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Monodontidae
The cetacean family Monodontidae comprises two living whale species, the narwhal and the beluga whale and at least four extinct species, known from the fossil record. Beluga and narwhal are native to coastal regions and pack ice around the Arctic Ocean. Both species are relatively small whales, in length, with a forehead melon, and a short or absent snout. Premaxillary teeth are absent. They do not have a true dorsal fin, but do have a narrow ridge running along the back, which is much more pronounced in the narwhal. They are highly vocal animals, communicating with a wide range of sounds. Like other whales, they also use echolocation to navigate. Belugas can be found in the far north of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans; the distribution of narwhals is restricted to the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans. Monodontids have a wide-ranging carnivorous diet, feeding on fish, molluscs, and small crustaceans. They have reduced teeth, with the beluga having numerous simple teeth, and the narwh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Narwhal X Beluga
The narwhal (''Monodon monoceros'') is a species of toothed whale native to the Arctic. It is the only member of the genus ''Monodon'' and one of two living representatives of the family Monodontidae. The narwhal is a stocky cetacean with a relatively blunt snout, a large melon, and a shallow ridge in place of a dorsal fin. Males of this species have a large () long tusk, which is a protruding left canine thought to function as a weapon, a tool for feeding, in attracting mates or sensing water salinity. Specially adapted slow-twitch muscles, along with the jointed neck vertebrae and shallow dorsal ridge allow for easy movement through the Arctic environment, where the narwhal spends extended periods at great depths. The narwhal's geographic range overlaps with that of the similarly built and closely related beluga whale, and the animals are known to interbreed. Narwhals inhabit the Arctic waters of Canada, Greenland and Russia. Every year, they migrate to ice-free summer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whale
Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully Aquatic animal, aquatic placental mammal, placental marine mammals. As an informal and Colloquialism, colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and porpoises. Dolphins and porpoises may be considered whales from a formal, Cladistics, cladistic perspective. Whales, dolphins and porpoises belong to the order Cetartiodactyla, which consists of even-toed ungulates. Their closest non-cetacean living relatives are the hippopotamuses, from which they and other cetaceans diverged about 54 million years ago. The two parvorders of whales, baleen whales (Mysticeti) and toothed whales (Odontoceti), are thought to have had their Most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor around 34 million years ago. Mysticetes include four Neontology, extant (living) Family (biology), families: Balaenopteridae (the rorquals), Balaenidae (right whales), Cetotheriid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Casatia
''Casatia'' is a genus of extinct cetacean from the Early Pliocene, approximately between 5.1 and 4.5 million years ago. The genus contains a single species, ''C. thermophila''. It was described from a partial skull. Its closest relatives are the narwhal and beluga (white whale), yet the remains were found farther south than its relatives, supporting the theory that monodontids evolved from warm water genera before becoming adapted to cold water. Fossils were discovered in Italy and are the first and only fossils of a monodontid from the Mediterranean Basin known. Fossils of the genus were also found near fossils of the modern bull and tiger shark The tiger shark (''Galeocerdo cuvier'') is a species of ground shark, and the only extant member of the genus '' Galeocerdo'' and family Galeocerdonidae. It is a large apex predator, with females capable of attaining a length of over . Popula ...s as well as many extinct marine mammals, such as the sirenian '' Metaxytherium sub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haborodelphis
''Haborodelphis'' is an extinct genus of Monodontidae, beluga-like odontocete cetacean known from the Early Pliocene from the north-west Pacific. It was first named by Hiroto Ichishima and colleagues in 2018 in paleontology, 2018 and the type species is ''H. japonicus''. The type fossil was found in the Embetsu Formation in Haboro, Hokkaido, Haboro, Japan. There is only one known specimen as of 2021. References Monotypic prehistoric cetacean genera Monodontidae Fossil taxa described in 2018 Pliocene cetaceans {{paleo-whale-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Denebola Brachycephala
''Denebola'' is an extinct genus of whale belonging to the family Monodontidae. It contains a single known species, ''Denebola brachycephala''. It is the earliest known ancestor of the beluga, ''Delphinapterus leucas'', and dates from the Upper Miocene The Late Miocene (also known as Upper Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages. The Tortonian and Messinian stages comprise the Late Miocene sub-epoch, which lasted from 11.63 Ma (million years ago) to 5.333 Ma. The ... period. A fossil was found in the Baja California peninsula, indicating that the family once existed in warmer waters. References {{Taxonbar, from1=Q657051, from2=Q3022426 Monodontidae Prehistoric toothed whales Miocene mammals of North America Fossil taxa described in 1984 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melon (whale)
The melon is a mass of adipose tissue found in the foreheads of all toothed whales. It focuses and modulates the animal's vocalizations and acts as a sound lens. It is thus a key organ involved in communication and Animal echolocation, echolocation. Description The melon is structurally part of the nasal apparatus and comprises most of the mass tissue between the blowhole (anatomy), blowhole and the tip of the snout. The function of the melon is not completely understood, but scientists believe it is a bioacoustic component, providing a means of focusing sounds used in echolocation and creating a similarity between characteristics of its tissue and the surrounding water so that acoustic energy can flow out of the head and into the environment with the least loss of energy. It was once hypothesized that the melon had functions in deep diving and buoyancy, but these ideas are no longer considered valid by cetologists. The varying composition of the melon creates a sound velocity ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Delphinoidea
Delphinoidea are the largest group of toothed whales, including 66 genera in 6 families. The largest living member of the superfamily is the orca, which can reach 6 tons, while the smallest is the vaquita. Taxonomy Delphinoidea is a very diverse clade. It includes all extant oceanic dolphins, as well as various extinct species, like the unique '' Odobenocetops'.'' There are three extant families within Delphinoidea, with those being Delphinidae (oceanic dolphins), Monodontidae (beluga and narwhal) and Phocoenidae (porpoises). Based on McGowen ''et al''., 2019 Superfamily Delphinoidea :Family † Albireonidae :::Genus '' Albireo'' :Family Delphinidae :: Subfamily Delphininae ::: Genus '' Delphinus'' ::: Genus '' Lagenodelphis'' ::: Genus '' Sotalia'' :::Genus '' Sousa'' ::: Genus ''Stenella ''Stenella'' is a genus of marine mammals in Delphinidae, the family (biology), family informally known as the oceanic dolphins. Species Currently, five species are recognised ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bohaskaia
''Bohaskaia'' is an extinct genus of beluga-like odontocete cetacean known from the Early Pliocene of Virginia and North Carolina, United States. It was first named by Jorge Vélez-Juarbe and Nicholas D. Pyenson in 2012 and the type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ... is ''Bohaskaia monodontoides''. References Monotypic prehistoric cetacean genera Monodontidae Fossil taxa described in 2012 Pliocene cetaceans Fossils of the United States {{paleo-whale-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
