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The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is a marine mammal and a baleen whale.Reaching a maximum confirmed length of 29.9 m (98 ft) and weighing up to 199 t (196 long tons; 219 short tons), it is the largest animal known ever to have existed.
Whales defecate at the ocean's surface; their excrement is important for fisheries because it is rich in iron and nitrogen. The whale feces are liquid and instead of sinking, they stay at the surface where phytoplankton feed off it. [90] [91] Upon death, whale carcasses fall to the deep ocean and provide a substantial habitat for marine life.
A whale fall occurs when the carcass of a whale has fallen onto the ocean floor, typically at a depth greater than 1,000 m (3,300 ft), putting them in the bathyal or abyssal zones. [ 1 ] On the sea floor, these carcasses can create complex localized ecosystems that supply sustenance to deep-sea organisms for decades. [ 1 ]
Blue whales can reach 100 feet long and weigh up to 330,000 pounds, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.. The ocean giants live in all oceans except the Arctic, NOAA ...
Most river dolphin species live exclusively in fresh water. [48] Many species inhabit specific latitudes, often in tropical or subtropical waters, such as Bryde's whale or Risso's dolphin. Others are found only in a specific body of water. The southern right whale dolphin and the hourglass dolphin live only in the Southern Ocean.
The pygmy blue whale is the only one of the three identifiable subspecies to be found regularly in tropical waters. It occurs from the sub-Antarctic zone to the southern Indian Ocean and southwestern Pacific Ocean, breeding in the Indian and South Atlantic oceans, and travelling south to above the Antarctic to feed, [4] [7] although they very rarely cross the Antarctic Convergence.
An underwater photographer who got up close and personal with a massive blue whale says the experience left him feeling awestruck — and incredibly small. Stunning photo shows diver's close ...
The oceanic zone is typically defined as the area of the ocean lying beyond the continental shelf (e.g. the neritic zone), but operationally is often referred to as beginning where the water depths drop to below 200 metres (660 ft), seaward from the coast into the open ocean with its pelagic zone. It is the region of open sea beyond the edge of ...