Keith is sea ​​monster. In the literal sense of the word. After all, this is exactly how the Greek word is translated, from which the name of this amazing animal comes - κῆτος. A lot can be said about marine inhabitants belonging to the order Cetaceans. But it’s worth dwelling on the most interesting facts.

Name

The first step is to answer the question that worries many. And it sounds like this: “Is a whale a fish or a mammal?” The second of the proposed options is correct.

The whale is a large marine mammal that is not related to porpoises or dolphins. Although they are included in the order Cetacea (cetaceans). In general, the situation with names is very interesting. Pilot whales and killer whales, for example, are considered whales. Although, in accordance with the strict official classification, they are dolphins, which few people know.

And it is better to trust a strict classification, since in the old days leviathans were called whales - sea monsters with many heads that could devour the planet. In a word, the name has an interesting story.

Origin

Well, the question “Is a whale a fish or a mammal?” was answered above. Now we can talk about the types of these creatures.

To begin with, it is worth noting that all whales are descendants of land mammals. Moreover, those who belonged to the orders of artiodactyls! This is not fiction, but a scientifically proven fact that was established after molecular genetic examinations. There is even a monophyletic group (clade) that includes whales, hippopotamuses and all artiodactyls. All of them are cetaceans. According to research, whales and hippos descended from the same creature that lived on our planet about 54 million years ago.

Units

So, now - about the types of whales. Or rather, about suborders. The first species is baleen whales. They are the largest of modern mammals. Their physiological feature is a mustache with a filter-like structure.

The second species is toothed whales. Carnivorous, fast creatures. They are superior to toothless whales. Only the sperm whale can compare in size with them. And their feature, as you might have guessed, is the presence of teeth.

And the third species is ancient whales. Those that no longer exist. They belong to a paraphyletic group of animals from which modern species of whales later evolved.

Anatomical features

Now it’s worth considering the description of the whale from a physiological point of view. This animal is a mammal, and it is warm-blooded. Accordingly, each whale breathes with the help of its lungs, and the females feed their calves with milk. And these creatures have hair, albeit reduced.

Because these mammals are exposed to the sun, their skin has protection from ultraviolet rays. True, it is expressed differently in each species. The blue whale, for example, can increase the content of special pigments in its skin that absorb radiation (say in simple language, he “sunbathes”). The sperm whale defends itself against oxygen radicals by triggering a “stress response.” The fin whale practices both methods.

By the way, these creatures maintain their warm-bloodedness due to the presence of a thick fatty layer under the skin. He is the one who protects internal organs marine animals from hypothermia.

Oxygen absorption process

It is also interesting to talk about how whales breathe. These mammals can stay under water for a minimum of 2 minutes and a maximum of 40. However, there is a record holder, and it is the sperm whale, which is able to stay under water for 1.5 hours.

The external nostrils of these creatures are located at the top of the head. They have special valves that reflexively close Airways when the whale dives into the water. At the moment of surfacing, they open. It is important to know that the airway does not connect to the esophagus. So the whale absorbs air safely, without harm to itself. Even if there is water in his mouth. And by the way, speaking about how whales breathe, it is worth noting that they do it quickly. Speed ​​is facilitated by shortened bronchi and trachea. By the way, their lungs are very powerful. In one breath, the whale renews its air by 90%. And people are only 15%.

It is worth noting that at the moment of surfacing, a column of condensed steam emerges through the nostrils (also called the blowhole). The same fountain, which is business card whales This occurs due to the fact that the whale exhales warm air from itself, which comes into contact with the outside (cold). So the fountain is the result of temperature effects. The column of steam varies in height and shape among different whales. The most impressive are the “fountains” of large mammals. They come out of their blowhole with such enormous power that the process is accompanied by a loud trumpet sound. In good weather it can be heard from the shore.

Food

It’s worth saying a few words about what whales eat. The diet of animals is varied. Toothed whales, for example, eat fish, cephalopods (squid, cuttlefish) and in some cases mammals.

Whiskered representatives feed on plankton. They absorb a huge volume of crustaceans, filtering it from the water or using their baleen. These animals can also eat small fish.

The most interesting thing is that in winter whales hardly eat. And for this reason, in the summer they continuously consume food. This approach helps them accumulate a thick layer of fat.

By the way, they need a lot of food. Large whales consume about three tons of food per day.

Bright representative

The blue whale deserves special attention. This is the largest animal that has ever existed on our planet. It reaches 33 meters in length and weighs about 150 tons.

By the way, the blue whale is a representative of the baleen suborder. Feeds on plankton. It has a well-developed filtering apparatus, due to which it filters the absorbed mass inside.

There are three subspecies of this animal. There is a dwarf, southern and northern whale. The last two live in cold circumpolar waters. The dwarf is found in tropical seas.

It is believed that blue whales live for about 110 years. In any case, that was the size of the oldest individual that people have encountered.

Unfortunately, the blue whale is not a very common marine creature. In the 20th century, uncontrolled hunting began for these animals. By the middle of the last century, only 5 thousand individuals remained throughout the world. People did a terrible thing by exterminating them. Emergency security measures were taken. On this moment The number of individuals has doubled, but blue whales are still at risk.

Belukha

This is a representative of the toothed whales of the narwhal family. The beluga whale is not very large. Its weight reaches only 2 tons, and its length is 6 meters. Beluga whales have excellent hearing, acute perception of any sounds, and the ability to echolocation. In addition, these are social creatures - there are known cases in which these whales saved a person. They get along well in aquariums, over time they get used to people, and even become attached to the workers.

Their diet is varied. Beluga whales eat cod, flounder, herring, clams, algae, shrimp, lamprey, rib jellyfish, pink salmon, gobies, blennies, crayfish and many other sea creatures suitable for food.

These creatures, like many others, also suffered due to human cruelty. Whalers easily drove them onto the shallows, and the belugas literally crashed. But at the moment this species is gradually restoring its numbers. Let's just hope people don't ruin anything.

There are dozens of other representatives of cetaceans, and all are special and interesting in their own way. And we hope that every species that we know of will survive. The marine world should not lose any of them, as each of them is a true wonder and natural treasure.

What type of animal are whales?

Although whales are sometimes called “fisher whales,” they are actually mammals, and their “relatives” are more likely to be considered deer and large animals. cattle. It shows comparative analysis skeletal structure. But already many millions of years ago, the ancestors of whales, originally living on land, gradually moved to another, aquatic habitat.

Cetaceans or whales (lat. Cetacea) are an order of mammals fully adapted to life in water. Cetaceans, together with artiodactyls, are sometimes classified as a non-systematic group of cetaceans. All cetaceans except dolphins and porpoises are often called whales. Cetaceans are the largest animals that have ever lived on Earth.

The scientific name cetus and the Russian whale come from the Greek ketos (sea monster).

Cetaceans have a fusiform, streamlined body and smooth skin without hair. A thick layer of blubber protects whales from hypothermia. The forelimbs are transformed into flippers, the hind limbs are atrophied. The tail ends in a large horizontal fin.

Cetaceans have the largest size among mammals, so the average body length of a blue whale is 25 m, weight is 90-120 tons. The smallest cetaceans are the white-bellied dolphin and Hector's dolphin, belonging to the genus of motley dolphins (Cephalorhynchys): their body length is not exceeds 120 cm, weight - 45 kg.

The largest whale is at the same time the largest animal in the world. This is a blue whale - its length can exceed 30 meters, and its weight reaches 125 tons. It can be found in any seas, but most often it is found in the Pacific Ocean. It belongs to the group of toothless whales (the other group is called toothed whales).

It is quite difficult to imagine that the largest animal in the world can live without teeth. How do they do this? In their mouth they have a device consisting of hundreds of horny plates called baleen. They grow on the roof of the mouth (the top of the mouth) and form something like a sieve.

The blue whale feeds in the following way: with its mouth wide open, it quickly swims through an accumulation of prey, which consists mainly of small mollusks, shrimp and fish. Closing his mouth, he forcefully pushes water out of it. The water is filtered through the whalebone, but the prey remains. The whale's mouth resembles a huge container. And the length of his head is about a third of the length of his body.

Among the toothed whales, the largest are sperm whales. They have a huge head and reach 20 meters in length. The killer whale, or killer whale (actually a large dolphin), is the only cetacean that feeds on other warm-blooded animals. The killer whale is about 9 meters long, and it easily overtakes seals. Schools of killer whales even attack large whales.

Because whales live in water and have fish-like bodies, we often compare them to fish. But their skeletal structure, circulatory system and brain are not at all similar to fish.

Humanity began to ask the question of who exactly a whale is - a fish or an animal - long before the formation of modern natural sciences. As the largest of all creatures living under water, this giant simply could not help but delight everyone who had a chance to see it.

Is a whale a fish or an animal?

Of course, today, thanks to modern knowledge about the structure of cetaceans and their origin, it is no longer difficult to give an exact answer to this question that has tormented man for so long. So, who exactly is he? This is a mammal whose ancestors once upon a time, for certain reasons, returned from land to water. What forced them to do this - whether it was competition from other animal species, or a sharp decrease in food in their habitat - is not known for certain. However, in the end, they found a new home for themselves there and, having successfully adapted, over time evolved into the form under which we know these creatures today.

Of the land animals currently living on the planet, the closest relatives of cetaceans are hippos, which are indeed similar to them in many respects in behavior and in their mutual love of water.

Cetaceans - general facts

In their family, whales are its only representatives. However, the same dolphins and porpoises also belong to marine mammals. What makes it possible to distinguish whales into a separate family? The main differences are as follows:

• Unlike fish, warm-blooded cetaceans. Therefore, to maintain their internal body temperature, they need a very thick subcutaneous fat layer.
• Second feature lies in the inability of whales to obtain oxygen directly from the water. To replenish its supply, they need to periodically rise to the surface.
• All cetacean mammals. And although the process of feeding babies with milk has undergone changes during evolution, its essence has remained the same.

The cetacean family is divided into three groups:

The whale is the largest living mammal. Its adult specimen can easily reach 25 meters in length. It weighs on average from 90 to 110 tons. These animals inhabit almost all the oceans of the Earth, however, due to their warm-blooded nature, they are prone to frequent migrations. They prefer to wait out cold winters closer to the tropics.

Based on skin color, whales are divided into blue and gray. The gray ones are presumably more ancient. Judging by some of the remains of these animals, their representatives inhabited the planet about 30 million years ago. Then they were distributed almost throughout the globe; Nowadays, gray whales are mostly seen in the North Pacific Ocean. They prefer to live in small groups of several individuals. There are also solitary whales, but this is rather an exception. Whales have incredibly strong family ties and communication with other members of their species is very important to them.

Blue whales are larger in size than gray whales, as well as any other mammal on the planet. With their size, they are a living reminder of those giants who once inhabited the land. They are not very fond of people, preferring to stay away from the coast and remaining mostly in the open ocean. As befits such a giant, the blue whale is quite slow. The average speed of its movement is about 10 km/h, however, if the animal is threatened, it can increase three times.

The number of animals has reached critically low levels many times. Often the reason for this was a person who mercilessly exterminated them for their valuable meat and fat. But the very specifics of cetacean reproduction do not contribute to the rapid restoration of population numbers. Offspring, as a rule, are born no more than once or twice a year. In this case, the female gives birth to only one kitten; sometimes it happens that there are two. The duration of pregnancy can vary from 9 to 18 months depending on the subspecies.

Naturally, with such vulnerability, the female protects the cub like the apple of her eye. The cubs also grow very quickly - after just six months they can already reach 14 meters in length and weigh up to 25 tons. Puberty in whales occurs when they reach the age of five, but a whale is considered truly adult only at 15 years of age.

What does a whale eat?

So what do whales eat? Their diet is highly specialized and depends entirely on the species. They can be planktivores and eat plankton, teutophages and eat shellfish, ichthyophages (use fish as a food source) and sacrophages (eat algae). Animals swallow their prey whole, without preliminary chewing. Toothed whales either grab it and hold it with their teeth, or use their tongue to suck in several fish at a time. Baleen whales pass large portions of food through a filter called "baleen". The only representative of cetaceans that regularly feeds on warm-blooded animals is the killer whale.

The blue whale, also known as the blue whale, is the largest mammal that has ever existed on our planet. Despite its massive size, this giant feeds on almost the smallest sea inhabitants - tiny shrimp (krill). The length of a blue whale can reach 23-33 m, and its weight is 150 tons. Moreover, females are usually larger than males.

Is the blue whale a fish or an animal? The blue whale cannot be classified as a fish for several reasons: firstly, the absence of gills - the whale breathes with its lungs. Secondly, whales have a 4-chambered heart, not a 2-chambered one like fish. Thirdly, females feed their cubs with milk, that is, they are mammals. Finally, whales have no scales and are warm-blooded, unlike fish. These are just a few of the main reasons why we can classify blue whales as animals rather than fish.

Vomit is an animal of the baleen whale order. It has an elongated, slender body and a large head, which makes up 27% of the total body length. The upper jaw of the blue whale is significantly narrower than the lower jaw. Vomiting is usually dark gray in color, sometimes with a blue tint. Large spots are often found on the body, mainly on the abdominal and posterior parts. If you look at a whale from above - through the water, it appears blue, which is why it got its name.

The blue whale dives to a fairly large depth - up to 200 m, but if it is wounded or frightened, it can dive even deeper - up to 500 m. The duration of the dive, as a rule, is from 5 to 30 minutes, but if the whale is pursued by whalers, then out of fear he can hide underwater for almost an hour. After surfacing, the whale breathes rapidly for 2-10 minutes and dives again. Each time it emerges, it releases a fountain of steam up to 10 meters high.

The blue whale feeds mainly on plankton. To catch it, it opens its mouth and swims, slowly absorbing water with krill that it encounters along the way. Then, closing its mouth, the vomit with its tongue pushes out the water through the whalebone. The food is deposited on the whisker fringe and then swallowed. The blue whale's stomach can hold up to a ton of food. Vomits eat mainly in the summer, and after migrating to warm waters for the winter, they eat almost nothing.

Some scientists believe that the brain of blue whales is closest in its capabilities to the human brain when compared with other animals. Blue whales also have a good memory: they can remember where they were born and raised, and recognize their parents even after many years.

These animals have poor eyesight and sense of smell. But they have well-developed hearing and sense of touch. Blue whales exchange sound signals with their relatives at a distance of up to 33 km.

Vomit is a solitary animal. Occasionally, individuals unite in small flocks, but even there they swim separately. However, these animals are believed to be monogamous and form very close and long-lasting bonds.

If a whale lives in water and has a fish-like body shape, then why is it not considered a fish?

Because a whale is a marine mammal that descends from earthly ancestors. Over the course of many millennia spent in the water, whales began to resemble fish in shape, but their body structure and lifestyle remained similar to land animals.

For example, a whale's fins have an internal structure that resembles a hand with five fingers. On the body of some whales there are even bones where the hind legs should be! But the most important difference between whales and fish is that, like all other mammals, whales feed their young with mother's milk. These babies do not hatch from eggs or eggs, but are born alive. And for some time after birth, the baby whale remains close to its mother, who takes care of it.

Since all mammals have warm blood, and the whale does not have fur to keep it warm in icy water, it instead has blubber, which is a layer of subcutaneous tissue filled with fat that retains heat as well as a fur coat.

And whales breathe differently than fish. Instead of gills, they have lungs into which they draw air through two nostrils located at the top of their heads. When whales dive underwater, these nostrils close with small valves to keep water out. Every five to ten minutes the whale rises to the surface of the water to take a breath. First of all, he noisily spews out exhaust air through his nostrils. As a result of this, the very “fountain” that is always drawn in pictures about whales appears. Then he takes in fresh air into his lungs and dives again to continue moving underwater.

Why does a whale have a fountain?

Whales are not fish, but mammals. They are warm-blooded creatures, their young are born by live birth, rather than hatching from eggs. Baby whales feed on their mother's milk, just like other mammals.

But the ancestors of whales, like all other mammals, lived on land. Therefore, whales had to adapt to living conditions in the water. This means that over millions of years, changes occurred in their bodies that gave them the opportunity to live in a different environment.

Since whales do not have gills, they breathe through lungs, and their respiratory system has undergone the most changes during evolution. Previously, their nostrils were on the front of the head, then they gradually moved upward. They now form one or two breathing holes that make it easier to obtain oxygen at the surface of the water.

Underwater, the breathing holes are closed by two small valves, and since the air passage is not connected to the mouth, there is no danger of water entering the lungs.

Whales usually come to the surface for air every 5-10 minutes, but sometimes they can stay underwater for 45 minutes! Having emerged to the surface of the water, the whale immediately releases the used air from its lungs. When he does this, a loud noise is heard that can be heard over a considerable distance. What does a whale fountain consist of? This is not water, but simply exhaust air and water vapor.

To completely change the air in the lungs, the whale blows a fountain several times, after which it plunges deeply into the water. Some whales are famous for being able to dive to depths of 600 meters! Sometimes large whales lift their tails above the water or even jump into the air, completely lifting off the surface of the water!