Wikipedia tells us this about whales:
Whales, derived from Proto-Germanic word hwæl, are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic marine mammals. They comprise the extant families Cetotheriidae (whose only living member is the pygmy right whale), Balaenopteridae (the rorqual whales), Balaenidae (right whales), Eschrichtiidae (the grey whale), Monodontidae (belugas and narwhals), Physeteridae (the sperm whale), Kogiidae (the dwarf and pygmy sperm whale), and Ziphiidae (the beaked whales). There are 40 extant species of whales. The two suborders of whales, Mysticeti and Odontoceti, are thought to have split up around 34 million years ago. Whales belong to the clade Cetartiodactyla and their closest living relative is the hippo having diverged about 40 million years ago.
But I like Whales because they are:
There are some key parts of the whale's anatomy that I think are interesting.
- Blowhole:Mysticetes have two blowholes, whereas Odontocetes contain only one. Breathing involves expelling stale airfrom the blowhole, forming an upward, steamy spout, followed by inhaling fresh air into the lungs; a humpback whale's lungs can hold about 5,000 liters of air.Spout shapes differ among species, which facilitates identification.
- Blubber:All whales have a thick layer of blubber. In species that live near the poles, the blubber can be as thick as 11 inches. This blubber can help with buoyancy (which is helpful for a 100 ton whale), protection to some extent as predators would have a hard time getting through a thick layer of fat, and energy for fasting when migrating to the equator; the primary usage for blubber is insulation from the harsh climate. It can constitute as much as 50% of a whales body weight. Calves are born with only a thin layer of blubber, but some species compensate for this with thick lanugos.
Whale doing backflip
Whale saying "Hi"