Difference between revisions of "Whale"

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[[Image:800px-Baleen Whale Physical Characteristics svg.png|right|thumb|400px]]
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{{Taxonomy
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'''Whales''' are marine mammals of the order [[Cetacea]].
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|name=Whale
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|image=SoRightWhale.jpg
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|caption=<small>Southern right whale<br/>''Eubalaena australis''</small>
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|domain=Eukaryota
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|kingdom=Animalia
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|subkingdom=Bilateria
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|branch=Deuterostomia
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|superphylum=Chordata
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|phylum=Vertebrata
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|infraphylum=Gnathostomata
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|microphylum=
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|superdivision=
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|division=
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|subdivision=
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|superclass=Tetrapoda
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|class=Mammalia
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|subclass=Theriiformes
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|infraclass=Holotheria
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|superorder=
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|order=Cetacea
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'''Whales''' are marine mammals of the order [[Cetacea]], and a clear [[counterexample to the Theory of Evolution]].
  
 
== Description ==
 
== Description ==
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Whales are separated into the toothed whales (which includes [[dolphin]]s, [[porpoise]]s, [[narwhal]]s, [[beaked whale]]s and [[sperm whale]]s) and the whalebone, or baleen, whales. The latter are cetaceans, mostly very large, which, instead of teeth, have baleen (whalebone) to filter small prey from the water; they are what people generally think of when the word whale is used. The whalebone whales include the rorquals - the [[blue whale]], fin whale, sei whale, Bryde's whale, [[minke whale]], [[grey whale]]; the [[humpback whale]]; and the various [[right whale]]s.
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Whales are separated into the toothed whales, ''Odontocetes'' (which includes [[dolphin]]s, [[porpoise]]s, [[narwhal]]s, beaked whales and [[sperm whale]]s), and the whalebone, or baleen, whales, also called ''Mysticetes''. The latter are mostly very large, which, instead of teeth, have baleen (whalebone) to filter small prey from the water; they are what people generally think of when the word whale is used. The whalebone whales include the rorquals - the [[blue whale]], fin whale, sei whale, Bryde's whale, [[minke whale]], and humpback whale; the [[grey whale]]; and the various [[right whale]]s.
  
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Although whales are famed for the massive size reached by some species, such as the blue whale (the largest animal to ever live), others are relatively small, like the pygmy right whale which grows to about 20 feet <ref> [http://www.acsonline.org/factpack/PygmyRightWhale.htm]American Cetacean Society website</ref>. Though whales have many traits in common with fish (including fins and tails) they are [[classification system|classified]] as [[mammal|mammals]] under the [[Linnaean taxonomy]] classification system because they breathe air and lactate. Whales have a number of remarkable features including:
+
Although whales are famed for the massive size reached by some species, such as the blue whale (the largest animal to ever live), others are relatively small, like the pygmy right whale which grows to about 20 feet.<ref>[http://www.acsonline.org/factpack/PygmyRightWhale.htm] American Cetacean Society website</ref>  Though whales have many traits in common with fish (including fins and tails) they are [[classification system|classified]] as [[mammal]]s under the [[Linnaean taxonomy]] classification system because they breathe air and lactate. Whales have a number of remarkable features including:
  
 
* they decide when to breathe, rather than breathing unconsciously
 
* they decide when to breathe, rather than breathing unconsciously
 
* they sleep 8 hours a day, yet need to be conscious to breathe
 
* they sleep 8 hours a day, yet need to be conscious to breathe
 
* they can communicate with each other by making remarkably loud noises
 
* they can communicate with each other by making remarkably loud noises
−
* these extraordinary noises can travel for miles under water
+
* these extraordinary noises can travel for miles underwater
 
* the females nurse their calves while swimming underwater
 
* the females nurse their calves while swimming underwater
−
* the males have a unique cooling system for their internal reproductive organs
+
* the males have a unique cooling system for their internal reproductive organs, involving the circulation of cooled blood from the extremities directly around the [[testes]] before returning to the [[heart]]
 
* whales, along with humans and horses, are some of the few mammal species that do not possess [[baculum]] (penile bone)
 
* whales, along with humans and horses, are some of the few mammal species that do not possess [[baculum]] (penile bone)
−
* some have two blow-holes, but others only have one
+
* mysticetes have two blow-holes, while odontocetes only have one
 
* the blow-holes pass air above water, yet resist intense pressure underwater
 
* the blow-holes pass air above water, yet resist intense pressure underwater
 
* they have massive brains, much larger than the brains of other mammals
 
* they have massive brains, much larger than the brains of other mammals
  
−
=== Taxonomy ===
+
== Taxonomy ==
−
There are two kinds of whales: toothed whales of the suborder Odontoceti (which includes [[dolphins]] and [[porpoise]]s), and whalebone (baleen) whales of the suborder Mysticeti.
+
Two distinct kinds of whales exist worldwide: toothed whales of the suborder Odontoceti, and whalebone, or baleen, whales of the suborder Mysticeti.
  
−
Toothed whales include:
+
===Baleen whales===
−
* [[Orca|Killer whales]]
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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.
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* [[Sperm whale]]s
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*'''Suborder Mysticeti: Baleen whales'''
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* [[Narwhal]]s
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::'''Family Balaenidae: Right whales'''
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* [[Pilot whale]]s
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::::Genus ''Balaena''
 +
:::::Bowhead, or Greenland right whale, ''Balaena mysticetus''
 +
::::Genus ''Eubalaena''
 +
:::::North Atlantic right whale, ''Eubalaena glacialis''
 +
:::::North Pacific right whale, ''Eubalaena japonica''
 +
:::::Southern right whale, ''Eubalaena australis''
 +
::'''Family Balaenopteridae: Rorquals'''
 +
:::Subfamily Balaenopterinae
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::::Genus ''Balaenoptera''
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:::::Antarctic minke whale, ''Balaenoptera bonaerensis''
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:::::Common minke whale, ''Balaenoptera acutorostrata''
 +
:::::Bryde's whale, ''Balaenoptera brydei''
 +
:::::Blue whale, ''Balaenoptera musculus''
 +
:::::Fin whale, ''Balaenoptera physalus''
 +
:::::Sei whale, ''Balaenoptera borealis''
 +
:::Subfamily Megapterinae
 +
::::Genus ''Megaptera''
 +
:::::Humpback whale, ''Megaptera novaeangliae''
 +
::'''Family Eschrichtiidae'''
 +
::::Genus ''Eschrichtius''
 +
:::::Gray whale, ''Eschrichtius robustus''
 +
::'''Family Neobalaenidae'''
 +
::::Genus ''Caperea''
 +
:::::Pygmy right whale, ''Caperea marginata''
  
−
Baleen whales include:
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===Toothed whales===
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* [[Blue whale]]s
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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.
−
* [[Gray whale]]s
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*'''Suborder Odontoceti: Toothed whales'''
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* [[Humpback whale]]s
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::'''Family Monodontidae'''
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* [[Fin whale]]s
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::::Genus ''Delphinapterus''
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* [[Right whale]]s
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:::::Beluga, ''Delphinapterus leucas''
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* [[Minke whale]]s
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::::Genus ''Monodon''
 +
:::::Narwhal, ''Monodon monoceros''
 +
::'''Family Physeteridae: Sperm whales'''
 +
::::Genus ''Physeter''
 +
:::::Sperm whale, ''Physeter macrocephalus''
 +
::::Genus ''Kogia''
 +
:::::Dwarf sperm whale, ''Kogia sima''
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:::::Pygmy sperm whale, ''Kogia breviceps''
 +
::'''Family Ziphidae: Beaked whales'''
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::::Genus ''Berardius''
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:::::Arnoux's beaked whale, ''Berardius arnuxii''
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:::::Baird's beaked whale, ''Berardius bairdii''
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:::Subfamily Hyperoodontidae
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::::Genus ''Hyperoodon''
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:::::Northern bottlenose whale, ''Hyperoodon ampullatus''
 +
:::::Southern bottlenose whale, ''Hyperoodon planifrons''
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::::Genus ''Indopacetus''
 +
:::::Indo-Pacific beaked whale, ''Indopacetus pacificus''
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::::Genus ''Mesoplodon''
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:::::Andrews' beaked whale, ''Mesoplodon bowdoini''
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:::::Blainville's beaked whale, ''Mesoplodon densirostris''
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:::::Gervais' beaked whale, ''Mesoplodon europaeus''
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:::::Ginkgo-toothed beaked whale, ''Mesoplodon ginkgodens''
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:::::Gray's beaked whale, ''Mesoplodon grayi''
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:::::Hector's beaked whale, ''Mesoplodon hectori''
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:::::Hubbs' beaked whale, ''Mesoplodon carlhubbsi''
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:::::Perrin's beaked whale, ''Mesoplodon perrini''
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:::::Pygmy beaked whale, ''Mesoplodon peruvianus''
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:::::Sowerby's beaked whale, ''Mesoplodon bidens''
 +
:::::Spade-toothed whale, ''Mesoplodon traversii''
 +
:::::Stejneger's beaked whale, ''Mesoplodon stejnegeri''
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:::::Strap-toothed whale, ''Mesoplodon layardii''
 +
:::::True's beaked whale, ''Mesoplodon mirus''
 +
::::Genus ''Tasmacetus''
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:::::Shepherd's beaked whale, ''Tasmacetus shepherdi''
 +
::::Genus ''Ziphius''
 +
:::::Cuvier's beaked whale, ''Ziphius cavirostris''
 +
::'''Family ''Delphinidae'''''
 +
::'''Family ''Phocoenidae'''''
  
−
== Origins ==
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==Evolutionary claims==
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The question of how whales and their relatives could have evolved from terrestrial [[mammal]]s has taxed evolutionary biologists since [[Charles Darwin|Darwin's]] suggestion that they may have evolved from ancient bears.
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The question of how whales and their relatives allegedly evolved from terrestrial [[mammal]]s has intrigued evolutionary biologists since [[Charles Darwin]]'s suggestion that they may have evolved from ancient mammals. He suggested that their development may have been started by something similar to a behavior observed in bears. <blockquote>"In North America the black bear was seen . . . swimming for hours with widely open mouth, thus catching, like a whale, insects in the water. Even in so extreme a case as this, if the supply of insects were constant, and if better adapted competitors did not already exist in the country, I can see no difficulty in a race of bears being rendered, by natural selection, more and more aquatic in their structure and habits, with larger and larger mouths, till a creature was produced as monstrous as a whale."</blockquote><ref>Charles Darwin, [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1228 Origin of species] 1st edition</ref>
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In more recent times molecular and fossil evidence has been used to suggest that modern whales and their relatives arose from ancient [[Artiodactyla|artiodactyls]] (even-toed ungulates) with the closest living relative of all whales being [[hippopotamus|hippopotami]].<ref>[http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/41080/molecular_clock_divergence_estimates_and_the_fossil_record_of_cetartiodactyla/index.html] Theodore, JM (2004) Molecular Clock Divergence Estimates And The Fossil Record Of Cetartiodactyla <i> The Journal Of Paleontology</i> <b>78</b>:39-44</ref>
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Evolutionary biologists estimate the last ancestor of whales and hippos lived about 25 million years ago.<ref>[http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/lines/IAtransitional.shtml] UCLA Berkley Understanding Evolution for Teachers website</ref>, with a more recent suggestion that modern whales and their relatives arose from ancient [[Artiodactyla|artiodactyls]] (even-toed ungulates such as [[deer]] and [[hippopotamus|hippopotami]]).<ref>[http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/41080/molecular_clock_divergence_estimates_and_the_fossil_record_of_cetartiodactyla/index.html] Theodore, JM (2004) Molecular Clock Divergence Estimates And The Fossil Record Of Cetartiodactyla '' The Journal Of Paleontology'' '''78''':39-44</ref>
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This kinship has been termed the whippo hypothesis.
+
More specifically, they believe that whales evolved from ''[[Pakicetus]]'' through ''Aetiocetus'', because of the similarities in their bone structure. For example, ''Pakicetus'' has nostrils at the front of its skull, ''Aetiocetus'' has nostrils in the middle of its skull, and the modern gray whale has nostrils at the top of its skull<ref>[https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/lines_03]University of California, Berkeley, ''Understanding Evolution''</ref>. This kinship has been termed the whippo hypothesis.<ref>http://www.sciencenews.org/pages/pdfs/data/1999/15619/15619-10.pdf</ref>
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Evolutionary biologists estimate the last ancestor of whales and hippos lived about 25 million years ago,<ref> [http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/lines/IAtransitional.shtml] UCLA Berkley Understanding Evolution for Teachers website</ref> which contrasts with the [[Young earth creationism|young earth creationist]] position that whales were [[creation|created]] about 6000 years ago when [[God]] created the [[earth]].<ref>Sarfati, Jonathan [http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/3834/106/ Whale evolution?] ''Refuting Evolution'', Chapter 5.</ref><ref>Batten, Don, [http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/1776 A whale of a tale?] ''Journal of Creation'' 8(1):2–3, April 1994.</ref><ref>Williams, Alexander, and Sarfati, Jonathan, [http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/1862 Not at all like a whale], ''Creation'' 27(2):20–22, March 2005.</ref>
+
 
 +
This theory of cetacean origins contrasts with the [[Young earth creationism|young earth creationist]] position that whales were [[creation|created]] about 6000 years ago, ''before'' land animals<ref>Sarfati, Jonathan [http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/3834/106/ Whale evolution?] ''Refuting Evolution'', Chapter 5.</ref><ref>Batten, Don, [http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/1776 A whale of a tale?] ''Journal of Creation'' 8(1):2–3, April 1994.</ref><ref>Williams, Alexander, and Sarfati, Jonathan, [http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/1862 Not at all like a whale], ''Creation'' 27(2):20–22, March 2005.</ref>.  The various theories regarding evolutionary origins, such as Darwin's "thought experiment"<ref>https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-did-whales-evolve-73276956/</ref> about a bear-like ancestry, the modern "deer ancestry" theory, as well as the above ''Pakicetus'' to ''Aetiocetus'' to gray whale descent requires direct observation under the first step of the [[scientific method]].  To further compound the difficulties in the theory of evolution, it was recently discovered that rorqual whales possess a sensory organ at the front of their lower jaws, informing the brain of stresses and pressure of water when the mouth is open to collect food.  This organ, according to the demands of evolution, would have to appear at the same time as the following:
 +
*an increase in size of the upper and lower jaws;
 +
*a change in the lower jaw structure and the addition of chin grooves to allow the intake of large amounts of water;
 +
*the addition of vibrissae (touch-sensitive organs) to detect krill;
 +
*the addition of counter-current heat exchange organs within the tongue, preventing heat loss when feeding in arctic waters<ref>http://www.icr.org/article/ways-that-whales-display-their-creator</ref>.
 +
Whales in their current form also appear suddenly in the fossil record, something that cannot be explained by current evolutionary science<ref>https://creation.com/refuting-evolution-chapter-5-whale-evolution</ref>.  With that sudden appearance is also the trait that cannot be explained by anything other than a deliberate act of creation: baleen filter plates.  Gray whales, right whales, and rorquals carry these filters; to do so according to evolution requires an intentional act, in this case a change in diet to smaller prey and the realization that it needs a filtering system to catch that prey<ref>http://creationstudies.org/articles/science/life-science/206-whales-lose-teeth</ref>.  As it remains, the descent of whales from terrestrial ancestors according to evolution cannot be proved.
 +
=== Whales and intelligent design theory criticism of evolutionary origins ===
 +
 
 +
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=591IqiNMd1k Killer Whales -- Zombie Science Author Explains a Fatal Challenge to Evolution] by biologist [[Jonathan Wells]]
 +
 
 +
==Whaling industry==
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[[File:Bradford Icebound Whaling Ship.jpg|thumb|Bradford, Icebound Whaling Ship.]]
 +
See: [[Whaling]]
  
 
== Whales in literature ==
 
== Whales in literature ==
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=== The Bible ===
 
=== The Bible ===
  
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<blockquote>
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{{Bible quote|Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.''|book=Jonah|chap=1|verses=17|version=KJV}}
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''Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.'' Jonah 1:17
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−
</blockquote>
+
  
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The great fish that swallowed [[Jonah (prophet)|Jonah]] is often thought of as being a whale, although the translation of 'great fish' is not a precise designation of species but may indicate any physically large, ocean-going creature. The physical difficulty of having a human be swallowed by a whale and survive the intense pressure of diving, lack of air and acidic environment of the stomach has led some to suggest the creature may be uniquely and specially prepared by [[God]] for the purpose. Alternatively, Jonah may have been simply protected by supernatural means.
+
The great fish that swallowed [[Jonah (prophet)|Jonah]] is often thought of as being a whale, although the translation of 'great fish' is not a precise designation of species but may indicate any physically large, ocean-going creature. The physical difficulty of having a human be swallowed by a whale and survive the intense pressure of diving, lack of air and acidic environment of the stomach, and the fact that the Bible says that God "prepared" the fish has led some to suggest the creature may be uniquely and specially prepared by [[God]] for the purpose. Alternatively, Jonah may have been simply protected by supernatural means.
 +
 
 +
Whales are mentioned in three other places in the King James Version of the Bible:
 +
* Genesis 1:21: "And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good."
 +
* Job 7:12: "Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me?"
 +
* Ezekiel 32:2: "Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art like a young lion of the nations, and thou art as a whale in the seas: and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers.
  
 
=== Fiction ===
 
=== Fiction ===
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Arguably the most famous book about whales is [[Herman Melville]]'s ''[[Moby-Dick|Moby Dick]]'', about a whaling-ship captain obsessed with hunting down the sperm whale (Moby Dick) which had bitten off one of his legs.
 
Arguably the most famous book about whales is [[Herman Melville]]'s ''[[Moby-Dick|Moby Dick]]'', about a whaling-ship captain obsessed with hunting down the sperm whale (Moby Dick) which had bitten off one of his legs.
  
−
== See Also ==
+
== See also ==
 
*[[Orca]]
 
*[[Orca]]
 
*[[Dolphin]]
 
*[[Dolphin]]
 +
==Further reading==
 +
* Carwardine, Mark. ''Whales & Dolphins'' (Smithsonian Handbooks) (2002) [http://www.amazon.com/Whales-Dolphins-Smithsonian-Handbooks-Carwardine/dp/0789489902/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1226789849&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]
 +
* Creighton, Margaret S.  ''Rites and Passages: The Experience of American Whaling, 1830-1870.'' (1995). 233 pp.  [http://www.amazon.com/Rites-Passages-Experience-American-1830-1870/dp/0521484480/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1207603299&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search]
 +
* Dolin, Eric Jay. ''Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America'' (2007) 480 pp. [http://www.amazon.com/Leviathan-History-Eric-Jay-Dolin/dp/0393060578/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1207596886&sr=8-2 excerpt and text search]
 +
* Ellis, Richard.  ''Men and Whales.'' (1991). 542 pp. 
 +
* Papastavrou, Vassili. ''Whale'' (DK Eyewitness Books) (2004) [http://www.amazon.com/Whale-Eyewitness-Books-Vassili-Papastavrou/dp/0756607396/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1226789849&sr=1-3 excerpt and text search]
 +
* Stoett, Peter J. ''The International Politics of Whaling'' (1997) [http://www.questia.com/read/57120862?title=The%20International%20Politics%20of%20Whaling online edition]
 +
*Berta, Annalisa ''Return to the Sea: The Life and Evolutionary Times of Marine Mammals'' 2012
  
 
== References ==
 
== References ==
−
 
 
<references/>
 
<references/>
  
 
{{Nb zm whales}}
 
{{Nb zm whales}}

Revision as of 21:26, September 26, 2018

Whale
SoRightWhale.jpg
Southern right whale
Eubalaena australis
Scientific classification
Kingdom Information
Domain Eukaryota
Kingdom Animalia
Subkingdom Bilateria
Branch Deuterostomia
Phylum Information
Superphylum Chordata
Phylum Vertebrata
Infraphylum Gnathostomata
Class Information
Superclass Tetrapoda
Class Mammalia
Sub-class Theriiformes
Infra-class Holotheria
Order Information
Order Cetacea
Population statistics

Whales are marine mammals of the order Cetacea, and a clear counterexample to the Theory of Evolution.

Description

Whales are separated into the toothed whales, Odontocetes (which includes dolphins, porpoises, narwhals, beaked whales and sperm whales), and the whalebone, or baleen, whales, also called Mysticetes. The latter are mostly very large, which, instead of teeth, have baleen (whalebone) to filter small prey from the water; they are what people generally think of when the word whale is used. The whalebone whales include the rorquals - the blue whale, fin whale, sei whale, Bryde's whale, minke whale, and humpback whale; the grey whale; and the various right whales.

Although whales are famed for the massive size reached by some species, such as the blue whale (the largest animal to ever live), others are relatively small, like the pygmy right whale which grows to about 20 feet.[1] Though whales have many traits in common with fish (including fins and tails) they are classified as mammals under the Linnaean taxonomy classification system because they breathe air and lactate. Whales have a number of remarkable features including:

  • they decide when to breathe, rather than breathing unconsciously
  • they sleep 8 hours a day, yet need to be conscious to breathe
  • they can communicate with each other by making remarkably loud noises
  • these extraordinary noises can travel for miles underwater
  • the females nurse their calves while swimming underwater
  • the males have a unique cooling system for their internal reproductive organs, involving the circulation of cooled blood from the extremities directly around the testes before returning to the heart
  • whales, along with humans and horses, are some of the few mammal species that do not possess baculum (penile bone)
  • mysticetes have two blow-holes, while odontocetes only have one
  • the blow-holes pass air above water, yet resist intense pressure underwater
  • they have massive brains, much larger than the brains of other mammals

Taxonomy

Two distinct kinds of whales exist worldwide: toothed whales of the suborder Odontoceti, and whalebone, or baleen, whales of the suborder Mysticeti.

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
Bowhead, or Greenland right whale, Balaena mysticetus
Genus Eubalaena
North Atlantic right whale, Eubalaena glacialis
North Pacific right whale, Eubalaena japonica
Southern right whale, Eubalaena australis
Family Balaenopteridae: Rorquals
Subfamily Balaenopterinae
Genus Balaenoptera
Antarctic minke whale, Balaenoptera bonaerensis
Common minke whale, Balaenoptera acutorostrata
Bryde's whale, Balaenoptera brydei
Blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus
Fin whale, Balaenoptera physalus
Sei whale, Balaenoptera borealis
Subfamily Megapterinae
Genus Megaptera
Humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Family Eschrichtiidae
Genus Eschrichtius
Gray whale, Eschrichtius robustus
Family Neobalaenidae
Genus Caperea
Pygmy right whale, Caperea marginata

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
Beluga, Delphinapterus leucas
Genus Monodon
Narwhal, Monodon monoceros
Family Physeteridae: Sperm whales
Genus Physeter
Sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus
Genus Kogia
Dwarf sperm whale, Kogia sima
Pygmy sperm whale, Kogia breviceps
Family Ziphidae: Beaked whales
Genus Berardius
Arnoux's beaked whale, Berardius arnuxii
Baird's beaked whale, Berardius bairdii
Subfamily Hyperoodontidae
Genus Hyperoodon
Northern bottlenose whale, Hyperoodon ampullatus
Southern bottlenose whale, Hyperoodon planifrons
Genus Indopacetus
Indo-Pacific beaked whale, Indopacetus pacificus
Genus Mesoplodon
Andrews' beaked whale, Mesoplodon bowdoini
Blainville's beaked whale, Mesoplodon densirostris
Gervais' beaked whale, Mesoplodon europaeus
Ginkgo-toothed beaked whale, Mesoplodon ginkgodens
Gray's beaked whale, Mesoplodon grayi
Hector's beaked whale, Mesoplodon hectori
Hubbs' beaked whale, Mesoplodon carlhubbsi
Perrin's beaked whale, Mesoplodon perrini
Pygmy beaked whale, Mesoplodon peruvianus
Sowerby's beaked whale, Mesoplodon bidens
Spade-toothed whale, Mesoplodon traversii
Stejneger's beaked whale, Mesoplodon stejnegeri
Strap-toothed whale, Mesoplodon layardii
True's beaked whale, Mesoplodon mirus
Genus Tasmacetus
Shepherd's beaked whale, Tasmacetus shepherdi
Genus Ziphius
Cuvier's beaked whale, Ziphius cavirostris
Family Delphinidae
Family Phocoenidae

Evolutionary claims

The question of how whales and their relatives allegedly evolved from terrestrial mammals has intrigued evolutionary biologists since Charles Darwin's suggestion that they may have evolved from ancient mammals. He suggested that their development may have been started by something similar to a behavior observed in bears.
"In North America the black bear was seen . . . swimming for hours with widely open mouth, thus catching, like a whale, insects in the water. Even in so extreme a case as this, if the supply of insects were constant, and if better adapted competitors did not already exist in the country, I can see no difficulty in a race of bears being rendered, by natural selection, more and more aquatic in their structure and habits, with larger and larger mouths, till a creature was produced as monstrous as a whale."
[2]

Evolutionary biologists estimate the last ancestor of whales and hippos lived about 25 million years ago.[3], with a more recent suggestion that modern whales and their relatives arose from ancient artiodactyls (even-toed ungulates such as deer and hippopotami).[4] More specifically, they believe that whales evolved from Pakicetus through Aetiocetus, because of the similarities in their bone structure. For example, Pakicetus has nostrils at the front of its skull, Aetiocetus has nostrils in the middle of its skull, and the modern gray whale has nostrils at the top of its skull[5]. This kinship has been termed the whippo hypothesis.[6]

This theory of cetacean origins contrasts with the young earth creationist position that whales were created about 6000 years ago, before land animals[7][8][9]. The various theories regarding evolutionary origins, such as Darwin's "thought experiment"[10] about a bear-like ancestry, the modern "deer ancestry" theory, as well as the above Pakicetus to Aetiocetus to gray whale descent requires direct observation under the first step of the scientific method. To further compound the difficulties in the theory of evolution, it was recently discovered that rorqual whales possess a sensory organ at the front of their lower jaws, informing the brain of stresses and pressure of water when the mouth is open to collect food. This organ, according to the demands of evolution, would have to appear at the same time as the following:

  • an increase in size of the upper and lower jaws;
  • a change in the lower jaw structure and the addition of chin grooves to allow the intake of large amounts of water;
  • the addition of vibrissae (touch-sensitive organs) to detect krill;
  • the addition of counter-current heat exchange organs within the tongue, preventing heat loss when feeding in arctic waters[11].

Whales in their current form also appear suddenly in the fossil record, something that cannot be explained by current evolutionary science[12]. With that sudden appearance is also the trait that cannot be explained by anything other than a deliberate act of creation: baleen filter plates. Gray whales, right whales, and rorquals carry these filters; to do so according to evolution requires an intentional act, in this case a change in diet to smaller prey and the realization that it needs a filtering system to catch that prey[13]. As it remains, the descent of whales from terrestrial ancestors according to evolution cannot be proved.

Whales and intelligent design theory criticism of evolutionary origins

Whaling industry

Bradford, Icebound Whaling Ship.

See: Whaling

Whales in literature

The Bible

Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Jonah 1:17 (KJV)

The great fish that swallowed Jonah is often thought of as being a whale, although the translation of 'great fish' is not a precise designation of species but may indicate any physically large, ocean-going creature. The physical difficulty of having a human be swallowed by a whale and survive the intense pressure of diving, lack of air and acidic environment of the stomach, and the fact that the Bible says that God "prepared" the fish has led some to suggest the creature may be uniquely and specially prepared by God for the purpose. Alternatively, Jonah may have been simply protected by supernatural means.

Whales are mentioned in three other places in the King James Version of the Bible:

  • Genesis 1:21: "And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good."
  • Job 7:12: "Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me?"
  • Ezekiel 32:2: "Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art like a young lion of the nations, and thou art as a whale in the seas: and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers.

Fiction

Arguably the most famous book about whales is Herman Melville's Moby Dick, about a whaling-ship captain obsessed with hunting down the sperm whale (Moby Dick) which had bitten off one of his legs.

See also

Further reading

  • Carwardine, Mark. Whales & Dolphins (Smithsonian Handbooks) (2002) excerpt and text search
  • Creighton, Margaret S. Rites and Passages: The Experience of American Whaling, 1830-1870. (1995). 233 pp. excerpt and text search
  • Dolin, Eric Jay. Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America (2007) 480 pp. excerpt and text search
  • Ellis, Richard. Men and Whales. (1991). 542 pp.
  • Papastavrou, Vassili. Whale (DK Eyewitness Books) (2004) excerpt and text search
  • Stoett, Peter J. The International Politics of Whaling (1997) online edition
  • Berta, Annalisa Return to the Sea: The Life and Evolutionary Times of Marine Mammals 2012

References

  1. ↑ [1] American Cetacean Society website
  2. ↑ Charles Darwin, Origin of species 1st edition
  3. ↑ [2] UCLA Berkley Understanding Evolution for Teachers website
  4. ↑ [3] Theodore, JM (2004) Molecular Clock Divergence Estimates And The Fossil Record Of Cetartiodactyla The Journal Of Paleontology 78:39-44
  5. ↑ [4]University of California, Berkeley, Understanding Evolution
  6. ↑ http://www.sciencenews.org/pages/pdfs/data/1999/15619/15619-10.pdf
  7. ↑ Sarfati, Jonathan Whale evolution? Refuting Evolution, Chapter 5.
  8. ↑ Batten, Don, A whale of a tale? Journal of Creation 8(1):2–3, April 1994.
  9. ↑ Williams, Alexander, and Sarfati, Jonathan, Not at all like a whale, Creation 27(2):20–22, March 2005.
  10. ↑ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-did-whales-evolve-73276956/
  11. ↑ http://www.icr.org/article/ways-that-whales-display-their-creator
  12. ↑ https://creation.com/refuting-evolution-chapter-5-whale-evolution
  13. ↑ http://creationstudies.org/articles/science/life-science/206-whales-lose-teeth
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Order Cetacea
Baleen whales
Toothed whales
Dolphins
Porpoises
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