1. Marine Mammals Order Cetacea
Bonneville High School
Zoology

2. Order Cetacea Two suborders One extinct suborder
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Archaeoceti
Two suborders
Mysticeti (Baleen Whales)
Odontoceti (Toothed Whales)
One extinct suborder
Archaeoceti (Ancient Whales)
Live, Breed, Rest, and carry out all of their life functions in the water

3. Cont. Inhabit all of the world’s oceans
As well as, some freshwater lakes, rivers, brackish waters of estuaries and coastal marshes

4. Mysticeti Most of the largest Cetaceans
i.e. Blue Whales (Balaenoptera musculus) which are the largest animal in history
Exceeding 100 feet and weigh as much as 160 tons
Smallest is the pygmy right whale (Caperea marginata)
Measure up to 23 feet
More examples: humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus), and southern right whale (Eubalaena australis)

5. Humpback Whale – Megaptera novaeangliae
cas.bellarmine.edu/tietjen/RootWeb/Chiroptera.jpg
Fin Whale - Balaenoptera physalus

6. Odontoceti Largest and most diverse group
i.e. the sperm whale is the largest
Reaching about 60 feet
The largest living predator of warm-blooded animals is the killer whale
More examples: Dolphins and porpoises
Sperm Whale – Physeteridae
animals.nationalgeographic.com/staticfiles/NG...

7. Harbor Porpoise - Phocoena phocoena
Bottle Nose Dolphin – Tursiops trucatus
Harbor Porpoise - Phocoena phocoena
animals.nationalgeographic.com/staticfiles/NG

8. Taxonomic History Hippopotamids are closest living relatives
Followed by ruminants
i.e. cows
Followed by Artiodactyls
cas.bellarmine.edu/.../RootWeb/Artiodactyla.jpg

9. Coping with Cold Climates
Small cetaceans
Have high metabolic rates
Flippers and flukes have a countercurrent heat exchange system
Heat from arterial blood warms venous blood as it returns to the heart
Large cetaceans
Small surface to volume ration
Lose little heat to the surrounding environment
Both are insulated by thick blubber layer

10. Mating Usually have one mating season per year
Gestation is about 10 to 17 months
Females give birth to a single calf every one to six years
Calves are born tail first and must swim from the moment of birth
Mysticetes nurse for about six months
Odontocetes nurse for over two years

11. Social behavior
Highly sociable within their respective species; often forming pods
Pods often collaborate in hunting, playing, traveling, and taking care of young
Usually remain in pods throughout their life
Pods are beneficial because hunting is easier in a group; also pods decrease predation

12. Cont. Emit various sounds from their head’s
Sperm whales have simple clicks
Humpback whales have complex “songs”
These sounds and echolocation help them navigate, investigate their surroundings, and hunt

13. Food Mysticetes Odontocetes Filter feeders
Use their baleen to strain plankton and other tiny organisms
Odontocetes
Feed on fish, squid, and crustaceans
Larger species eat aquatic birds and mammals (which include other cetaceans)