Whales, porpoises, and dolphins are known as cetaceans.The word “whale” is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word “hwael,” which literally means “a large fish.”.Male blue whales have the largest penis in the whole animal kingdom, measuring around 9.8 feet long!.Blue whales were almost hunted to extinction by whaling ships until the species was given protection in 1966.These mammals have the scientific genus-species classification Balaenoptera musculus andbelong to the Kingdom Animalia, like humans! 10 Blue Whale Interesting Facts Cold water diatoms stick to the whale’s skin, giving the animal’s underbelly a yellowish tinge, which is where that other common name comes from.īlue whales belong to the phylum Chordata, the class Mammalia, the Order Cetacea, and the family Balaenopteridae. The blue whale is also known as the sulfur-bottom whale. The Pygmy blue whale is a subspecies found in the waters of Madagascar, Australia, and New Zealand. These whales migrate to the eastern tropical Pacific and the waters around the Galapagos Islands. Some Antarctic blue whales in the Southern Hemisphere migrate to low and middle latitudes during the winter months, although some don’t migrate at all.Īn as-yet-unnamed blue whale species is found in the Southeastern Pacific Ocean, especially the Chiloense Ecoregion. However, oceanographic changes related to the monsoons could explain why the whales leave. Some whales might migrate, but their movements are not fully understood. There’s a resident population of blue whales in the northern Indian Ocean, specifically in the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the Gulf of Aden. Interestingly, blue whale mothers and blue whale calves are often seen in what’s thought to be an important nursery and calving area in the Gulf of California from December through March. It’s thought these whales feed throughout the summer in the central North Pacific, the Gulf of Alaska, and off the US West Coast. Spotters have seen blue whales off eastern Canada and in the shelf waters of the eastern US.Įastern North Pacific blue whales spend the winter in the warm waters of Central America, Mexico, and the US West Coast. Whales in the North Atlantic range from subtropical waters to the Greenland Sea. ![]() To enable the whale to gulp down vast quantities of food, its grooved throat can expand like a concertina when the animal is feeding.īlue whales breathe through two blowholes, blasting up to 40 feet up into the air! Locomotion The animal’s jaw is lined with between 70 and 395 black baleen plates that the whale uses to extract krill and plankton from the water. Like all baleen whales, blue whales are filter feeders. ![]() The flippers are thin and elongated, and the dorsal fin is sickle-shaped and situated close to the whale’s tail. ![]() The whale has a gray or mottled blue back and a pale underbelly. What Does a Blue Whale Look Like?īlue whales ( Balaenoptera musculus ) are long, streamlined animals having enormous, broad heads with a unique U-shaped arch that can extend to a quarter of the animal’s entire body length. Here are some facts about the majestic blue whale. Keep reading to learn more blue whale facts and find out what you can do to help them. These amazing animals are classified as endangered, but much is being done to save them, and you can help too! Today, thanks to human activity, there are around just 25,000 blue whales left in the wild, and that’s a tragedy. Blue whales are magnificent creatures that have graced our oceans for over one million years.ĭid you know that the blue whale is the largest known animal to have ever lived on earth? A mere 200 years ago, there were thought to be over 350,000 of these awesome mammals in our oceans.
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