Content
- Whale Characteristics
- Types of whale in the family Balaenidae
- Types of whale in the family Balaenopteridae
- Types of whale in the Cetotheriidae family
- Types of whale in the Eschrichtiidae family
- Endangered Whale Species
Whales are one of the most amazing animals on the planet and, at the same time, very little is known about them. Some of the whale species are the longest-lived mammals on Planet Earth, so much so that some of the individuals alive today may have been born in the 19th century.
In this article by PeritoAnimal we will find out how many types of whales there are, their characteristics, which whales are in danger of extinction and many other curiosities.
Whale Characteristics
Whales are a type of cetaceans grouped in the suborder Mysticity, characterized by having beard plates instead of teeth, as do dolphins, killer whales, sperm whales or porpoises (suborder odontoceti). They are marine mammals, fully adapted to aquatic life. His ancestor came from the mainland, an animal similar to today's hippopotamus.
The physical characteristics of these animals are what makes them so suitable for underwater life. Yours pectoral and dorsal fins allow them to maintain their balance in the water and move through it. In the upper part of the body they have two holes or spiracles through which they take the necessary air to remain underwater for long periods of time. The suborder cetaceans odontoceti they have only one spiracle.
On the other hand, the thickness of its skin and the accumulation of fat under it help the whale to maintain a constant body temperature when they descend into the water column. This, together with the cylindrical shape of its body, which provides hydrodynamic characteristics, and the microbiota that live in its digestive tract through a mutualistic relationship, causes whales to explode when they die stranded on beaches.
What characterizes this group are the beard plates they have instead of teeth, which they use to eat. When a whale bites into the prey-laden water, it closes its mouth and, with its tongue, pushes the water out, forcing it to pass between its beards and leaving the food trapped. Then, with his tongue, he picks up all the food and swallows.
Most have a dark gray on the back and white on the belly, so they can go unnoticed in the water column. There are no types of white whales, only the beluga (Delphinapterus leucas), which is not a whale, but a dolphin. In addition, whales are classified into four families, with a total of 15 species, which we will see in the following sections.
Types of whale in the family Balaenidae
The balenid family is composed of two distinct living genera, the genera Balaena and the gender Eubalaena, and by three or four species, depending on whether we are based on morphological or molecular studies.
This family includes the longer-lived mammal species. They are characterized by having a very convex lower jaw towards the outside, which gives them this characteristic appearance. They don't have folds under their mouths that they can expand when they feed, so the shape of their jaws is what allows them to pick up large amounts of water with food. Furthermore, this group of animals does not have a dorsal fin. They are a relatively small type of whale, measuring between 15 and 17 meters, and are slow swimmers.
THE greenland whale (Balaena mysticetus), the only species of its genus, is one of the most threatened by whaling, is in danger of extinction according to the IUCN, but only in the subpopulations surrounding Greenland [1]. In the rest of the world, there is no concern for them, so Norway and Japan continue hunting. Interestingly, it is thought to be the longest living mammal on the planet, which has lived for over 200 years.
In the southern hemisphere of the planet, we find the southern right whale (Eubalaena Australis), one of the types of whales in Chile, an important fact because it was here that, in 2008, a decree declared them a natural monument, declaring the region a "free zone for whaling". It seems that in this region the abundance of this species has improved thanks to the ban on hunting, but death from entanglement in fishing nets continues. In addition, it has been proven that in recent years the Dominican Seagulls (larus dominicanus) have increased their population considerably and, unable to obtain food resources, they devour the skin on the backs of young or young whales, many dying from their wounds.
North of the Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic inhabits the North Atlantic Right Whale or basque whale (Eubalaena glacialis), which gets its name because the Basques were once the main hunters of this animal, bringing them almost to extinction.
The last species of this family is the Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica), almost extinct because of illegal whaling by the Soviet state.
Types of whale in the family Balaenopteridae
You balenoptera or rorquais are a family of whales created by an English zoologist at the British Museum of Natural History in 1864. The name rorqual is derived from Norwegian and means "grooved in the throat". This is the distinguishing feature of this type of whale. In the lower jaw they have some folds that expand when they take water for food, allowing them to take a larger amount at once; it would work similarly to the crawl that some birds like pelicans have. The number and length of folds vary from one species to another. You biggest animals known belong to this group. Its length varies between 10 and 30 meters.
Within this family we find two genres: the genus Balaenoptera, with 7 or 8 species and the genus Megapter, with only one species, the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae). This whale is a cosmopolitan animal, present in almost all seas and oceans. Their breeding grounds are tropical waters, where they migrate from the cold waters. Along with the Northern Right Whale (Eubalaena glacialis), it is most often entangled in fishing nets. Note that humpback whales are only allowed to be hunted in Greenland, where up to 10 per year can be hunted, and on the island of Bequia, 4 per year.
The fact that there are 7 or 8 species in this family is due to the fact that it has not yet been clarified whether the tropical rorqual species should be divided into two. Balaenoptera eden and Balaenoptera brydei. This whale is characterized by having three cranial crests. They can measure up to 12 meters in length and weigh 12,000 kilos.
One of the types of whales in the Mediterranean is the Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus). It is the second largest whale in the world, after the blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus), reaching 24 meters in length. This whale is easy to distinguish in the Mediterranean from other types of cetaceans such as the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), because when diving it does not show its tail fin, as the latter does.
The other species of whales in this family are
- Sei Whale (Balaenoptera borealis)
- Dwarf Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata)
- Antarctic Minke Whale (Balaenoptera bonaerensis)
- Umura Whale (Balaenoptera omurai)
Types of whale in the Cetotheriidae family
Until a few years ago it was believed that Cetotheriidae had become extinct in the early Pleistocene, although recent studies of The Royal Society have determined that there is a living species of this family, the pygmy right whale (Caperea marginata).
These whales live in the southern hemisphere, in areas of temperate waters. There are few sightings of this species, most of the data comes from past captures from the Soviet Union or from groundings. Are very small whales, about 6.5 meters in length, has no throat folds, so its appearance is similar to that of the whales of the Balaenidae family. In addition, they have short dorsal fins, presenting in their bone structure only 4 fingers instead of 5.
Types of whale in the Eschrichtiidae family
The Eschrichtiidae are represented by a single species, the gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus). This whale is characterized by not having a dorsal fin and instead has some species of small humps. have a arched face, unlike the rest of the whales that have a straight face. Their beard plates are shorter than other whale species.
The gray whale is one of the types of whales in Mexico. They live from that area to Japan, where they can be hunted legally. These whales feed near the bottom of the sea, but on the continental shelf, so they tend to stay close to the coast.
Endangered Whale Species
The International Whaling Commission (IWC) is an organization that was born in 1942 to regulate and ban whale hunting. Despite the efforts made, and although the situation of many species has improved, whaling continues to be one of the main causes of the disappearance of marine mammals.
Other problems include collisions with large ships, accidental plots in r.fishing nets, contamination by DDT (insecticide), plastic contamination, climate change and thaw, which kills populations of krill, the main food for many of the whales.
The species currently threatened or critically threatened are:
- Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus)
- The Southern Right Whale Subpopulation of Chile-Peru (Eubalaena Australis)
- North Atlantic Right Whale (Eubalaena glacialis)
- The oceanic subpopulation of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae)
- Tropical whale in the Gulf of Mexico (Balaenoptera eden)
- Antarctic Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus Intermedia)
- Whale I know (Balaenoptera borealis)
- Gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus)
If you want to read more articles similar to Whale Types, we recommend that you enter our Curiosities section of the animal world.