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| Other Sea Animals | Whales and Dolphins Taxonomy and Behaviors| | Comments | Site Map |
Cetaceans - Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises
 Head of a Humpback Whale taken by Leonard Medlock. Note the curve of the jaw and the single ridge in the center of the upper jaw. |
Taxonomy of whales and dolphins Behaviors of whales and dolphins
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Baleen Whales
Humpback Whale Toothed Whales, Dolphins, Porpoises
Sperm Whale |
Taxonomy of Whales and Dolphins
Order Cetacean
Whales, dolphins, and porpoises belong to the mammalian
order Cetacean. Cetaceans are mammals that spend their entire lives in
water. They do not come onto land to breed or mate.
A few have adapted to fresh water, but most live in the marine environment.
Cetaceans are carnivores. They may eat fish or crustaceans
or even larger animals.
In the evolutionary scheme of things, they evolved from land animals that returned permanently to living in water. The limbs of Cetaceans have beome flippers totally unsuited to walking on land. The nose has migrated from the face to the top of the head so that they can breath in and out without lifting their mouth from the water. An adaptation that any serious swimmer can tell you is valuable.
The Cetaceans can be divided into two suborders: the Baleen Whales, and the Toothed Whales (includes dolphins and porpoise).
Baleen Whales Suborder Mysticeti
The Baleen Whales lack teeth and instead have baleen plates which are fingernail like horny plates which hang from the upper jaw and are used to filter out small prey items when the mouth is closed. They vary in the presence of a dorsal fin and the presence of expandable groves or folds in the skin below the head.
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The Baleen
Whales feed by swimming through the water with their
mouth open capturing fish and water. They have
no teeth, but rather have baleen plates which hang
from the upper jaw. Baleen plates are much
like your fingernails. The plates act like a filter
letting the water pass out and capturing the fish.
It is now closing its mouth pressing the water out through the baleen plates and capturing the prey items in the mouth. The birds know that some prey will escape and are there to grab their share The feeding methods Humpback Whales has been well documented by the whale watching boats off the New England coast. For more pictures see Humpback Whales feeding. |
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This photo of a Humpback Whale breeching clearly shows the throat groves which expand like pleats when the whale is feeding. Photo by Emmalee Tarry. Throat groves are absent in Right Whales and Bowhead Whales. |
This photo by Lauren Kraus show the throat pleatsts expanded and full of water and fish. The whale closes its mouth and expels the water by compressing the throat pleats.
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| The Baleen Whales have double nostrils or blow holes on top of their heads. Toothed Whales and dolphins have only one. The blow hole of a whale corresponds to the nose of land mammals. Whales and dolphins have the blow hole on top of the head, the most convenient place for an animal that lives in the water. This is not true of seals, or sea lions who must lift their entire head to breath. See pictures below for the variations in the blows of whales. This excellent photo by Jim Besada shows the blow hole of a Humpback Whale. |
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There are four families of Mysticeti, two of which have species that can be seen in the North Atlantic.
| Balaenidae | Right Whales, Bowhead Whales ( far north only) . Balaenidae have no dorsal fin and no grooves in throat. "V" shaped blow. |
| Balenopteridae or Roquals | Humpback, Fin, Minke, Blue, Bryde's ("Buda's" ), Sei ("Sigh") - All have a dorsal fin and throat grooves. Blow tall and columnar or bushy, but usually appears undivided. |
| Eschrichtiidae | Gray Whales - now extirpated in North Atlantic. Common off the coast of California |
| Neobalaenidae | Pygmy Right Whales are found in the southern hemisphere only. |
Toothed Whales
Suborder
Odontoceti
These whales, dolphins, and porpoises all have
teeth of
some variety although not necessarily used for chewing
and not visible in the water.
One blow hole rather than two. 1994 Kinze, Carl Charistian Marine Mammals of the North Atlantic 29
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All toothed whales including: Dolphins , Pilot Whales, Killer Whales, and Sperm Whales have one blow hole on the top of their heads. Photograph of baby Atlantic White-sided Dolphin by Leonard Medlock. |
The Sperm Whale has a single "S" shaped hole. Photograph by David Jones. Good job!
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Eight families, 5 of which occur in the North Atlantic.
| Dolphins Delphinidae |
There are at least 33 species
world wide. In the North Atlantic look for :
White-sided Dolphin,
Common Dolphin,
Bottle-nosed
Dolphin Subfamily Orcinae Blackfish and Killer Whales Small to medium sized species having a rounded head without a well-define beak. (29) Pilot Whales, Risso's Dolphin (? true dolphin), Killer Whales |
| Porpoises Phocoenidae |
Harbor Porpoise |
| Monodontidae | Beluga (Occasionally seen, primarily further north) and Narwhal (further north) |
| Beaked Whales Ziphiidae |
Well defined beak, dorsal fin behind small fins. Cuvier's Beaked Whale (seen on offshore trips). Look for Sowerby's Beaked Whale, Blainville's Bealed Whale, True's Beaked Whale, and Northern Bottlenose Whale |
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Sperm Whale Physeteridae |
Seen frequently on offshore trips. Once on the Nantucket Shoals. |
Behaviors of Whales and Dolphins
Blow
Whales and dolphins have conveniently migrated their nose to
the top of their head where it is called the blow hole. This
means they do not have to lift their entire head out of the
water to breath as seals do. When the whale surfaces
it expels air from the lungs through the blow hole. This
air contains droplets of water which make the breath visible.
Usually when they surface, whales blow out and breath in several times
before diving again. The blows of dolphins are only rarely
visible, but you usually hear them.
All Baleen Whales have two blow holes. The column of water can appear to be one tall column, a rounded puff, a "U"shaped , or a "V" shaped blow depending on the way the holes point.
 The blow of the Gray Whale taken in California appears to be a "U" sitting on a spike. Notice the footprint behind this whale. Bowhead whales also have a "U" shaped blow. Photo by Emmalee Tarry. |
Humpback Whales have two blow holes, but the blow usually appears as a single puffy column. Notice that the blow and the dorsal fin are visible at the same time. Photo by Leonard Medlock. |
 The Northern Atlantic Right Whale distinctly shows a "V" shaped blow. Photo taken by Leonard Medlock on Jeffreys Ledge, NH. |
Blue and Fin Whales have tall columnar blows. Need picture.
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| The most distinctive blow pattern comes from the Sperm Whale a toothed whale with one blow hole located far forward on the huge head, the blow points toward the animal's left side and forward. Photo by Leonard Medlock. |
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Photographs of whale blows are not easy to take because you have to have the camera ready and focused before the whale blows. The web page author is very grateful to all the photographers who share their pictures with New England Seabirds because I know that they take lots of pictures of water to get these excellent photos. Digital photography has revolutionized seabird and whale watching.
Diving Sequence
Behavior on the surface and the way the
animal dives are called the "Diving sequence" and
this varies by
species and individuals.
Usually when a whale surfaces for a breath, they stay on the surface and breath 3-4 times.
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Fluking When they are ready to dive, some whales bend their back, roll forward, and finally lift their tail flukes above the water as part of the dive. This behavior is typical of the Humpback Whale. Photographers try to take a picture of the tail flukes just as they disappear. The white pattern on the underside of the flukes is used to recognize individual whales. The picture to the left is of the flukes of a Humpback Whale. Notice the rough edge to the trailing edge of the flukes. Other whales that may lift their tail flukes when diving are: Blue, Bowhead, Right, Gray, and Sperm Whales. Whales do not always fluke when diving. Some only fluke on deep dives. On St. Lawrence Island, I watched Gray Whales fluking repeatedly close to shore in what should have been shallow water. Whales that do not lift the flukes on diving are: Fin, Minke, Beaked, Sei, and Pilot Whales, |
| Spyhop | Animal lifts head from the water in order to look around but does not leap from the water. Common behavior of Gray Whales in quiet lagoons. |
| Bow- Ride | Animals ride in the bow wave of a moving boat. Usually associated with dolphins. The author has seen a Minke Whale bow riding. |
| Leap or Breach | Animal leaps out of the water. Most often observed in dolphins which leap as part of swimming forward. Large whales may leap from the water and twist around falling back on their back. |
| Leap and Spin | Animals leaps out of the water and twists completely around before falling back. Spinner dolphins. |
| Flipper Slapping | Animal lolls on the surface, slapping the water with one flipper. Humpback Whales frequently slap their very long flippers. |
| Tail Slapping | Animals with head under water, slaps tail. Humpback Whales |
| Logging | Animal lies on the surface of the water and drifts passively with the water. Whale is not truly asleep. |
Schooling Behavior
When several animals swim together it is called a school or
more commonly with whales a pod. A pod may be a stable
group with a fixed core of animals or simply a loose group that
comes together for a time. Pods may be all one sex or
animals of a certain age.
The Humpback whale males are solitary feeders coming together with females only for mating. The males have a song to attract females. The mother and calf pair is the basic unit although you can have several of these pairs feeding together.
Killer Whales have stable pods consisting of related females and their offspring of both sexes. The pods hunts cooperatively.
Dolphins sometimes swim in pods of 100 or more animals.
Always sit or stand in a place on the boat where you can hear the announcer. He or she will see the whale first and tell you where it is. If you can see the announcer, look in the same direction they are looking.
If you see a blow in the distance, try to keep your eye on the same spot as the whale will probably blow again.
When you see the blow do you also see the dorsal fin at the same time or does it appear much later as the whale rolls forward?
What is the shape of the dorsal fin? (Lumpy, sickle shaped, tall or no dorsal fin)
Is the blow double?, tall ? , or bushy?
If you see long flippers on the sides, it is probably a Humpback Whale.
When the whale dives does it raise its flukes (tail) ?
Look for footprints (smooth rounded spots on the ocean) . A series of two or more footprints show which way the whale is swimming under water.
Is the animal alone or with a group of other animals?
If you see a big splash, a whale may have breeched. Keep watching the same place as it will probably breech again. Other animals like fish, sharks, and rays rarely breech repeatedly like whales. Multiple small splashes indicates a pod of dolphin.
Do you see any white markings on the animal. When seen through the water, the white will appear greenish. What side of the animal (right or left always from the animals perspective not yours)? Remember most animals that live in the sea are dark on top and light underneath.
Seeing a whale in the ocean is a a
spectacular experience enjoyed by only a few lucky people.
Enjoy it often. Don't wait for scheduled pelagic birding trips, take a
whale watch. If the birds are there you will see them.