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Line 61: − There are two kinds of whales: toothed whales of the suborder Odontoceti, and whalebone (baleen) whales of the suborder Mysticeti.+ − *'''Suborder ''Mysticeti'': Baleen whales'''+ − + + + + − + − + − + Line 79:
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→Taxonomy
== Taxonomy ==
== Taxonomy ==
Two distinct kinds of whales exist world-wide: toothed whales of the suborder Odontoceti, and whalebone, or baleen, whales of the suborder Mysticeti.
::'''Family ''Balaenidae'': Right whales'''
===Baleen whales===
Mysticeti includes thirteen species in six genera, all chiefly characterized by the presence of plates of baleen hanging from their upper jaws inside their mouths. These plates are used to filter small animals such as krill, or small shoaling fish (herring or mackerel). To accommodate the baleen, as well as to catch enormous schools of krill and fish, these whales have huge mouths; the baleen in the bowhead (''Balaena mysticetus'') for example is up to ten feet in length.
*'''Suborder Mysticeti: Baleen whales'''
::'''Family Balaenidae: Right whales'''
::::Genus ''Balaena''
::::Genus ''Balaena''
:::::Bowhead whale, ''Balaena mysticetus''
:::::Bowhead, or Greenland right whale, ''Balaena mysticetus''
::::Genus ''Eubalaena''
::::Genus ''Eubalaena''
:::::North Atlantic right whale, ''Eubalaena glacialis''
:::::North Atlantic right whale, ''Eubalaena glacialis''
:::::North Pacific right whale, ''Eubalaena japonica''
:::::North Pacific right whale, ''Eubalaena japonica''
:::::Southern right whale, ''Eubalaena australis''
:::::Southern right whale, ''Eubalaena australis''
::'''Family ''Balaenopteridae'': Rorquals'''
::'''Family Balaenopteridae: Rorquals'''
:::Subfamily ''Balaenopterinae''
:::Subfamily Balaenopterinae
::::Genus ''Balaenoptera''
::::Genus ''Balaenoptera''
:::::Antarctic minke whale, ''Balaenoptera bonaerensis''
:::::Antarctic minke whale, ''Balaenoptera bonaerensis''
:::::Fin whale, ''Balaenoptera physalus''
:::::Fin whale, ''Balaenoptera physalus''
:::::Sei whale, ''Balaenoptera borealis''
:::::Sei whale, ''Balaenoptera borealis''
:::Subfamily ''Megapterinae''
:::Subfamily Megapterinae
::::Genus ''Megaptera''
::::Genus ''Megaptera''
:::::Humpback whale, ''Megaptera novaeangliae''
:::::Humpback whale, ''Megaptera novaeangliae''
::::Genus ''Eschrichtius''
::::Genus ''Eschrichtius''
:::::Gray whale, ''Eschrichtius robustus''
:::::Gray whale, ''Eschrichtius robustus''
::'''Family ''Neobalaenidae'''''
::'''Family Neobalaenidae'''
::::Genus ''Caperea''
::::Genus ''Caperea''
:::::Pygmy right whale, ''Caperea marginata''
:::::Pygmy right whale, ''Caperea marginata''
::'''Family ''Monodontidae'''''
===Toothed whales===
Odontoceti comprises twenty-six species in ten genera, excluding the smaller dolphins and porpoises. All possess conical teeth in one form or another, with some bearing rudimentary teeth only. Only one species (sperm whale, ''Physeter macrocephalus'') reaches lengths of over sixty feet; several beaked whales are rarely over thirty feet, while the remaining species reach lengths less than that.
*'''Suborder Odontoceti: Toothed whales'''
::'''Family Monodontidae'''
::::Genus ''Delphinapterus''
::::Genus ''Delphinapterus''
:::::Beluga, ''Delphinapterus leucas''
:::::Beluga, ''Delphinapterus leucas''
::::Genus ''Monodon''
::::Genus ''Monodon''
:::::Narwhal, ''Monodon monoceros''
:::::Narwhal, ''Monodon monoceros''
::'''Family ''Physeteridae'': Sperm whales'''
::'''Family Physeteridae: Sperm whales'''
::::Genus ''Physeter''
::::Genus ''Physeter''
:::::Sperm whale, ''Physeter macrocephalus''
:::::Sperm whale, ''Physeter macrocephalus''
:::::Arnoux's beaked whale, ''Berardius arnuxii''
:::::Arnoux's beaked whale, ''Berardius arnuxii''
:::::Baird's beaked whale, ''Berardius bairdii''
:::::Baird's beaked whale, ''Berardius bairdii''
:::Subfamily ''Hyperoodontidae''
:::Subfamily Hyperoodontidae
::::Genus ''Hyperoodon''
::::Genus ''Hyperoodon''
:::::Northern bottlenose whale, ''Hyperoodon ampullatus''
:::::Northern bottlenose whale, ''Hyperoodon ampullatus''