Baleen Whales

Baleen whales (Mysticetes) are the largest animals on earth, yet they feed on some of the smallest animals in the ocean. There are 12 baleen whale species divided into right, pygmy, gray, and rorqual whales.

What is unique about baleen whales?

Characteristic baleen plates and paired blowholes help distinguish baleen whales from toothed whales. Baleen whales were named for the long plates of baleen which hang in a row (like the teeth of a comb) from their upper jaws. Some baleen whales, like humpback whales, feed by gulping huge volumes of water into their mouth, then using their large tongue to strain the water through their baleen plates to capture their meal that may consist of thousands of pounds of krill, crustaceans, and small fish. Other baleen whales, like the gray whale, feed by rolling on their side and sucking up mud from the ocean floor and capturing amphipods and marine worms in their baleen.

All cetaceans have a long, strong diaphragm which allows them to rapidly exhale as they surface and quickly inhale before submerging. The phrase "Thar she blows!" was coined by whale hunters who spotted the column of vapor as the whales exhaled.