A large whale from the family of smooth whales

Smooth (real) whales are very massive, clumsy and big-headed mammals, plowing the oceans of our planet. The name of their family is due to the absence on the throat and belly of all kinds of bands and furrows, which makes the body unusually smooth. At present, the family of these giants consists of two genera and four species. The largest whale from the family of smooth cetacean giants is Greenlandic. Consider these marine animals in more detail.

Systematization of smooth whales

Before starting the narrative, it is advisable to list all the representatives of the family. Moreover, there are not so many of them. Zoologists subdivide these marine animals into only two genera. The first - bowhead whales - is represented by one and only one species of the same name. The second - southern whales - is represented by three species: northern, southern and Japanese. It is curious that the genus of Greenlandic polar whales at the end of the Miocene and the beginning of the Pleistocene was represented by five different species. Their fossils were found in North America and in Europe.

Family Description

As already mentioned above, the representatives of this family are massive and clumsy giants with a huge head. In length, these animals can reach up to 18, and sometimes up to 22 meters. Their weight varies from 30 to 100 tons. Mostly there are individuals 15 meters long. The body of these whales is thick and smooth down. They do not have any longitudinal strips and furrows, for which they were separated into the corresponding family. The fins of these animals are short, but wide, and the oral cavity is narrow, but high.

Where do they live?

Representatives of the family of smooth giants live mainly in ocean waters, inhabiting the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic oceans. For example, the northern smooth whale inhabits the waters of the Atlantic. His Japanese counterpart can be found throughout the northern part of the Pacific Ocean. The southern species of these cetaceans is widespread in the cold and temperate waters of the Southern hemisphere of the Earth. A large whale from the family of smooth whales, Greenlandic polar, prefers the cold waters of the Northern Hemisphere. Its habitat is directly related to the floating ice there.

The life style of smooth whales

Not so long ago, zoologists finally found out that the representatives of this family prefer to stay alone. Rarely they get into groups consisting of 4-5 individuals, but not more than that. Groups of these whales are found in places with the greatest accumulation of food. Floating giants almost on the surface of the water.

Scientists describe the process of feeding smooth whales as something fascinating and unusual: during their meal they swim a line with wide-open mouths and, like vacuum cleaners, suck in all sorts of crustaceans, plankton and other living creatures. The existing thick layer of subcutaneous fat markedly worsens the heat exchange in the body of these creatures, so they never swim into the tropical waters.

Smooth whales, like all other cetaceans, are viviparous mammals. In other words, they not only give birth to live cubs, but also feed them with milk! That's why it's wrong to believe that whales are fish. By the way, whale milk is 10 times more nutritious than cow's milk. That's why little kittens grow very quickly.

King of the family

The Greenlandic polar whale is the largest of all mammals in the family represented. As mentioned above, this is the only representative of the same name. Belongs to the suborder of baleen whales. At present, it is for certain known that the maximum length of the body of this giant can reach 22 meters. In this case, females are usually larger than males. The weight of these mammals ranges from 80 to 150 tons. Greenland whales are beautiful divers. They can easily dive to a depth of 200 meters and stay there for up to 40 minutes. The average speed of movement of bowhead whales is 20 km / h.

A large whale from the family of smooth - the record for life expectancy among vertebrates. It is an average of 40 years, but this is not the limit. Scientists say that individual copies survive to 211 years! This is definitely a record!

How and what does the bowhead whales eat?

The basis of the diet of these giants is plankton - their favorite food. The Greenlandic polar whale prefers to eat small crustaceans (for example, Kalanus) and fodder mollusks. Adult whales consume up to 2 tons of plankton per day! The feeding process of these animals is no different from that of all representatives of the suborder of baleen whales. This is helped by the so-called whale trapping in the jaws of special hanging plates. One individual can have from 320 to 370 pieces. The length of each plate is up to 4.5 meters.

Like all its relatives, a large whale from the family of smooth in the process of feeding moves with an open mouth in the water column, cutting it with its powerful and massive body. He, like a giant vacuum cleaner, draws in itself everything that comes across in his path. This is where his natural filter, whalebone, works. Crustaceans settle on the giant plates of this mustache, after which inevitably scrape off the tongue and swallow. The finest structure of such plates allows the mammal to filter out the crustaceans, which because of their size may not be accessible to other whales.

On the verge of extinction

Representatives of the family of cetaceans were severely exterminated by humans long before the improvement of the whaling process. And all because smooth whales are easy to catch: they live in the upper water layers, keep near the coast. In addition, they are slow and sluggish. Unfortunately, at present the number of these mammals leaves much to be desired. For example, the southern whale is represented by 7000 individuals, and the northern whale is represented by 300 individuals. Japanese whales generally did not have more than 200 individuals.

Northern and Japanese whales are listed in the Red Book as endangered species. The population of their southern brethren, fortunately, is gradually recovering. Such an increased interest in these giants is due to the convenience of their transportation. The fact is that a large amount of subcutaneous fat does not allow the animal killed by the whalers to dive into the water - the mammal remains drifting on the surface of the water.