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The family Balaenidae, the right whales, contains two genera and four species. All right whales have no ventral grooves; a distinctive head shape with a strongly arched, narrow rostrum, bowed lower jaw; lower lips that enfold the sides and front of the rostrum; and long, narrow, elastic baleen plates (up to nine times longer than wide) with fine baleen fringes.
The narwhal is a stocky cetacean with a relatively blunt snout, a large melon, and a shallow ridge in place of a dorsal fin. Males of this species have a large (1.5–3.0 m (4 ft 11 in – 9 ft 10 in)) long tusk, which is a protruding left canine thought to function as a weapon, a tool for feeding, in attracting mates or sensing water salinity.
Cetaceans are famous for their high intelligence, complex social behaviour, and the enormous size of some of the group's members. For example, the blue whale reaches a maximum confirmed length of 29.9 meters (98 feet) and a weight of 173 tonnes (190 short tons), making it the largest animal ever known to have existed. [5] [6] [7]
Since they can no longer bear young of their own, these females invest in the current young, allowing them to feed even though they are not their own. [3] Short-finned pilot whales grow more slowly than long-finned pilot whales. For the short-finned pilot whale, females become sexually mature at 9 years old and males at about 13–16 years. [3]
Ranging from 9 to 98 feet in length, whales are the largest creatures on Earth. ... Whales are a part of the cetacean family, which is divided into two groups: baleen whales ...
The narwhal is a stocky cetacean with a relatively blunt snout, a large melon, and a shallow ridge in place of a dorsal fin. Males of this species have a large (1.5–3.0 m (4 ft 11 in – 9 ft 10 in)) long tusk, which is a protruding left canine thought to function as a weapon, a tool for feeding, in attracting mates or sensing water salinity.
Although whales do not possess fully developed hind limbs, some, such as the sperm whale and bowhead whale, possess discrete rudimentary appendages, which may contain feet and digits. Whales are fast swimmers in comparison to seals, which typically cruise at 5–15 kn, or 9–28 kilometres per hour (5.6–17.4 mph); the fin whale, in comparison ...
There are now four cetacean species living in or regularly visiting the busy waters east of the Golden Gate — harbor porpoises, gray whales, humpback whales and bottle-nosed dolphins.