Sources

• Whales: Giants of the Sea, 2000
• Transients: Mammal-Hunting Killer Whales, by John K.B. Ford $ Graeme M. Ellis, 1999

External links

• Dolphins in Greek Mythology