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Cetaceans The Largest Organisms on Earth 1

CETACEANS The order Cetacea includes the marine mammals commonly known as whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Cetus is Latin and is used in biological names to mean "whale"; its originalI meaning, "large sea animal", was more general. Fossil evidence suggests that cetaceans I share a common ancestor with land-dwelling mammals that began living in marine environ- ments around 50 million years ago. Today, they are the mammals best adapted to aquatic life. Some species are noted for their high intelligence. At the 2012 meeting in Vancouver, I Canada, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (the world's largest science conference), support was reiterated for a cetacean bill of rights, listing cetaceans as non-human persons. The heaviest living animals are all cetaceans, and thus also the largest living mammals. Since no scale can accommodate the whole body of a large whale, most whales have been weighed by parts. Fluke of the species Life-span of the species Weight of the species Dive duration/bepth traveled uPopulation of the species to body ratio Birth weight Location of the species THE LARGEST ORGANISMS ON EARTH Amount of food do Bigger gender (consumed per day) feet O 10 20 30 40 60 70 80 90 100 The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is a marine mammal belonging to the baleen whales (Mysticeti). It is the largest known | I animal ever to have existod Long and slender, the blue whale's body can be varlous shades of bluish-grey dorsally and somewhat I ighter undemeath. There are at least three distinct subspecies: B. m. musoulus of the North Alantic and North Pacific, B. m. interme- I dia of the Southem Ocean and B. m. brevicauda (also known as the pygmy blue whale) found in the hdan Ocean and South| | Paciic Ocean. B. m. indica, found in the Indian Ocean, may be another subspecies. As with other baleen whales, ts diet consists almost exclusively of small crustaceans known as kril. - - - - -- - - - | The fn whale (Balaenoptera physalus), also caled the frback whale, razorback, or common rorqual, is a marne mammal I belonging to the suborder of baleen whales. It is the second longest animal in the world and second largest rorqual after the | | blue whale. The American naturalist Roy Chapman Andrews called the in whale "the greyhound of the sea. for its beautiful, | | slender body is buit ke a racing yacht and the animal can surpass the speed of the fastest ocean steamship. Long and slender, the I in whale's body is brownish-grey with a paler underside. At least two recognized subspecies exdst: the North Atlantc and the Southem Hemisphere. ▬-- -- -- | The sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus), or cachalot, is the largest of the toothed whales. It is the only living member of genus | | Physeter. The sperm whale can be found anywhere in the open ocean. The head of the whale contains a iquid wax called | I spermaceti, from which the whale derives its name. Spermaceti was used in lubricants, ol lamps, and candes. Ambergris, a I waste produc from its digestive system, is sil used as a txative in perfumes. Occasionaly the sperm whale's great size alowed it to| I defend itself effectively against whalers. Sperm whales feed on giant squid, found in the deepest levels of the ocean. 6000 | 7900 180-9030 mins, 25,000 hdan Ocean Ibs 200 15.26 lb, Pacific Ocean pre-whaling 300,000 Population trend: Atlantic Ocean 0.007% years 1640 feet tons Ibs of krll Antarctic Ocean 5000 | 400o 180-90120 mins, 85,000 Pacific Ooean Ibs 60 15.27 lb, pre-whaling 400,000 Atlantic Ocean Population trend: 0.02% years 470 feet Antarctic Ocean tons Ibs of krill 2000 | 2000 170-8060 mins, 500,00O Pacific Ocean Ibs 60 17.1 Ibs, pre whaling 2.4 million Atlantic Ocean Population trend: Indian Ocean 0.02% years 4000 feet tons Ibs of krill Antarctic Ocean | Right whales are three specles of large baleen whales of the genus Eubalaena: the North Alantic right whale (E. glacialis), the | | North Paciic right whale (E. japonica) and the southem right whale E australis. Right whales have round bodies with arching | I rostrums, V-shaped blowholes and dark gray or black skin. The most distinguishing feature of a right whale is the rough patches of I skin on its head which appear white due to parastism by whale ice. Because of their docle nature, her slow surface-skimming | I feeding behaviors, their tendencies to stay close to the coast, and their high blubber content, right whales were a preferred target for | 6.8 lbs, 3000 3800 50-7040 mins, Ibs 60 30 Pacific Ocean pre wheling unknown Atlantic Ocean Population trend: 0.005% years 1000 feet Antarctic Ocean tons Ibs of krill whalers. | The Bowhead whale (Balaena mysicous) is a baleen whale of the right whale famiy Balaenidae, in suborder Mysticeti and genus | | Balaena It is a stocky dark-colored whale without a dorsal fn. It ves entirely in ferile Arctic and sub-Arctic waters, unlike other I whales that migrate to feed or reproduce to low latitude waters. It wes also known as Greenland right whale or Arctic whale. Ameri- | I can whalemen caled it the stoeple-top, polar whale, or Russia or Russian whale The bowhead has the largest mouth of any | animal. 100- [15 mins, 10,500 Arctic Ocean 200 years |500 feet 15 mins, 70 6.1 lbs, 2200 4000 Ibs pre-whaling 50,000+ Population trend: Pacific Ocean tons 0.004% Ibs of krill Antarctic Ocean | The Sel whale (Balaenoptera boreals), is a baloen whale, It inhabits most oceans and adjoning soas, and prefers deep offshore| waters.t avoids polar and tropical waters and semi-enclosed bodies of water. The whale's body is typically a dark steel grey with | I iregular ight grey to whke markings on the ventral surtace, or towards the front of the lower body. The whale has a relatively | | short series of 32-60 pleats or grooves along its ventral surface that extend halfway between the pectoral fins and umbilicus (n | other spedes it usually extends to or past the umbilicus), restricting the expansion of the buccal cavity during feeding compared to | Oher species, 80,000 Atlantic Ocean 33 5.4lbs, 1500 2000 60-70 Ibs pre-whaling 150,000 Population trend: Pacific Ocean Indian Ocean years 300 feet ? tons 0.008% Ibs of krill Antarctic Ocean The Humpback whale (Megaptera noasangliae) is a species of | baleen whale. Males produce a complex song lasting 10 to 20 | minutes, which they repeat for hours at a tme. Ahumpback whale| can easily be identified by its stocky body with an obvious hump | and black dorsal coloring. The head and lower jaw are covered with knobs called tuberdes, which are hair folicles, and are | characteristic of the species. The fuked tal, which it ifts above the surface in some dive sequences, has wavy traling edges. The | long black and white tail fin, which can be up to a third of body | lengih, and the pectoral fins have unique pattems, which make individual whales identiiable. | 10.3 os, 4400 4500 45-5015 mins. 40,000 Pacic Oosan years 550 feet 40 10.3 lbs, 4400 4500 45-50115 mins, Atlantic Ocean pre whaling 120,000 Population trend: Indian Ocean Ibs Antarctic Ocean Arctic Ocean tons 0.0125% Ibs of krill | The Gray whale, also spelt grey whale, (Eschrichtius robustus) is a baleen whale that migrates between feeding and breeding | grounds yearly. The common name of the whale comes from the gray patches and white moting on its dark skin. Gray whales | were once called devil fish because of ther fighing behavior when hunted The gray whale is the soe iving species in the genus | Eschrichtius, which in tum is the sole iving genus in the famly Eschrichtidae. This mammal descended from fiter-feeding whales | that developed at the beginning of the Oligocene, over 30 milon years ago. 40 9.6lbs, 2000| 2400 50-7015 mins, 20,000 Arctic Ocean pre whaing unknown Population trend: Pacific Ocean Ibs years 150 feet tons 0.012% Ibs of krll 100,000 Arctic Ocean I The Kiler whalo (Orcinus orca), also referred to as the orca whale or orca, and less commonly as the blackfsh, is a toothed whale | I belonging o the ocear have a diverse diet. They feed on fsh, marine mammals such as | sea lions, seals, watuses, and even large whales. Killer whales are regarded as apex predators, lacking natural predators. Kiler | whales are highly sodat some populations are composed of matrlineal family groups which are the most stable of any animal species. Their sophisticated huning techniques and vocal behav- iors are ofen speciic to a particular group and passed across | generations, and are described as manilestations of cuture. 10 12.3 lbs, 300 3500 35-5010 mins, dolphin family. Kiler whales as a Antarctic Ocean no whaling Population trend: Pacific Ocean Ibs Ibs of krll years tons 0.06% 320 feet Atlantic Ocean Indian Ocean 1500,000| The Minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), or lesser rorqual, is a name given to a species of marine mammal belonging to a | I dade within the suborder of baleen whales. The minke whale is a black/graypurple color. Common minke whales (Northem Hemi- | sphere varlety) are distinguished from other whales by a white band on each fipper. The body is usually black or dark-gray above | I and white undemeath. Minke whales have between 240 and 360 baleen plates on each side of their mouths. Most of the length of | the back, including dorsal fn and blowholes, appears at once when the whale surfaces to breathe. 15 4.8 lbs, 88o 3500 30-50/20 mins, wang sared eceny Allantic Oocean Population trend: Pacific Ocean tons 0.016% Ibs Ibs of krll years 300 feet Antarctic Ocean 12 Ostriches Just how big are Blue Whales? Sauropod Bephant Seals 1 :3 whale Sharks 6 Saltwater Crocodiles 30 Rafflesia amoldi Blue Whales are the largest known organisms (capable of exhibiting locomotion) to currently exist on the Earth. Their size is so massive, that they dwarf many species of dinosaurs from pre-historic eras. In some cases, Blue Whales have exceeded the bodily length of Sauropods, the longest known ani- mals to have ever existed. Due to its large size, several organs of the blue whale are the largest in the animal kingdom. A blue whale's tongue weighs around 3 tons (the weight of an adult male African Bush elephant). When fully expanded, its mouth is large enough to hold up to 99 tons of food and water. Despite the size of its mouth, the dimensions of its throat are such that a blue whale cannot swallow an object wider than a beach ball. Its heart weighs 1,300 lbs and is the largest known in any animal. I Blue Whale is as long as: ;6 African Elephants 5 Python reticulatus 16 Humans

Cetaceans The Largest Organisms on Earth 1

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An information design piece meant for display in a museum to help people understand the differences between the top 10 largest species of whales.

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