Difference between revisions of "Whale"

Revision as of 18:01, September 12, 2007

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-[[Image:800px-Baleen Whale Physical Characteristics svg.png|right|thumb|400px]]
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-'''Whales''' are marine mammals of the order the [[Cetacea|Cetacea]].
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-Living whales are seperated into the toothed whales (which includes [[dolphin]]s, [[porpoise]]s, [[narwhal]]s, [[beaked whale]]s and [[sperm whale]]s) and the whalebone whales; those (mostly very large) cetaceans which have teeth replaced by baleen (whalebone) to filter small prey from the water, which are what people generally think of when the word whale is used. The whalebone whales include the rorquals - the [[blue whale]], fin whale, sei whale, Bryde's whale, [[minke whale]], [[grey whale]]; the [[humpback whale]]; and the various [[right whale]]s.
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-Although whales are famed for the massive size reached by some species, such as the blue whale (the largest animal to ever live), others are relatively small like the pygmy right whale which grows to about 20 feet <ref>  [http://www.acsonline.org/factpack/PygmyRightWhale.htm]American Cetacean Society website</ref>.  Though whales have  many traits in common with fish (including fins and tails) they are in fact [[mammal|mammals]] and accordingly breath air and lactate. Whales have a number of remarkable [[adaptation|adaptations]] including:
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-* they decide when to breathe, rather than breathing unconsciously
-* they sleep 8 hours a day, yet need to be conscious to breathe
-* they can communicate with each other by making remarkably loud noises
-* these extraordinary noises can travel for miles under water
-* the females nurse their calves while swimming underwater
-* the males have a unique cooling system for their internal reproductive organs
-* some have two blow-holes, but others only have one
-* the blow-holes pass air above water, yet resist intense pressure underwater
-* they have massive brains, much larger than the brains of other mammals
-* Whales along with humans and horses are some of the few mammal species that do not possess baculum
-== Evolution and taxonomy ==
-The question of how whales and their relatives could have evolved from terrestrial [[mammal|mammals]] has taxed evolutionary biologists since [[Darwin|Darwin's]] suggestion that they may have evolved from ancient bears. In more recent times molecular and fossil evidence has combined to suggest that modern whales and their relatives arose from ancient [[Artiodactyla|artiodactyls]] (even-toed ungulates) with the closest living relative of all whales  being hippos<ref>[http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/41080/molecular_clock_divergence_estimates_and_the_fossil_record_of_cetartiodactyla/index.html] Theodore, JM (2004) Molecular Clock Divergence Estimates And The Fossil Record Of Cetartiodactyla <i> The Journal Of Paleontology</i> <b>78</b>:39-44</ref>. This kinship has been termed the whippo hypothesis. Evolutionary biologists estimate the last ancestor of whales and hippos lived about 25 million years ago <ref>  [http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/lines/IAtransitional.shtml] UCLA Berkley Understanding Evolution for Teachers website</ref>, which is contrast with the [[Young earth creationism|young earth creationist]] position that that whales were [[creation|created]] about 6000 years ago when [[God]] created the [[earth]]. Other creationists are not convinced that the available fossil evidence supports the [[Theory of evolution|evolutionary view]] but make no reference to the corroborating molecular evidence. <ref>http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/re1/chapter5.asp</ref>
-<ref>http://www.answersingenesis.org/tj/v8/i1/whale.asp</ref>
-<ref>http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v27/i2/whale.asp</ref>
-== Whales in the Bible ==
-The great fish that swallowed [[Jonah (prophet)|Jonah]],
-<blockquote>
-''Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.'' Jonah 1:17
-</blockquote>
-is often regarded as being a whale.  [[Great white shark]]s are also present in the [[Mediterranean Sea]], offering an alternative swallower that is a true fish.
-== Whales in literature ==
-Arguably the most famous book about whales is [[Herman Melville]]'s ''[[Moby-Dick|Moby Dick]]'', about a whaling-ship captain obsessed with hunting down the sperm whale (Moby Dick) which had bitten off one of his legs.
-== References ==
-<references/>
-[[Category:Cetaceans]]

Difference between revisions of "Whale"

Revision as of 18:01, September 12, 2007

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