Main Characteristics of Whales

• There are about 90 species of whales. They are divided into baleen whales and toothed whales.
• Baleen are long, horn plates that extend from the upper jaw into the mouth, allowing whales to filter their food from the ocean.
• Baleen whales include blue whale, humpback whale, gray whale and minke whale.
• Toothed whales include dolphins, orcas and sperm whales.
• All whales are carnivores.
• Whales live in all seas: Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic and Antarctic.
• Whales live in saltwater, except for river dolphins, which live in freshwater.
• Whales (and manatees) are the only mammals that spend their entire lives in water.
• The blue whale is the largest and heaviest animal in the world.
• The longest-lived whale is the bowhead whale. It lived to be over 200 years old.

Whale Family Tree

Species List