Mysticetes (Baleen Whales)
Blue Whale
Balaenoptera musculus
Range: Can be found pretty much everywhere on Earth if your lucky enough, though there is a large population off the coast of California, USA
Stats: Typically 78 ½ ft.- 88 ½ ft. for an adult. The longest ever recorded was 110 ft. The heaviest ever recorded was 209 tons
The is the largest animal on Earth... ever. It’s heart can be as big as a small car, it can be as large as a Boeing 737 and weigh 60 times as much. This is one of my favorite cetaceans, for the simple fact that it is so very huge. I have seen this animal in person from the surface, and I must say, it was very amazing to see. I can’t imagine what it would be like to see them from underwater.
These animals have been extensively hunted in the past, in the last century 360,000 were killed. If it wasn’t for that killing, they would be a lot more common to find. The best place to see these creatures is off the coast of California.
More Pics of the Blue Whale:
Minke Whale
Balaenoptera acutorostrata
Range: Found Worldwide
Stats: 23-33 ft. 5-15 tons, Smallest of the Rorquals
This is a very small whale. They are usually very shy and are hard to track, but some individuals can be very curious. This species has been hunted in modern times. The Northwest Pacific population is under a lot of stress from Japanese whalers.
There is 1 subspecies of the Minke whale, which is the Dwarf Minke Whale, also there has been another entire species classified called the Antartic Minke Whale (Balaenoptera bonaerensis)
More Pics of the Minke Whale:
Odontocetes (Toothed Whales)
Sperm Whale
Physeter macrocephalus
Range: Worldwide in deep waters
Stats: 36-59 ft. 20-50 tons Largest of the toothed whales. Largest of all carnivores on Earth.
Sometimes called "The Living Submarine", this is the deepest diving mammal on Earth. Typical dives are from 985-1,985 ft, but there is evidence that they dive as deep as 9,845 ft. They dive that deep to feed on giant squid, their prey, though they have been observed eating fish, such as large sharks.
Sperm whales have only bottom teeth, and they are huge! Sometimes they might be 10 inches and weigh more than 2 pounds.
More Pics of the Sperm Whale:
Beluga
Delphinapterus leucas
Range: Circumpolar around the Arctic
Stats: 93/4-16 ½ ft. 0.4-1.5 tons
This beautiful white whale is also called the "sea canary" because of all of the different sounds they can make. Belugas can also change the shape of their melon and their "lips" at will.
When a beluga is born, it is dark gray. Then as it grows, it will lighten in color. Usually in males, their flippers may up-curve with growth.
This cetacean was among one of the first to be taken into captivity.
More Pics of the Beluga:
A juvenile beluga and its trainer
(Short Beak)
Common Dolphins
Delphinus delphis (long-beaked)
Delphinus capensis (short-beaked)
Range: Warm temperate, tropical, and subtropical waters worldwide, with large groups in the eastern tropical Pacific
Stats: 53/4-8 ft. 155-245 lbs.
This is a very active dolphin. They will sometimes form pods in the 1,000's, sometimes called megapods. Many of their acrobatic behaviors include bowriding, breaching, and porpoising. They seem to spend as much time out of the water as they do in it. This is a very vocal cetacean. Sometimes their high-pitched squeals can be heard from above the surface and I have experienced hearing them.
There are many variations of this dolphin. Over the years, 20 different species have been proposed, but currently only 2 distinct forms are recognized, the long-beak form and the short-beak form.
More Pics of Common Dolphins:
A pic of a short-beak I took myself
Pod of Long-beaks feeding on a bait ball
(Dusky Dolphin)
Lags
Lagenorhynchus acutus (Atlantic White-sided Dolphin)
Range: Cool, temperate and subartic waters of the North Atlantic
Stats: 6-9 ft. 365-440 lbs.
Lagenorhynchus obscurus (Dusky Dolphin)
Range: Coastal waters of Patagonia, South Africa, and New Zealand
Stats: 5-7 ft. 110-200 lbs.
Lagenorhynchus cruciger (Hourglass Dolphin)
Range: Circumpolar in subantartic waters
Stats: 5-6 ft. 200-265 lbs.
Lagenorhynchus obliquidens (Pacific White-sided Dolphin)
Range: The deep temperate waters of the Northern North Pacific
Stats: 6-8 ft. 185-330 lbs.
Lagenorhynchus australis (Peale's Dolphin)
Range: Coastal waters of Patagonia and the Falkland Islands
Stats: 6-7 ft. around 255 lbs.
Lagenorhynchus albirostris (White-beaked Dolphin)
Range: Cool temperate and subartic waters of the North Atlantic
All of the dolphins of the Lagenorhynchus genus (these dolphins nicknamed "Lags") seem to have similar features. All have a very short beak and a large, falcate dorsal fin.
Two of the species, the Peale's and Dusky dolphin, are coastal species The Dusky is popular in New Zealand for dolphin-watching tours. Sometimes people might even go swimming with them.
Pacific White-sided tend to be mainly offshore in the Pacific and can be easily approached. Sometimes they may even approach a boat without the people even trying too. There are 2 places in the U.S. that I know of that keeps Pacific White-sided Dolphins, and that is the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and Sea World in San Antonio.
The 2 lags that live in the North Atlantic, the Atlantic White-sided and the White-beaked dolphin, seem to be more robust. Both have a very thick tail stock. Possibly it is used for traveling at fast speeds or long treks.
The Hourglass Dolphin is a very unusual species. It is a completely pelagic species as far as we know. Though it has been seen in shallow water around the Antartic Peninsula. It has an undulating swimming motion, and may look like a penguin from a distance, but its dorsal fin gives away its true identity.
More Pics of Lags:
Dusky bowriding in front of a large ship
Pacific White-sided playing with kelp
Pacific White-sided at the Shedd Aquarium
A small group of Pacific White-sided Dolphins
Peale's Dolphin side breaching
