List of whale species

List of whale species

Taxobox
name = Whales
fossil_range = Early Eocene - Recent
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Mammalia
subclassis = Eutheria
ordo = CetaceaWhales are from the order Cetacea, which also includes the dolphins and porpoises. The order contains two sub-orders, Mysticeti and Odontoceti, over which the whale species are spread. New discoveries of species has increased recently although due to the nature of whales studying them prevents easily relating the species to another, this has led to several publications stating different facts.

Baleen whales

The baleen whales form the Mysticeti, one of two suborders of the Cetacea (whales, dolphins and porpoises). Baleen whales are characterized by having baleen plates for filtering food from water, rather than having teeth. Living Mysticeti species have teeth only during the embryonal phase. Fossil Mysticeti had teeth before baleen evolved. In baleen whales, unlike with most other marine mammals, the female is larger than the male, and the largest animal ever to have lived is found in this group.

The suborder contains four families and fourteen fully known species. "Balaenoptera omurai" is a recent discovery and little is known of it, no common name has been assigned to it yet.

The scientific name derives from the Greek word "mystax", which means "moustache".

* Bowhead Whale, "Balaena mysticetus"
* North Atlantic Right Whale, "Eubalaena glacialis"
* North Pacific Right Whale, "Eubalaena japonica"
* Southern Right Whale, "Eubalaena australis"
* Fin Whale, "Balaenoptera physalus"
* Sei Whale, "Balaenoptera borealis"
* Bryde's Whale, "Balaenoptera brydei"
* Pygmy Bryde's Whale, (Eden's Whale) "Balaenoptera edeni"
* Blue Whale, "Balaenoptera musculus"
* Northern Minke Whale, "Balaenoptera acutorostrata"
* Southern Minke Whale, (Antarctic Minke Whale) "Balaenoptera bonaerensis"
* "Balaenoptera omurai", discovery announced November 2003. No common name yet in usage
* Humpback Whale, "Megaptera novaeangliae"
* Gray Whale, "Eschrichtius robustus"
* Pygmy Right Whale, "Caperea marginata"

Toothed whales

The toothed whales form the Odontoceti, the second suborder of the cetaceans. As the name suggests, the suborder is characterized by having teeth, rather than baleen. Toothed whales are active hunters, feeding on fish, squid, and in some cases marine mammals. As well as the following whales, the sub-order also contains the porpoises and dolphins.Toothed whales have a single blowhole on the top of the head, which was formed from one of the nostrils becoming dominant over the other, rather than from them both fusing together.

* Sperm Whale, "Physeter macrocephalus"
* Dwarf Sperm Whale, "Kogia sima"
* Pygmy Sperm Whale, "Kogia breviceps"
* Cuvier's Beaked Whale, "Ziphius cavirostris"
* Arnoux's Beaked Whale, "Berardius arnuxii"
* Baird's Beaked Whale (North Pacific Bottlenose Whale), "Berardius bairdii"
* Shepherd's Beaked Whale (Tasman Beaked Whale), "Tasmacetus shepherdi"
* Longman's Beaked Whale (Indo-Pacific Beaked Whale), "Indopacetus pacificus"
* Northern Bottlenose Whale, "Hyperoodon ampullatus"
* Southern Bottlenose Whale, "Hyperoodon planifrons"
* Hector's Beaked Whale, "Mesoplodon hectori"
* True's Beaked Whale, "Mesoplodon mirus"
* Gervais' Beaked Whale, "Mesoplodon europaeus"
* Sowerby's Beaked Whale, "Mesoplodon bidens"
* Gray's Beaked Whale, "Mesoplodon grayi"
* Pygmy Beaked Whale, "Mesoplodon peruvianus"
* Andrews' Beaked Whale, "Mesoplodon bowdoini"
* Bahamonde's Beaked Whale, "Mesoplodon bahamondi"
* Hubbs' Beaked Whale, "Mesoplodon carlhubbsi"
* Ginkgo-toothed Beaked Whale, "Mesoplodon ginkgodens"
* Stejneger's Beaked Whale, "Mesoplodon stejnegeri"
* Layard's Beaked Whale, "Mesoplodon layardii"
* Blainville's Beaked Whale, "Mesoplodon densirostris"
* Perrin's Beaked Whale, "Mesoplodon perrini"
* Narwhal, "Monodon monoceros"
* Beluga, "Delphinapterus leucas"

Extinct whales

Another group of whales was the Archaeoceti, which is now extinct, these were believed to be some of the earliest whales which gave rise to modern whales. Mainly only genera are known and no specific species. Not all extinct whales are from the Archaeoceti group.

* "Pakicetus"
* "Ambulocetus"
* "Basilosaurus"
* "Squalodon"
* "Mammalodon colliveri"
* "Janjucetus hunderi" - thought to have been an early baleen whale, with remnants of teeth
* Harrison's Whale, "Eobalaenoptera harrisoni" - fossil species first discovered June 2004"'

Unconfirmed species

These unconfirmed species of whales can also be considered cryptids.

* Giglioli's Whale
* High-finned sperm whale
* Trunko
* Gambo
* Bloop (an underwater sound detected by the NOAA, possibly from a whale)

ee also

*Cetacea
*Mysticeti
*Odontoceti
*Dolphin
*Whale
*List of whale songs
*List of cetaceans

References

*Cite journal: Rice cetacea classification
*MSW3 Cetacea

External links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/guides/456900/456973/html/nn1page1.stm BBC news - key species of endangered whales]
* [http://www.oceania.org.au The Oceania Project, Caring for Whales, Dolphins and the Oceans]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • List of endangered species in India — The following list includes all animals and birds which occur in India and are rated as Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN) or Vulnerable (VU) in the 2004 International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources ( IUCN ) and… …   Wikipedia

  • List of whale songs — Whale song is the sound made by whales to communicate. The word song is used in particular to describe the pattern of regular and predictable sounds made by some species of whales (notably the humpback) in a way that is reminiscent of human… …   Wikipedia

  • List of endangered species in Virginia — Below is a list of the endangered and threatened animal and plant species in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States.AnimalsMammals* Gray bat ( Myotis grisescens ) * Indiana bat ( Myotis sodalis ) * Virginia big eared bat ( Corynorhinus… …   Wikipedia

  • List of cetaceans — Taxobox name = Cetaceans fossil range = Early Eocene Recent image width = 250px image caption = Bottlenose Dolphin breaching regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata subphylum = Vertebrata classis = Mammalia ordo = Cetacea ordo authority = Brisson,… …   Wikipedia

  • Whale shark — Temporal range: 60–0 Ma …   Wikipedia

  • Whale song — is the sound made by whales to communicate. The word song is used in particular to describe the pattern of regular and predictable sounds made by some species of whales, notably the humpback. This is included with or in comparison with music, and …   Wikipedia

  • List of mammals of Canada — The North American Beaver, Castor canadensis, is the national animal of Canada This is a list of the mammal species recorded in Canada. There are approximatively 200 mammal species native to Canada. Its large territorial size and variety of… …   Wikipedia

  • List of mammals in the United States — This is a list of the mammal species recorded in the United States. There are 424 mammal species in the United States, of which 3 are critically endangered, 15 are endangered, 23 are vulnerable, and 2 are near threatened.3 of the species listed… …   Wikipedia

  • List of mammals in South Africa — This is a list of the mammal species recorded in South Africa. There are 299 mammal species in South Africa, of which 2 are critically endangered, 11 are endangered, 15 are vulnerable, and 13 are near threatened.2 of the species listed for South… …   Wikipedia

  • List of mammals of Ireland — This is a list of the mammal species recorded in Ireland. There are 55 mammal species in Ireland. A new Red List of Irish terrestrial mammals was published in 2009 and all 26 terrestrial species native to Ireland, or naturalised in Ireland before …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”