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The family Balaenidae, the right whales, contains two genera and four species. All right whales have no ventral grooves; a distinctive head shape with a strongly arched, narrow rostrum, bowed lower jaw; lower lips that enfold the sides and front of the rostrum; and long, narrow, elastic baleen plates (up to nine times longer than wide) with fine baleen fringes.
Six species of dolphins have the word "whale" in their name, collectively known as blackfish: the orca, or killer whale, the melon-headed whale, the pygmy killer whale, the false killer whale, and the two species of pilot whales, all of which are classified under the family Delphinidae (oceanic dolphins). [6]
There are approximately 89 [8] living species split into two parvorders: Odontoceti or toothed whales (containing porpoises, dolphins, other predatory whales like the beluga and the sperm whale, and the poorly understood beaked whales) and the filter feeding Mysticeti or baleen whales (which includes species like the blue whale, the humpback ...
Sexual dimorphism is usually reversed, with the males being larger, but the females of all baleen whales are usually five percent larger than males. Sexual dimorphism is also displayed through whale song, notably in humpback whales where the males of the species sing elaborate songs. Male right whales have bigger callosities than female right ...
Marine mammals comprise over 130 living and recently extinct species in three taxonomic orders.The Society for Marine Mammalogy, an international scientific society, maintains a list of valid species and subspecies, most recently updated in October 2015. [1]
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ASCOBANS was negotiated to protect all small whales in the North and Baltic Seas and in the northeast Atlantic. ACCOBAMS protects all whales in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. The global UNEP Convention on Migratory Species currently covers seven toothed whale species or populations on its Appendix I, and 37 species or populations on Appendix II.
Three to five types of orcas may be distinct enough to be considered different races, [1] subspecies, or possibly even species [2] (see species problem). The IUCN reported in 2008, "The taxonomy of this genus is clearly in need of review, and it is likely that O. orca will be split into a number of different species or at least subspecies over ...