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On the right whale, the parasites live mainly on callosities (raised callus-like patches of skin on the whales' heads). The clusters of white lice contrast with the dark skin of the whale, and help researchers identify individual whales because of the lice clusters' unique shapes. The lice predominantly eat algae that settle on the host's body ...
Cyamus boopis is a species of whale louse in the family Cyamidae. [1]This is an ectoparasite that lives exclusively on humpback whales.The infestation is most concentrated around the genital apertures, but occurs on all parts of the body, most commonly where there is an infestation of the barnacle species Coronula diadema.
Gray whale rostrum covered in the endemic Cryptolepas rhachianecti barnacles and cyamids often called whale lice. Whale barnacles typically attach to baleen whales and have a commensal relationship–the barnacle benefits and the whale is neither helped nor harmed. [3] A single humpback whale may carry up to 450 kg (990 lb) of barnacles. [21]
Almost all species of whale lice are specialized towards a certain species of whale, and there can be more than one species per whale. Whale lice eat dead skin, resulting in minor wounds in the skin. Whale louse infestations are especially evident in right whales, where colonies propagate on their callosities. [ 102 ]
Most barnacles are encrusters, attaching themselves to a hard substrate such as a rock, the shell of a mollusc, or a ship; or to an animal such as a whale (whale barnacles). The most common form, acorn barnacles , are sessile , growing their shells directly onto the substrate, whereas goose barnacles attach themselves by means of a stalk.
The narwhal was scientifically described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 publication Systema Naturae. [5] The word "narwhal" comes from the Old Norse nárhval, meaning 'corpse-whale', which possibly refers to the animal's grey, mottled skin and its habit of remaining motionless when at the water's surface, a behaviour known as "logging" that usually happens in the summer.
Spade-toothed whales are the world’s rarest, with no live sightings ever recorded. No one knows how many there are, what they eat, or even where they live in the vast expanse of the southern ...
This is an accepted version of this page This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 30 January 2025. Large baleen whale species Humpback whale Temporal range: 7.2–0 Ma Pre๊ ๊ O S D C P T J K Pg N Late Miocene – Recent Size compared to an average human Conservation status Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) CITES Appendix I (CITES) Scientific classification Domain: Eukaryota Kingdom ...