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It is known that modern mysticetes have teeth initially and then develop baleen plate germs in utero, but lose their dentition and have only baleen during their juvenile years and adulthood. However, developing mysticetes do not produce tooth enamel because at some point this trait evolved to become a pseudogene. This is likely to have occurred ...
Baleen whales have no teeth; instead, they have plates of baleen, fringe-like structures that enable them to expel the huge mouthfuls of water they take in while retaining the krill and plankton they feed on. Because their heads are enormous—making up as much as 40% of their total body mass—and they have throat pleats that enable them to ...
And sperm whales function as a family, "Sperm whales are often spotted in groups (called pods) of some 15 to 20 animals. Pods include females and their young, while males may roam solo or move ...
Mysticetes do not have phonic lip structure. Instead, they have a larynx that appears to play a role in sound production, as it has vocal folds (vocal "cord") homologs in the U-shaped fold supported by arytenoid cartilages. [39] Whales do not have to exhale in order to produce sound, as they capture the air in a laryngeal sac.
The degree of calcification varies between species, with the sei whale having 14.5% hydroxyapatite, a mineral that coats teeth and bones, whereas minke whales have 1–4% hydroxyapatite. In most mammals, keratin structures, such as wool , air-dry, but aquatic whales rely on calcium salts to form on the plates to stiffen them. [ 58 ]
Scientists think they might have finally learned the secret to how whales sing their complicated songs. We knew whales made a vast array of vocalizations, called songs, that can carry for ...
In terms of length, blue whales have often been compared to three school buses lined up back to back. These whales measure 90-100 feet long and are estimated to weigh from 200,000-352,000 pounds ...
The Faroes whales have also been contaminated with cadmium and mercury. [55] However, pilot whales from Newfoundland and Tasmania were found to have had very low levels of DDT. [4] Short-finned pilot whales off the west coast of the US have had high amounts of DDT and PCB in contrast to the low amounts found in whales from Japan and the ...