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Encyclopedia > Toothed whale

Wikipedia:How to read a taxobox
How to read a taxobox
Toothed whales
Fossil range: Latest Eocene - Recent
Bottlenose Dolphin
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Cetacea
Suborder: Odontoceti
Flower, 1869
Families

See text. hfajhfiudshfas == == == --24. ... Download high resolution version (2587x1709, 1092 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Binomial name Tursiops truncatus Montagu, 1821 Bottlenose Dolphin range (in blue) The Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is the most common and well-known dolphin species. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... Animalia redirects here. ... Typical Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... Subclasses Allotheria* Order Multituberculata (extinct) Order Volaticotheria (extinct) Order Palaeoryctoides (extinct) Order Triconodonta (extinct) Order Docodonta (extinct) Prototheria Order Monotremata Theria Infraclass Trituberculata (extinct) Infraclass Marsupialia Infraclass Eutheria The mammals are the class of vertebrate animals characterized by the production of milk in females for the nourishment of young, from... Suborders Mysticeti Odontoceti Archaeoceti (extinct) (see text for families) The order Cetacea (IPA: , L. cetus, whale) includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. ... In biological classification, family (Latin: familia, plural familiae) is 1) a rank or 2) a taxon in that rank. ...

The toothed whales (systematic name Odontoceti) form a suborder of the cetaceans. As the name suggests, the suborder is characterized by having teeth (rather than baleen as do animals in the other suborder of cetaceans, Mysticeti). Toothed whales are active hunters, feeding on fish, squid, and in some cases marine mammals. This image shows the fluke of Sperm Whale as it begins a dive into the Gulf of Mexico. ... There are millions of possible objects that can be described in science, too many to create common names for every one. ... Scientific classification or biological classification refers to how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Suborders Mysticeti Odontoceti (see text) The order Cetacea includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. ... Types of teeth Molars are used for grinding up foods Carnassials are used for slicing food. ... Baleen hair is attached to the baleen plate Baleen (also called whalebone) is a substance made of keratin and is therefore stiff but somewhat elastic. ... 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. ...

Contents

Anatomy

Toothed whales have a single blowhole on the top of the head (while the baleen whales possess two of them). The nostrils are not fused; one of them has become dominant over the other. In biology, a blowhole is the hole at the top of a whales head through which the animal breathes air. ... A nostril is one of the two channels of the nose, from the point where they bifurcate to the external opening. ...


As an adaptation for their echolocation, toothed whale skulls have become asymmetric. Their brains are relatively big, although real growth didn't occur before their echolocation started to evolve. Toothed whales' brains have a poor connection between the two hemispheres. Toothed whales have an organ called the melon on their head, which is used as a lens to focus their sound waves. Vocal chords are not present; their sounds are produced in the blowhole system instead. Toothed whales have lost their sense of smell, as well as their saliva glands. See: Animal echolocation: animals emitting sound waves and listening to the echo in order to locate objects or navigate. ...


Except for the Sperm Whale, most toothed whales are smaller than the baleen whales. The teeth differ considerably between the species. They may be numerous, with some dolphins bearing over 100 teeth in their jaws. At the other extreme are the Narwhal with its single long tusk and the almost toothless beaked whales with bizarre teeth only in males. Not all species are believed to use their teeth for feeding. For instance, the Sperm Whale likely uses its teeth for aggression and showmanship. Binomial name Physeter macrocephalus 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. ... 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. ... Genera See article below. ... Binomial name Monodon monoceros Linnaeus, 1758 Narwhal range The Narwhal (Monodon monoceros) is an Arctic species of cetacean. ... Genera Berardius Hyperoodon Indopacetus Mesoplodon Tasmacetus Ziphius A beaked whale is any of at least 20 species of small whale in the family Ziphiidae. ...


Behaviour

Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ...

Vocals

Vocalizations are of great importance for toothed whales. While many species also maintain a broad variety of calls to communicate; all species investigated so far use short click sound for purposes of echolocation. Sperm whales use low frequencies (a few to perhaps 50 kHz), while other employ more narrow band high frequency sounds (porpoises, Cephalorhyncus species like Hector's dolphin). Most dolphin species use very broad band clicks. Echolocation, also called Biosonar, is the biological sonar used by several mammals such as bats, dolphins and whales. ... Genera Kogia Physeter The sperm whale family or simply the sperm whales is the collective name given to three species of whale, the Sperm Whale, the Pygmy Sperm Whale and the Dwarf Sperm Whale. ... Genera Neophocaena Phocoena - Harbor porpoises Phocoenoides - Dalls porpoises The porpoises are small cetaceans of the family Phocoenidae; they are related to whales and dolphins. ... Binomial name Cephalorhynchus hectori Van Beneden, 1881 Hectors Dolphin range Hectors Dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori) is the most well-known of the four dolphins in the genus Cephalorhynchus. ...


Movement

Most toothed whales swim rapidly. The smaller species occasionally ride waves, such as the bow waves of ships. Dolphins can be frequently encountered this way. They are also famous for their acrobatic breaching from the water, e.g. the Spinner Dolphin. Genera See article below. ... Binomial name Stenella longirostris (Gray, 1828) Spinner Dolphin range The Spinner Dolphin (Stenella longirostris) is a small dolphin found in off-shore tropical waters around the world. ...


Social behaviour

Generally, toothed whales live in groups of up to a dozen animals. These groups, called pods or schools, occasionally merge to form "superpods", aggregations of up to thousands of whales. Toothed whales are capable of complex interactions, such as cooperative hunting. In captivity, some species display a high potential for learning; for this reason they are considered being among the most intelligent animals.


Human impact

The Sperm Whale has been hunted commercially for a long time (see whaling). While small whales like the Pilot Whale today are still being pursued, the main threat for most species is accidental capture in fishing nets. Binomial name Physeter macrocephalus 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. ... The crew of the oceanographic research vessel Princesse Alice, of Albert Grimaldi (later Prince Albert I of Monaco) pose while flensing a catch. ... Binomial name Globicephala macrorhynchus Gray, 1846 Short-finned Pilot Whale range Globicephala melas Traill, 1809 Long-finned Pilot Whale range Calderón redirects here. ...


Keeping small whales (mostly Bottlenose Dolphins, Orcas, or Belugas) in captivity is a great attraction for ocean parks and zoos. However, it is controversial because of the marine mammals' need for large spaces. Binomial name Tursiops truncatus Montagu, 1821 Bottlenose Dolphin range (in blue) The Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is the most common and well-known dolphin species. ... Binomial name Orcinus orca Linnaeus, 1758 Orca range (in blue) The Orca or Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) is the largest species of the oceanic dolphin family (Delphinidae). ... Binomial name Delphinapterus leucas (Pallas, 1776) Beluga range This article is about the whale. ...


Taxonomy


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