Diet of baleen whales
The baleen bristles act like a filter by allowing water to escape while being packed tightly enough to prevent their prey from getting out. While cetaceans were historically thought to have descended from mesonychids, molecular evidence supports them as relatives of even-toed ungulates (Artiodactyla). In addition to helping toothed whales find food echolocation is also useful for navigating the ocean in dark environments as the echoes create a map of the environment which can help the whale determine where various objects are so that it can avoid collision with them. Because there are around 90 different animals within the cetacean family it is important to understand that not all species of whale hunt or attack their prey in the same way. One of these methods may include simply swimming towards their prey with their mouth open while capturing their prey in the baleen bristles then pushing the water out of their mouth with their tongue before swallowing their prey whole. When it comes to survival few things are as important as shelter, rest and food. Baleen whales split from toothed whales (Odontoceti) around 34 million years ago. Baleen whales can have streamlined or large bodies, depending on the feeding behavior, and two limbs that are modified into flippers. Male strategies for reproductive success vary between performing ritual displays ( whale song ) or lek mating. While baleen whales are known for their often solitary behavior when it comes to searching for prey baleen whales may choose to hunt for food alone or as a group. Once this is done the whales can take turns swimming through the helpless swarm and pick off the fish one at a time. There are currently 15 species of baleen whale. They are a widely distributed and diverse parvorder of carnivorous marine mammals. Another method that is used by baleen whales is to have several whales circle around a group or swarm of fish and blow bubbles around and underneath the fish in order to herd them into a ball and push them towards the surface.
Baleen whales use their baleen plates to filter out food from the water by either lunge-feeding or skim-feeding. They have a layer of fat, or blubber, under the skin to keep warm in the cold water. Echolocation is a trait that is found in all species of toothed whale. In fact echolocation can be thought of as a highly advanced version of sonar that not only displays where a single object is in relation to the host but also provides highly detailed information about all of the objects in the area in a somewhat three dimensional way. Baleen whales ( systematic name Mysticeti ), known earlier as whalebone whales, form a parvorder of the infraorder Cetacea ( whales, dolphins and porpoises ). Depending on the species baleen whales may use several other hunting methods to capture their prey. Some species are well adapted for diving to great depths. Right whales skim-feed, meaning they use their enlarged head to effectively take in a large amount of water and sieve the slow-moving prey. By using echolocation whales are able to determine whether the object is prey, a predator or an inanimate object. Mysticeti comprise the families Balaenidae ( right whales ), Balaenopteridae (rorquals), Cetotheriidae (the pygmy right whale ), and Eschrichtiidae (the gray whale ). Baleen whales have fused neck vertebrae, and are unable to turn their head at all. Although baleen whales are widespread, most species prefer the colder waters around the Northern and Southern poles. Rorquals are specialized at lunge-feeding, and have a streamlined body to reduce drag while accelerating. Males typically mate with more than one female ( polygyny ), although the degree of polygyny varies with the species. Gray whales are specialized for feeding on bottom-dwelling crustaceans.
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