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All members of the family have a series of longitudinal folds of skin running from below the mouth back to the navel (except the sei whale and common minke whale, which have shorter grooves). These furrows allow the mouth to expand immensely when feeding. [5] These "pleated throat grooves" distinguish balaenopterids from other whales. [5]
The throats of all beaked whales have a bilaterally paired set of grooves that are associated with their unique feeding mechanism, suction feeding. [9] Instead of capturing prey with their teeth, beaked whales suck it into their oral cavity. Suction is aided by the throat grooves, which stretch and expand to accommodate food.
Blainville's beaked whales do not capture prey by biting. They use suction feeding to capture prey. They create low pressure in the mouth by retracting tongue, and using throat grooves to expand throat volume. This creates a lower pressure in the mouth than the surrounding waters, allowing the whale to suck in water and whole prey. [12]
Fossils have revealed an ancient marine reptile with a loosely connected jaw that allowed its throat to balloon out to a massive size so it could filter feed the way right whales do today.
As the whales swim up to the surface to feed they can hold up to 15,000 gallons of sea water in their mouths. [citation needed] Humpback whales have 14 to 35 throat grooves that run from the top of the chin all the way down to the navel. [3] These grooves allow the mouth to expand. [3]
The melon forms a small bulge, the mouthline is straight, and throat grooves are present. [4] Adult males are dark gray dorsally (on back) grading to white ventrally (on stomach). [4] The ventral side of the tail flukes are light gray with converging striations and a white patch around the umbilicus (navel). [4]
The whale discovered in July is believed to be a male and is the seventh specimen of this species ever found. In 2010, the first intact specimen was discovered when a mother and calf were stranded ...
The throat grooves and the developed musculature in the throat in Kogia are probably adaptations for increasing the volume of the mouth for suction feeding, possibly the best-developed among toothed whales. Also, the blunt snout, lack of teeth, and reduced jaw are characteristics seen in other suction feeding toothed whales.