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List of cetaceans
Cetacea is an infraorder that comprises the 94 species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises. It is divided into toothed whales (Odontoceti) and baleen whales (Mysticeti), which diverged from each other in the Eocene some 50 million years ago (mya). Cetaceans are descended from land-dwelling hoofed mammals, and the now extinct archaeocetes represent the several transitional phases from terrestrial to completely aquatic. Historically, cetaceans were thought to have descended from the wolf-like mesonychians, but cladistic analyses confirm their placement with even-toed ungulates in the order Cetartiodactyla.
Whale populations were drastically reduced in the 20th century from intensive whaling, which led to a moratorium on hunting by the International Whaling Commission in 1982. Smaller cetaceans are at risk of accidentally getting caught by fishing vessels using, namely, seine fishing, drift netting, or gill netting operations.
The following is a list of currently existing (or, in the jargon of taxonomy) 'extant' species of the infraorder Cetacea (for extinct cetacean species, see the list of extinct cetaceans). The list is organized taxonomically into parvorders, superfamilies when applicable, families, subfamilies when applicable, genus, and then species. In tabular form, seven descriptors are given for each species: the common name; the scientific name; the IUCN Red List status; a global population estimate; a global map with its range; its weight with an image of its shape, and its size relative to a human; and a photograph.
Conservation status codes listed follow the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (v. 2014.3; data current at 20 January 2015).
Where available, the global population estimate has been listed. When not cited or footnoted differently, these are from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (v. 2014.3; data current at 20 January 2015).
The baleen whales, also called whalebone whales or great whales, form the parvorder Mysticeti. Baleen whales are characterized by having baleen plates for filter feeding and two blowholes.
The family Balaenidae, the right whales, contains two genera and four species. All right whales have no ventral grooves; a distinctive head shape with a strongly arched, narrow rostrum, bowed lower jaw; lower lips that enfold the sides and front of the rostrum; and long, narrow, elastic baleen plates (up to nine times longer than wide) with fine baleen fringes.
Rorquals are the largest group of baleen whales, with eleven species in three genera. They include the largest animal that has ever lived, the blue whale. They take their name from a Norwegian word meaning "furrow whale"; all members of the family have a series of longitudinal folds of skin running from below the mouth back to the navel (except the sei whale, which has shorter grooves). They allow the mouth to expand immensely when feeding. All rorquals have these unique folds.
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List of cetaceans
Cetacea is an infraorder that comprises the 94 species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises. It is divided into toothed whales (Odontoceti) and baleen whales (Mysticeti), which diverged from each other in the Eocene some 50 million years ago (mya). Cetaceans are descended from land-dwelling hoofed mammals, and the now extinct archaeocetes represent the several transitional phases from terrestrial to completely aquatic. Historically, cetaceans were thought to have descended from the wolf-like mesonychians, but cladistic analyses confirm their placement with even-toed ungulates in the order Cetartiodactyla.
Whale populations were drastically reduced in the 20th century from intensive whaling, which led to a moratorium on hunting by the International Whaling Commission in 1982. Smaller cetaceans are at risk of accidentally getting caught by fishing vessels using, namely, seine fishing, drift netting, or gill netting operations.
The following is a list of currently existing (or, in the jargon of taxonomy) 'extant' species of the infraorder Cetacea (for extinct cetacean species, see the list of extinct cetaceans). The list is organized taxonomically into parvorders, superfamilies when applicable, families, subfamilies when applicable, genus, and then species. In tabular form, seven descriptors are given for each species: the common name; the scientific name; the IUCN Red List status; a global population estimate; a global map with its range; its weight with an image of its shape, and its size relative to a human; and a photograph.
Conservation status codes listed follow the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (v. 2014.3; data current at 20 January 2015).
Where available, the global population estimate has been listed. When not cited or footnoted differently, these are from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (v. 2014.3; data current at 20 January 2015).
The baleen whales, also called whalebone whales or great whales, form the parvorder Mysticeti. Baleen whales are characterized by having baleen plates for filter feeding and two blowholes.
The family Balaenidae, the right whales, contains two genera and four species. All right whales have no ventral grooves; a distinctive head shape with a strongly arched, narrow rostrum, bowed lower jaw; lower lips that enfold the sides and front of the rostrum; and long, narrow, elastic baleen plates (up to nine times longer than wide) with fine baleen fringes.
Rorquals are the largest group of baleen whales, with eleven species in three genera. They include the largest animal that has ever lived, the blue whale. They take their name from a Norwegian word meaning "furrow whale"; all members of the family have a series of longitudinal folds of skin running from below the mouth back to the navel (except the sei whale, which has shorter grooves). They allow the mouth to expand immensely when feeding. All rorquals have these unique folds.