Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Balaenidae (/ b ə ˈ l ɛ n ɪ d eɪ,-d iː /) is a family of whales of the parvorder Mysticeti (baleen whales) that contains mostly fossil taxa and two living genera: the right whale (genus Eubalaena), and the closely related bowhead whale (genus Balaena).
The fin whale is the fastest among baleen whales, having been recorded travelling as fast as 10 m/s (36 km/h; 22 mph), and sustaining a speed of 2.5 m/s (9.0 km/h; 5.6 mph) for an extended period. [51] While feeding, the rorqual jaw expands to a volume that can be bigger than the whale itself; [52] to do this, the
Throughout history, the family Balaenidae has been the subject of great taxonomic debate. Authorities have repeatedly recategorized the three populations of right whale plus the bowhead whale, as one, two, three or four species, either in a single genus or in two separate genera.
An unnamed species with most complete specimen is known from the U.S. [6] (as well as the only one on display in North America [7]) was found at Lake Waccamaw, North Carolina in 2008. The whale's skull was excavated from the limestone outcropping by the state's Underwater Archaeology Branch , prepared, and permanently displayed at the Lake ...
The communities first split because of the joining of North and South America. The rising temperatures of the equator then created a second split, into northern and southern groups, preventing them from interbreeding. [20] "This puts an end to the long debate about whether there are three Eubalaena species of right whale. They really are ...
Rorquals (/ ˈ r ɔːr k w əl z /) are the largest group of baleen whales, comprising the family Balaenopteridae, which contains nine extant species in two genera.They include the largest known animal that has ever lived, the blue whale, which can reach 180 tonnes (200 short tons), and the fin whale, which reaches 120 tonnes (130 short tons); even the smallest of the group, the northern minke ...
The southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) is a baleen whale, one of three species classified as right whales belonging to the genus Eubalaena.Southern right whales inhabit oceans south of the Equator, between the latitudes of 20° and 60° south. [5]
Balaenoptera (from Latin balaena 'whale' and Ancient Greek πτερά (pterá) 'fin') is a genus of rorquals containing eight extant species. [2] Balaenoptera comprises all but two of the extant species in its family (the humpback whale and gray whale); the genus is currently polyphyletic, with the two aforementioned species being phylogenetically nested within it.