Whale Parts
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- ambergris
- From the old French ambre gris meaning "grey amber", it is a grayish waxy substance found only in the intestines of most sperm whales. It was used as a fixative in the perfume industry.
- amphipods
- Crustaceans of the order Amphipoda, an important food source for baleen whales.
- anchor patch
- A light colored anchor or w-shaped patch, found on the undersides of pilot whales, melon-headed whales, pygmy killer whales, and false killer whales.
- anterior
- Toward the front or head of the body. Opposite of posterior.
- Archeocetes
- The suborder of extinct whales.
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C |
- calf
- A baby whale.
- callosity
- A patch of rough thickened skin on the head of a right whale, often infested with whale lice.
- cape
- Dark colored dorsal region in some cetaceans.
- caudal
- Of, pertaining to, or near the tail or posterior part of the body.
- cephalopod
- A member of a group of mollusks including cuttlefish, squid, and octopus.
- cetacean
- An aquatic mammal of the order Cetacea, including whales, porpoises and dolphins.
- chevron
- A v-shaped marking on some cetaceans (e.g., minke and fin whales).
- clan
- When used in conjunction with killer whales (orcas), refers to pods of whales that share common vocalizations or dialects and a matrilineal kinship... you would call this a family except that the word 'family' has special meaning in science
- commensalism
- An association between two organisms in which one benefits without hurting the other (host).
- continental shelf
- A submerged part of the land mass which gently slopes from shore to relatively shallow depths of 655 feet (200 meters).
- continental slope
- The steep slope between the continental shelf and the ocean floor.
- cookie cutter sharks
- Isistius brasiliensis. This shark takes bites of skin and blubber that look like cookies 3 to 5 cm in diameter, and which result in round scars on many cetaceans (e.g. Cuvier's beaked whale, Sei whale).
- copepods
- Small shrimp-like crustaceans. An important food source for some baleen whales.
- countershading
- Type of camouflage as seen in most fish and cetaceans, which dark upperparts and lighter undersides. This makes the animal harder to see from predators above or below.
- cow
- An adult female whale.
- crustaceans
- Invertebrate aquatic animals with segmented bodies, breathe through gill structures and usually covered by a hard shell. Crustaceans include crabs, shrimps, lobsters, barnacles, and copepods.
- Cyamids
- Also called whale lice, they are members of the family Cyamidae. These crustaceans live on whales and feed on their skin. They usually accumulate on areas with reduced water flow. [illustration]
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- baleen
- Fibrous hair-like plates, made from keratin (like human finger nails), that hang from the roof of the mouths of baleen whales (Mystecetes). These baleen plates help filter food. Also called "whalebone". See bowhead feeding or sei & Bryde's feeding, and also bowhead status.
- barnacle
- A name given to marine crustaceans in the subclass Cirripedia. When adult, will attach themselves to rocks, boats, and certain whales.
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Cryptolepas rhachianecti,
A 2 " (5 cm) BARNACLE FOUND ONLY ON GRAY WHALES
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- benthic
- Pertaining to living in or on the ocean floor.
- biota
- The animal and plant life of a region considered as a total ecological entity
- blaze
- Light colored streak on the side of some cetaceans set against a darker field like the dorsal cape.
- blow
- Also known as spout, it is a visible cloud of moisture laden exhalation by cetaceans.
- blowhole
- In cetaceans, the single or paired respiratory opening.
- blubber
- An insulating fat layer directly under the skin of most marine mammals
- bow riding
- The behavior of some smaller cetaceans (esp. dolphins and porpoises) to ride the pressure wave created by boats or large whales
- breaching
- A behavior of cetaceans that jumps or leaps out of the water and reenters on its side or back with a big splash.
- bubblenet feeding
- A cooperative feeding technique of some humpback whales, by exhaling underwater and creating bubbles to form a "net" to trap schooling fish.
- bull
- An adult male whale.
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- diatoms
- Single-celled algae or phyto plankton. Diatoms sometimes coat the undersides of blue whales and other cetaceans, giving them a yellowish sheen.
- dolphin
- A common term used to describe smaller toothed whales with conical teeth. There is also a dolphin fish better known as Mahi-Mahi or dorado. See dolphins vs porpoises exhibit.
- dorsal
- Pertaining to the back or upper surface of the body.
- dorsal fin
- The fin along the midline of the back (the top fin in marine vertebrates). See examples.
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A COOKIE CUTTER SHARK, Isistius brasiliensis, approx. 20" (50 CM)
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- ecosystem
- A biological community and environment functioning as a whole.
- echolocation
- A system used by most (toothed) whales by producing high-frequency sounds, and receiving their echos to navigate in their environment and locate prey.
- ectoparasite
- A parasite that lives on the external surface of its host. Whale lice are ectoparasites.
- endangered
- To describe a species or population as threatened with extinction.
- endemic
- To describe a species that is native or restricted to a specific region.
- euphausiids
- See krill.
- extinct
- to describe a species or population that is no longer living
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- gape
- The mouthline of a cetacean.
- gulp feeding
- A feeding technique performed by, mainly, roquals thrusting forward with open mouths and taking in a large quantity of prey.
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- falcate
- Sickle shaped or curved backwards. See example.
- filter feeder
- The way that baleen whales strain their food from the water through their baleen plates.
- flippers
- In cetaceans, the forelimbs (general - the limbs of marine mammals, including cetaceans and pinnipeds). Also called pectoral fin, these are paddle-shaped front limbs.
- flipperslapping
- The behavior of slamming their flippers at the water surface. Also called "flippering" or "pec-slap".
- flensing
- The act of stripping the blubber layer of a whale by whalers.
- fluke
- Either of the two lobes of a whale's tail.
- foraging
- The act of looking for prey and feeding.
- fusiform
- Tapering on both ends, or spindle-shaped.
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- harpoon
- A spear or lance connected with a line used to kill marine mammals. These used to be thrown by hand; later they were mounted on canons with explosives.
- herd
- A term used usually to describe a coordinated group of baleen whales.
- hydrophone
- An underwater microphone
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- infrasound
- Sound produced below human hearing or 20 Hertz.
- IWC
- International Whaling Commission. An international body formed in 1946 to regulate whaling and conserve whale stocks - also see what is the IWC?.
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- keel
- A distinctive thickening above and/or below the tail stock in some cetaceans. Often more pronounced in males as a sexual dimorphic trait.
- krill
- Small shrimp-like crustaceans belonging to the family Euphasiidae. It is an important food source for whales.
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- juvenile
- An immature weaned animal.
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- lobtailing
- The behavior of slapping the flukes at the surface of the water. Also called "tail-slapping".
- logging
- The behavior of resting at the surface.
- LFA
- Low Frequency Active Sonar, used by the navy.
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M |
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- mammal
- A member of the class Mammalia. These are warm blooded animals that have lungs, hair, give live birth and suckle their young.
- mammary glands
- teats
- marine mammals
- Mammals that live in the sea. These include whales, dolphins, and porpoises (Cetacea), seals, sea lions, and walruses (Phinnipeds), dugongs and manatees (Sirinians), sea and river otters, and the polar bear.
- median notch
- Indentation in the center of the flukes' trailing edge.
- mass stranding
- The accidental coming ashore alive or dead by a group of whales.
- melon
- The bulbous forehead in toothed whales Odontocetes which contains oil and is thought to be used to focus sounds for echolocation.
- migration
- The seasonal movements of whales from nutrient rich feeding areas, usually in higher latitudes, to warmer breeding and calving areas in lower latitudes.
- monotypic
- Being the only species within its genus.
- Mysticeti
- The scientific term for the suborder of baleen whales.
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O |
- oceanic
- Refers to the open ocean beyond the continental shelf.
- Odontoceti
- The scientific term for the suborder of toothed whales.
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N |
- neonate
- Newborn.
- neritic
- Coastal, near shore or over the continental shelf.
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- Pakicetus
- The oldest known whale, found in Pakistan, that lived about 50 million years ago.
- parasite
- An organism that lives off another (host) organism for its own benefit and by damaging or hurting it.
- pectoral fin
- See flipper.
- peduncle
- A stalk; in cetaceans, the tail stock between the anus and the flukes. See caudal.
- pelagic
- Of, pertaining to, or living in open oceans ocarnivorouser than waters close to shore.
- phytoplankton
- Microscopic plant life passively floating on ocean currents.
- pinniped
- An order of aquatic, carniverous (meat-eating) mammals including sea lions, true seals, and walruses; from the Latin PINNA ("feather") and PEDIS ("foot"), or "featherfoot".
- plankton
- Microscopic plant and animal life drifting or swimming weakly on ocean currents. This is an important source of food for baleen whales.
- pod
- A term usually used to describe a group of larger toothed whales..
- porpoise
- Sometimes used interchangeably with "dolphin", but generally defined as a cetacean with a short beak or no beak at all, spade-shaped teeth, and a triangular dorsal fin.
- porpoising
- The behavior of leaping clear out of the water by some cetaceans, pinnipeds, and penguins, while swimming rapidly. This helps them to breath easier in full speed.
- posterior
- Toward the back or tail of the body. Opposite of anterior.
- predator
- An animal that hunts and kills other animals for food.
- prey
- An animal that is hunted and killed by another animal (predator).
- purse seine
- Fishing gear that is set around a school of fish forming a circular wall. It is then closed from the bottom (pursed) to trap the fish. Compare bubblenet feeding.
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- range
- The natural distribution of a species, including migration routes.
- resident
- A species that lies year round in a specific area and does not migrate.
- rorqual
- A term used for baleen whales belonging to the genus Balaenoptera, which includes the blue, fin, sei, Bryde's, and the Minke whales. Some include the humpback whale of the genus Magaptera. Some characteristics of rorquals are numerous longitudinal grooves (long throat grooves) on the lower surface of the body, and a dorsal fin.
- roostertail spray
- A spray of water created by some cetaceans when surfacing at a high rate of speed. The spray, shaped like a rooster tail is caused by a cone of water which looks like it is coming out of the animal's head, and is particularly characteristic of the Dall's porpoise.
- rostrum
- A beaklike part; in cetaceans the upper jaw. Term is used primarily with larger whales.
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T |
- tail stock
- Also called caudal penduncle, it is the area between the anus and the flukes.
- taxonomy
- The science of classifying organisms as species, genera, and higher categories. See the taxonomy page.
- transient
- Constantly on the move. Also refers to a population of distinct, marine mammal eating killer whales in the Eastern North Pacific.
- tubercles
- Small bumps found on the flippers and dorsal fins of some cetaceans (e.g., harbor and Burmeister porpoise). Also the knobs found on the head and jaws of some humpback whales. Each tubercle is also called a "stovebolt" and contains a single hair called "vibrissa".
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Cyamus scammoni,
A TYPE OF WHALE LOUSE FOUND ONLY ON GRAY WHALES (sexually dimorphic where males can grow a little over an inch; females reach half that size)
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- saddle
- Light colored patch behind the dorsal fin extending down on both sides of some cetaceans (e.g. killer and pilot whales).
- scrimshaw
- The leisure or occupational handicraft using whaling byproducts, started around 1820 until the early 20th century. It is the practice of engraving whale teeth (sperm whales), bones, baleen, and walrus tusks.
- sexual dimorphism
- The physical differences between males and females of the same species.
- skim feeding
- A feeding method by swimming slowly with open mouth and continuously filtering prey through their baleen. Right whales are skim feeders.
- sonar
- In cetaceans, this is a means to navigate and track prey by emitting sound pulses and analyzing their echoes.
- sounding
- The display of the flukes in a deep dive, also called "terminal dive", after a series of shallow dives.
- species
- A group of similar animals that are isolated reproductively and produce viable offspring. They may include on or more subspecies.
- spermaceti
- Mistakenly thought to be sperm whale semen by the 16th and 16th century whalers, it is a white translucent mixture of oil and wax found in the spermaceti organ or "case", located in the top portion of a sperm whale's head.
- splashguard
- Raised area directly in front of the blowholes in most baleen whales. It prevents water from entering the blowholes during respiration.
- spout
- See blow.
- spyhopping
- The behavior in cetaceans that involves raising the head vertically out of the water, then sinking back into the water without causing much splash.
- stranding
- The accidentally coming ashore either dead or alive by cetaceans. Some cetaceans, like bottlenose dolphins and killer whales, are known to strand deliberately to pursue prey.
- subspecies
- A recognized geographic isolated subpopulation of the same species.
- symbiosis
- The habitual living together of two organisms of two different species.
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- upwelling
- The process of nutrient-rich water being raised upward along the edges of the continental shelf through offshore currents.
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- weaned
- A young mammal that has changed from drinking its mothers milk to a diet of solid food.
- whalebone
- See baleen.
- whale lice
- See Cyamids. [illustration]
- whale watching
- The private or commercial activity of encountering whales in their natural habitat, started in the mid 1940's.
- whaling
- The aboriginal and commercial hunting and killing of whales for their meat, blubber, baleen, oil and other byproducts.
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- ventral
- Pertaining to the underside or lower part of the body.
- ventral grooves
- Pleats or furrows that extend fraccordionin down to the throat or the navel, in baleen whales belonging to the family Balaenopteridae. Like an accordian this helps to expand the throat. Smaller throat grooves can be found in gray and beaked whales.
- vestigial
- Pertaining to an anatomical part that is becoming lost through evolution and has no function. One example is the pelvic bone in whales.
- vibrissae
- Sensory hairs or whiskers.
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- zoo plankton
- Microscopic animal form of plankton.
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