![]() Both have large, complex brains and a structure in their foreheads, called the melon, with which they generate sonar (sound waves) to navigate their underwater world. Scientists are pretty sure that porpoises do not do this, and some think this may be due to structural differences in the porpoise’s blowhole.ĭolphins and porpoises have many similarities, one of which is their extreme intelligence. Dolphins make whistling sounds through their blowholes to communicate with one another underwater. Generally speaking, dolphin bodies are leaner, and porpoises’ are portly.ĭolphins are also more talkative than porpoises. The dolphin’s hooked or curved dorsal fin (the one in the middle of the animal’s back) also differs from the porpoise’s triangular dorsal fin. Dolphins tend to have prominent, elongated “beaks” and cone-shaped teeth, while porpoises have smaller mouths and spade-shaped teeth. So what’s the difference? It essentially comes down to their faces (who can forget Flipper’s famous “grin”?), their fins, and their figures. The dorsal fin is small and triangle-shaped. For an introduction to the six families of dolphins and porpoises or small toothed whales, please see our ‘ meet the dolphins’ section.The harbor porpoise has small pointed flippers and no beak. Here we meet four families of large toothed whales. There are 77 toothed whale species altogether and they are grouped into ten families: the sperm whale the dwarf and pygmy sperm whale the beluga and narwhal the beaked whales the oceanic dolphins the four river dolphins (each one is placed in a family of their own) and the porpoise family. They are amongst the most intelligent creatures on Earth they have large brains, show complex behaviour including the ability to teach others and learn from one another.Īlmost 90% of all types of whale, dolphin and porpoise are toothed whales and most of them are small dolphins and porpoises a notable exception is the largest of all toothed whales, the sperm whale who is an honorary ‘great whale’. Toothed whales are very social and are always with others they commonly live in groups known as pods. ![]() This is a very important skill as it allows them to hunt and navigate underwater where it is often too dark to see properly. They use a special sense called echolocation (biosonar) to hunt and to help them ‘see’ their underwater world. Toothed whales are accomplished predators. However, the exact number of species (currently 15) and their relationships to one another are still matters of hot debate as scientists are finding what they believe to be new species within species. Large groups of baleen whales are generally uncommon.īaleen whales are grouped into four families: rorqual right gray and pygmy right whale. Different baleen whales use a variety of sounds including singing, moans and short pulses.īaleen whale group sizes are generally small they often appear to be alone but are found to be in acoustic contact with others. Not all baleen whales migrate Bryde's whale, the bowhead whale and sei whale are all non-migratory.īaleen whales do not echolocate but they do make sounds to communicate with one another, display and attract mates, repel rivals and establish territories. The baleen whale solution to this is to feed in cold water feeding areas for as long as possible in the summer months and then swim to warm, calm water nursery areas. Our understanding of why they do this is that they face a dilemma there is much more whale food available in cold polar oceans but these environments are risky and challenging for vulnerable newborn whales who thrive in warmer seas. Some, such as humpbacks and gray whales make very long, seasonal migrations. Most baleen whales are migratory and tend to follow the same basic migratory pattern. Humpbacks, blue whales and fin whales are gulpers their throats are expandable and enable them to take enormous mouthfuls of seawater and sieve out their prey gray whales are bottom feeders and sift prey from mouthfuls of mud on the seabed. Right whales and bowheads are skimmers or grazers and gather food by swimming slowly, open-mouthed through dense patches of it. Huge volumes of seawater are strained through the baleen plates which sieve and retain little sea creatures in huge quantities. Their baleen plates or ‘whale bones’ are made from a material similar to human fingernails and animal horns they are strong, flexible and feathered at the edges, rather like bristles on a brush. Baleen whales are aptly nick-named the ‘great whales’ yet they survive on the teeniest (and most abundant) animals in the ocean they are filter feeding specialists and target shoals of small fish or clouds of zooplankton and krill in the sea. Baleen whales are generally huge the largest is the biggest creature to have ever lived on Earth- the blue whale.
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