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Results for baleen whale
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Any of several usually large whales of the suborder Mysticeti, such as the right whale and rorquals, having a symmetrical skull, two blowholes, and whalebone plates instead of teeth. Also called mysticete, whalebone whale.
For more information on baleen whale, visit Britannica.com.
The noun has one meaning:
Meaning #1:
whale with plates of whalebone along the upper jaw for filtering plankton from the water
Synonym: whalebone whale
| Baleen whales Fossil range: latest Eocene - Recent |
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 Humpback Whale breaching
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| Around 15 species; see list of cetaceans or below. | ||||||||||
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The baleen whales, also called whalebone whales or great 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. This distinguishes them from the other suborder of cetaceans, the toothed whales or Odontoceti. Living Mysticeti species have teeth only during the embryonal phase. Fossil Mysticeti had teeth before baleen evolved.
The suborder contains four families and fourteen species. A list of species can be found below and at the Cetacea article. The scientific name derives from the Greek word mystax, which means "moustache".
Baleen whales are generally larger than toothed whales, and females are larger than males. This group comprises the largest
living animal species, the Blue Whale. Baleen whales have two blowholes, causing a V-shaped blow. 
In spite of their enormous mass, baleen whales are able to leap completely out of the water. Particularly known for their acrobatics are the Humpback Whales, but other baleen whales also break through the water surface with their body or beat it loudly with their fins. The reason for these habits is not known for certain, and was identified in three separate sightings.
In contrast to toothed whales, baleen whales are unlikely to echo-locate. Instead they are able to produce high volume sounds in the infrasonic range. The calls of the largest whales can be heard several hundred kilometres away. Unique are the songs of the Humpback Whales, consisting of complex sequences that may slowly evolve over years. They are probably used for courting.
From the 11th to the late 20th centuries, baleen whales were hunted commercially for their oil and baleen. Their oil can be made into margarine and cooking oils. Baleen was used to stiffen corsets, as parasol ribs and to crease paper.
Early baleen whales first appeared as far back as Early Oligocene, or perhaps the latest Eocene (39-29 million years ago). Early baleen whales did not have (or had very little) baleen, but still had teeth obtained from their ancestors. Among them was Janjucetus, a baleen whale with sharp teeth that hunted fishes, squid, and large prey such as sharks and probably dolphin-like cetaceans. This hints that early baleen whales were predatory and eventually evolved into the gentler, toothless whales known today. The first baleened, toothless baleen whales probably appeared in the Early or Middle Miocene, from a toothed ancestor that adapted to eat small fishes or other creatures and eventually to feed by filtering.
| Cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) | ||
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Suborder Mysticeti (baleen whales) |
Eschrichtiidae (gray whales) · Balaenopteridae (rorquals) · Balaenidae (right whales) · Neobalaenidae (pygmy right whales) |
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Suborder Odontoceti (toothed whales) |
Platanistoidea (river dolphins) · Delphinidae (oceanic dolphins) · Phocoenidae (porpoises) · Monodontidae (beluga and narwhal) · Physeteridae (sperm whales) · Kogiidae (pygmy and dwarf sperm whales) · Ziphiidae (beaked whales) |
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| Baleen whales | |
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| Bowhead Whale · Southern Right Whale · North Atlantic Right Whale · North Pacific Right Whale · Fin Whale · Sei Whale · Bryde's Whale · Blue Whale · Minke Whale · Balaenoptera omurai · Humpback Whale · Gray Whale · Pygmy Right Whale | |
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Copyrights:
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 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Baleen whale". Read more |
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