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Cetacean Facts
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Whales, dolphins and porpoises are collectively called cetaceans, since they all belong
to the order Cetacea.
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The order Cetacea is divided into 2 suborders: Odontoceti and Mysticeti.
Dolphins and porpoises, along with other species such as the sperm whale, the beaked whales, the narwhal and the beluga are Odontocetes
- i.e. they have teeth.
On the contrary, proper whales (mysticetes) do not have teeth. Instead, they have
a large number of comb-like keratin plates, called baleen,
hanging from the upper jaw. Baleen plates act like a sieve, allowing whales to filter
the plankton and small fish they feed upon.
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Cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) are mammals. They are warm-blooded
and give birth to live offspring, which are breastfed.
Unlike fish, cetaceans are unable to extract oxygen from the water and therefore need to
periodically surface in order to breathe.
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Cetaceans breathe air at the surface of the water through their blowholes, the equivalent of our nostrils.
Mysticetes (baleen whales) have two blowholes while odontocetes (toothed cetaceans) have
only one blowhole.
Unlike humans and most other mammals, they are unable to breathe through their mouth, which makes it possible for them to feed
underwater while keeping their respiratory system free of water.
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Cetaceans use their tail to swim. Unlike fish, the tail of whales, dolphins and porpoises lies in an
horizontal plane and it is moved up and down rather than from side to side.
Muscles actively work when the tail is raised, while they rest (or almost completely rest) when the
tail is lowered.
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More cetacean facts...
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Why make a double mistake calling them Killer Whales? Orcas never attack men,
and belonging to the "Delphinidae" family they are actually dolphins, not whales!
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| Cetacean Quiz | | |
Ten questions are randomly extracted from our database every time
you want to test your knowledge about whales, dolphins
and porpoises.
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As close as they want to be is the closest you should wish to get.
| | | Autore: | Enrico Villa | | Titolo: | Nalinka's Company Owner
| | Foto: | A Gray Whale comes very close to our inflatable boat to socialise and play. (Ucluelet - BC Canada) |
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This site is a tribute of Enrico Villa and Dania Tesei to their beloved Cetacean Friends.
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