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The
Varieties of Whales
Humans have pursued the 75 known species of whales,
dolphins, and porpoises for more than 2000 years. These
marine mammals, which make up nine families within the
order Cetacea, are highly adapted to swimming and diving.
The following descriptions are limited to the species
that were most commonly hunted in the American whale-fishery:
Toothed
Whales (suborder Odontoceti)
Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus):* Grows
to up to 60 feet long, weighs up to 63 tons; * Follows
its food supply through the world's oceans - is generally
found in colder seas in summer and in temperate and
tropical waters in winter; * Feeds on small fish, squid,
giant squid: * Dives to depths of at least 3,300 feet
-- deeper than any other marine mammal; * Holds its breath
while submerged for up to 90 minutes; *
Displays enormous teeth on its lower jaw; * Was the principal
prey of the nineteenth-century American whale-fishery;
* Haunted Captain Ahab in the classic American novel,
Moby-Dick.
Baleen
Whales (suborder Mysticeti)
Baleen whales do not have teeth. Instead, they are distinguished
by baleen, which hangs in strips from the roofs of their
mouths. Baleen is composed of keratin, a substance found
in nails, claws, horns, and hoofs. It looks like hairy,
vertical venetian blinds. The whale uses it to strain
out krill (masses of small shrimp-like crustacea that
float near the water's surface) from sea water. Go to
Sea World for more information on Baleen Whales.
Right Whale (Northern Right: Eubalaena glacialis
and Southern Right: Eubalaena australis): * Grows
to up to 60 feet, weighs up to 100 tons; * Migrates through
temperate waters from Florida to southern Canada; *
Known as the "right" whale to hunt, (it was
often close to the beach, visible to its land-based hunters
and provided a large supply of blubber) it moves slowly
and floats after being killed. It was pursued first by
both Europeans and Americans. It is the most endangered
of all whales, with a total population probably not exceeding
300.
Bowhead Whale (Balaena mysticetus): * Grows
to about 60 feet in length and weighs 100 tons or more;
* Prized by whalemen for quantity and quality of its blubber
and baleen; * Carries the thickest blubber of any whale
(20-28 inches), an adaptation to the icy Arctic waters
in which the species lives; * Possesses longest (10- to
14 feet) and largest number (600) of baleen plates.
Gray Whale (Eschrichtius robustus):* Grows
to up to 48 feet long, weighs from 25-30 tons; * Migrates
12,000 miles roundtrip -- longest migration of any whale
species - from the frigid waters of the Bering and Chukchi
Seas, where it summers, to the warm lagoons of Baja California,
where it winters; * Considered ferocious by whalemen,
who called it "devil fish." Present almost affectionate
interaction between whale watching humans and gray whales
bolsters the premise that the gray's ferocity of the 19th
Century was probably due to the whalemen's killing or
harrassing of calves to lure the mothers, thus enraging
them.
Rorqual
Whales
Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae):
* Grows to up to 50 feet
and weighs up to 50 tons; * Does not have a hump but arches
its back
when it dives, which may account for the name; * Displays
huge
flippers,which are nearly as long as one third of its
body; * Breaches
dramatically, propelling its huge body almost entirely
out of the water
and diving back in with an enormous splash; * Noted for
complex, repetitive vocalizations. The Humpback was one
of the five species normally hunted by the Yankee whalers,
although it was the least desirable since it sank about
half the time after being killed and its baleen was useless.
Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus) *Grows to
a length of 100 feet and weighs up to 150 tons * the biggest
creature that ever lived. Because of intensive whaling
in this century, the Blue Whale has been left as one of
the most endangered species. It was never hunted by the
Yankee whaleman because it was considered too fast, too
big, and because it invariably sank when killed.
Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus):* Grows
from 60 to 85 feet long
and weighs up to 80 tons; * Considered one of the fastest
of marine
mammals, swimming at estimated speeds of up to 25 miles
per hour; *
Not hunted by whalers in the age of sail -- harpoons became
dislodged due to its swimming speed and, like its close
relative, the
blue whale, it usually sank when killed.
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