Cetacea

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The order Cetacea includes the marine mammals commonly known as whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Cetus is Latin and is used in biological names to mean "whale". Cetology is the branch of marine science associated with the study of cetaceans.

Fossil evidence suggests that cetaceans share a common ancestor with land-dwelling mammals that began living in marine environments around 50 million years ago. For more information, visit the Wikipedia entry.

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Baleen whales (Mysticeti) Toothed whales (Odontoceti) Archaeoceti

Mysticeti - Baleen whales

Baleen whales are characterized by having baleen plates for filtering food from water, rather than having teeth. This distinguishes them from the other suborder of cetaceans, the toothed whales or Odontoceti. Living species of Mysticeti have teeth only during the embryonal phase. Fossil Mysticeti had teeth before baleen evolved.

For more information, visit the Wikipedia entry.

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Blue whale.jpgBlue whale Bowhead whale.jpgBowhead whale BrydesWhale.jpgBryde's whale Fin whale.jpgFin whale
Mysticeti.jpgGray whale Humpback whale.jpgHumpback whale YowiesAUS lostkingdomA 29fossilwhale.JPGMammalodon Minke whale.jpgMinke whale
Right whale.jpgRight whale Sei-whale.jpg Sei whale

Odontoceti - Toothed whales

The toothed whales (systematic name Odontoceti) form a suborder of the cetaceans, including sperm whales, beaked whales, dolphins, and others. As the name suggests, the suborder is characterized by the presence of teeth rather than the baleen of other whales.

For more information, visit the Wikipedia entry.

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Blainville's-beaked-whale.jpgBeaked whales Beluga Whale.JPGBeluga whale Livyatan.jpgLivyatan
Collecta88615horn.JPG Narwhal Common bottlenose dolphin.jpgOceanic dolphins Finless-porpoise.jpgPorpoises
Pygmy Sperm Whale.jpgPygmy sperm whale Amazon-river-dolphin.jpgRiver dolphins Spermwhale.jpgSperm Whale

Archaeoceti - Modern whales ancestors

Archaeoceti is a paraphyletic group of primitive cetaceans that lived from the Early Eocene to the late Oligocene (55 to 23 million years ago). Representing the earliest cetacean radiation, they include the initial amphibious stages in cetacean evolution and are thus the ancestors of both modern cetacean suborders, Mysticeti and Odontoceti. This occurred in the shallow waters that separated India and Asia 53 to 45 mya.

For more information, visit the Wikipedia entry.

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