Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Air sacs just below the blowhole allow whales to produce sounds for communication and, for toothed whales, echolocation. These air sacs are filled with air, which is then released again to produce sound in a similar fashion to releasing air from a balloon. When whales dive under water their nasal plug covers the nasal passage to the blowhole.
Whales evolved from land-living mammals, and must regularly surface to breathe air, although they can remain underwater for long periods of time. Some species, such as the sperm whale, can stay underwater for up to 90 minutes. [2] They have blowholes (modified nostrils) located on top of their heads, through which air is taken in and expelled.
Humpback whales may also make stand-alone sounds that do not form part of a song, particularly during courtship rituals. [15] Finally, humpbacks make a third class of sound called the feeding call. [citation needed] This is a long sound (5 to 10 s duration) of near constant frequency. Humpbacks generally feed cooperatively by gathering in ...
Breathe air. Have hair or fur. Give birth to live young. Produce milk and feed it to offspring. Are warm-blooded. Humans have nostrils to breathe and so do whales.
A few toothed whales, such as some orcas, feed on mammals such as pinnipeds and other whales. [15] [16] Toothed whales have well-developed senses – their eyesight and hearing are adapted for both air and water, and they have advanced sonar capabilities using their melon. Their hearing is so well-adapted for both air and water that some blind ...
The physiology of underwater diving is the physiological adaptations to diving of air-breathing vertebrates that have returned to the ocean from terrestrial lineages. They are a diverse group that include sea snakes, sea turtles, the marine iguana, saltwater crocodiles, penguins, pinnipeds, cetaceans, sea otters, manatees and dugongs.
Fewer than 400 individual North Atlantic right whales remain in the wild, and their numbers continue to decline. Oceana, a conservation group based in D.C., has reported numerous collisions ...
Like the other toothed whales, belugas do not possess vocal cords and the sounds are probably produced by the movement of air between the nasal sacks, which are located near to the blowhole. [46] Belugas are among the most vocal cetaceans. [109] They use their vocalisations for echolocation, during mating and for communication.