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In the whale, the cervical vertebrae are typically fused, an adaptation trading flexibility for stability during swimming. [28] [29] All mammals except manatees and sloths have seven cervical vertebrae, whatever the length of the neck. [30] This includes seemingly unlikely animals such as the giraffe, the camel, and the blue whale, for example.
The fusing of the neck vertebrae, while increasing stability when swimming at high speeds, decreases flexibility; whales are unable to turn their heads. When swimming, whales rely on their tail fin to propel them through the water. Flipper movement is continuous.
The number of vertebrae that make up the spine varies by species, ranging from forty to ninety-three. The cervical spine, found in all mammals, consists of seven vertebrae which, however, are reduced or fused. This fusion provides stability during swimming at the expense of mobility.
By convention, the cervical vertebrae are numbered, with the first one (C1) closest to the skull and higher numbered vertebrae (C2–C7) proceeding away from the skull and down the spine. The general characteristics of the third through sixth cervical vertebrae are described here. The first, second, and seventh vertebrae are extraordinary, and ...
The family Balaenidae, the right whales, contains two genera and four species. All right whales have no ventral grooves; a distinctive head shape with a strongly arched, narrow rostrum, bowed lower jaw; lower lips that enfold the sides and front of the rostrum; and long, narrow, elastic baleen plates (up to nine times longer than wide) with fine baleen fringes.
A post-mortem examination of a whale that washed ashore on New Jersey's Long Beach Island found that the animal had sustained numerous blunt force injuries including a fractured skull and vertebrae.
This is slightly fewer than in relatives like the sei whale and Bryde's whale, which have 56–57 and 54–55 vertebrae respectively. [16] The vertebral formula is: seven cervical vertebrae in the neck, thirteen thoracic vertebrae in the upper back, thirteen lumbar vertebrae in the lower back, and twenty caudal vertebrae in the tail.
The second gray whale, which was captured in 1971 from the same lagoon, was named Gigi II and was released a year later after becoming too big. [158] The last gray whale, J.J., beached itself in Marina del Rey, California, where it was rushed to SeaWorld San Diego and, after 14 months, was released because it got too big to take care of ...