Whale SpeciesWhat are whales? All whale species are marine mammals. Their Anatomy, physiology and ecology is very different from those of fish. Whales for example have lungs to breathe air instead of gills. That's why they have to swim to the water surface regularly.
Do you know where the word whale comes from?If you observe a surfacing whale you will see a forward rolling movement. Therefore people thought whales roll through the water like a wheel. So whale comes from the word wheel.
Humpback whale, (Megaptera novaeangliae).
Do dolphins and Porpoises belong to Whales?Yes, scientifically they do. Whales are divided into two suborders: toothed whales (Odontoceti) and baleen whales (Mysticeti). Toothed whales and baleen whales are called cetaceans. This is the scientific word for whale. At least 71 whale species belong to the Toothed whales comprising all dolphins, porpoises, beaked whales, Physeteridae (Sperm whale, pygmy sperm whale and dwarf sperm whale) and monodontids (beluga and narwhal).
There are 12 whale species belonging to the baleen whales:blue whales, fin whales, sei whales, brydes whales, minke whales, humpback whales, gray whales, right whales, pygmy right whales and bowhead whales. A further difference in the anatomy concerns for example the number of blow holes: Baleen whales always have two blow wholes, toothed whales have one. Although not scientifically correct "whale" is often used as a word for all cetaceans except for dolphins and porpoises and that is how we use whale on this webpage. If you like to learn about dolphins or porpoises click on the relevant buttons on the left side. Back to the top of whale species
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