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It is divided into toothed whales (Odontoceti) and baleen whales (Mysticeti), which diverged from each other in the Eocene some 50 million years ago (mya). Cetaceans are descended from land-dwelling hoofed mammals, and the now extinct archaeocetes represent the several transitional phases from terrestrial to completely aquatic. [1]
One of the notable features in remingtonocetids is that the semicircular canals, which are important for balancing in land mammals, had decreased in size. [28] This reduction in size had closely accompanied the cetacean radiation into marine environments. According to a 2002 study done by Spoor et al., this modification of the semicircular ...
Brain of the sperm whale, considered the largest brain in the world. Sperm whales have the largest brain mass of any animal on Earth, averaging 8,000 cm 3 (490 in 3) and 7.8 kg (17 lb) in mature males. [23] The brain to body mass ratio in some odontocetes, such as belugas and narwhals, is second only to humans. [24]
Whales do not form a clade or order; the infraorder Cetacea includes dolphins and porpoises, which are not considered whales in the informal sense. [citation needed] The phylogenetic tree shows the relationships of whales and other mammals, with whale groups [citation needed] marked in green.
The sperm whale or cachalot (Physeter macrocephalus) is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator.It is the only living member of the genus Physeter and one of three extant species in the sperm whale family, along with the pygmy sperm whale and dwarf sperm whale of the genus Kogia.
Toothed whales consist of some of the most widespread mammals, but some, as with the vaquita, are restricted to certain areas. Odontocetes feed largely on fish and squid, but a few, like the orca, feed on mammals, such as pinnipeds. Males typically mate with multiple females every year, making them polygynous. Females mate every two to three years.
Drone videos of gray whales off Oregon have revealed new details about how the marine mammals find food. The findings were described in studies this summer. Drone video of gray whales offers new ...
It was a wolf-like mammal, [3] about 1–2 m (3 ft 3 in – 6 ft 7 in) long, [4] and lived in and around water where it ate fish and other animals. The name Pakicetus comes from the fact that the first fossils of this extinct amphibious whale were discovered in Pakistan.