Page maintainer: Wesley R. Elsberry
Photos by Diane J. Blackwood,
Dr. William
E. Evans, and Wesley R. Elsberry
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I have listed below most species of cetaceans. Links will follow under each species. The listing follows taxonomic lines, rather than alphabetized common names or something similar. If you know a common name, but not a scientific name, try using your browser's search function for the common name. The taxonomy comes from both Peter Evans' "Biology of Whales and Dolphins" and Leatherwood and Reeves' "Handbook of Whales and Dolphins". There are a few discrepancies between the two. I hope I haven't confused the state of taxonomy too badly here.
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Baleen whales capture prey items by straining water through a series of baleen plates in the mouth, which act as filters to collect the food items.
Fast-swimming, streamlined, lunging feeders. These whales take in a large amount of water into an expanding buccal cavity, then expel the water through baleen to trap their prey.
Cruising, slow-moving, continuous filter feeders.
Called "right whales" because they were the "right" whales for whaling in the days of sailing vessels (they swam slower than the speed of the boats and they floated after death). The rorquals, by contrast, could outpace the unassisted sailing vessels or their oar-powered longboats.
The Beiji is highly endangered, with estimates of perhaps 100 animals left in the wild, and only 2 in captivity. The endangerment proceeds from habitat displacement, as the Yangtze River steadily becomes less livable for both prey items and predators.
Beaked whales are deep-water, deep-diving species only rarely (and usually briefly, if still living) encountered by humans. Most species are known from one or a few specimens, many of those washed ashore in less than perfect condition. (One must attend a necropsy to fully appreciate how much less than perfect these specimens rapidly become.)
Also known as "sea canaries" for their sound mimicking capabilities, the white whales are sometimes found in large groups in northern waters.
A convenient taxonomic pigeonhole for all fossil whales.
Whale Transitional
Fossil Evidence
When
Early Whales Left Land for Sea
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United Arab Emirates
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Site for activism concerning Killer Whales taken in Japan in 1997.
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You've read the Dave Barry article, now see the Quicktime format video
Survey of cetaceans in the Gulf of Mexico
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Hunting for Mines Navy Robots, Dolphins to Search Persian Gulf for Unseen Threats
Navy's underwater allies: Dolphins
Marine Mammals on Active Duty: Navy Uses Dolphins, Sea Lions to Patrol Waters in Persian Gulf
Mine-Hunting Dolphin AWOL In Iraq?
Animal Tales: Dolphins do duty in wartime
Dolphins Deployed as Undersea Agents in Iraq
Long wait for help is over as 'Sir Galahad' docks with supplies
Navy dolphins drafted in mine-clearing effort
Former dolphin trainer misses her student, now in the gulf
Navy Dolphins Sweep Iraqi Waters For Mines: Auburn Man Helped Develop Dolphin Mine Sweeping Program
Sam Ridgway's book about Tuf Guy and Sam's career as a marine mammal vet.
Computer automated photo-identification of individual bottlenose dolphins.
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