The term whale is ambiguous: it can refer to all cetaceans, to just the larger ones, or only to members of particular families within the order Cetacea. The last definition is the one
Whales are considered by many to be the most magnificent and intelligent of the Antarctic marine mammals. Members of the order Cetacea which includes dolphins and porpoises, whales are divided into two groups: toothed (Odontoceti) and baleen (Mysticeti). Toothed whales have narrow jaws lined with peg-like teeth which they use to catch fish, squid, and other marine mammals, swallowing them whole. They are smaller than baleen whales and only have one blowhole. The Killer (Orca) whale and the Sperm whale are the only toothed whales found in the Antarctic region. Baleen whales have comblike structures instead of teeth that are used to filter krill and fish from the water. They are larger than toothed whales and have two blowholes. The Blue, Fin, Humpback, Minke, Sei, and Southern Right Whales are the baleen whales found in the Antarctic.
Whales are those cetaceans which are neither dolphins (i.e. members of the families Delphinidae or Platanistoidea) nor porpoises. This can lead to some confusion because Orcas ("Killer Whales") and Pilot whales have "whale" in their name, but they are dolphins for the purpose of classification.
All Antarctic whale species migrate long distances, feeding in the cold, nutrient-rich Southern Oceans during the austral summer then heading to warmer northern waters to breed and give birth to their young during the winter months. Some whale species travel alone or in pairs while others travel in large social groups called pods.
Whales are considered by many to be the most magnificent and intelligent of the Antarctic marine mammals. Members of the order Cetacea which includes dolphins and porpoises, whales are divided into two groups: toothed (Odontoceti) and baleen (Mysticeti). Toothed whales have narrow jaws lined with peg-like teeth which they use to catch fish, squid, and other marine mammals, swallowing them whole. They are smaller than baleen whales and only have one blowhole. The Killer (Orca) whale and the Sperm whale are the only toothed whales found in the Antarctic region. Baleen whales have comblike structures instead of teeth that are used to filter krill and fish from the water. They are larger than toothed whales and have two blowholes. The Blue, Fin, Humpback, Minke, Sei, and Southern Right Whales are the baleen whales found in the Antarctic.
Whales are those cetaceans which are neither dolphins (i.e. members of the families Delphinidae or Platanistoidea) nor porpoises. This can lead to some confusion because Orcas ("Killer Whales") and Pilot whales have "whale" in their name, but they are dolphins for the purpose of classification.
All Antarctic whale species migrate long distances, feeding in the cold, nutrient-rich Southern Oceans during the austral summer then heading to warmer northern waters to breed and give birth to their young during the winter months. Some whale species travel alone or in pairs while others travel in large social groups called pods.
