Blue Whales

Blue Whales: 

Blue Whales By: Tiffany Thomas

Scientific Name: 

Scientific Name

Classification: 

Classification Kingdom … Phylum … Class … Order … Suborder … Family … Genus … Species … Animalia Chordata Mammalia Cetacea Mysticeti Balaenidae Balaenoptera Musculus

Reproduction: 

Reproduction Blue Whales reproduce sexually. Reproduction occurs mostly during the winter to early spring. It also occurs near the surface and in warm waters. It takes 11-12 months to have a calf. Within thirty seconds of the calf’s birth it can swim. Blue Whales reach maturity at age 15.

Evolutionary History: 

Evolutionary History Continued

Evolutionary History Continued…: 

Evolutionary History Continued… Blue Whales are believed to have evolved from hoofed mammals like cows, camels, and sheep some 45 million years ago - that's about 40 million years before man! Recent comparisons of some milk protein genes have confirmed this relationship and have suggested that the closest land-bound living relative of whales may be the hippopotamus. Throughout their evolution, cetaceans have become perfectly suited to an aquatic environment, and are virtually incapable of leaving it.

Adaptations: 

Adaptations Predators: Killer Whales have been known to kill baby blue whales. Man are also another predator. Food: Krill, which they eat about 2,000 to 9,000 pounds each day. Shelter: The ocean is the only shelter they have. Adaptations: They developed baleens (long bristle like structures) and an extensive throats so it is easier for them to gulp large amount of fish. They then shoot the water up through their blow holes, which are located on the top of their heads.

Largest Animal in the World!!!: 

Largest Animal in the World!!! Blue Whales are larger than any dinosaur ever to live. They are so huge that it is impossible for them to live anywhere else besides the ocean.

Habitat: 

Habitat The blue whale is found mostly in cold and temperate waters. It prefers deeper ocean waters to coastal waters.

Feeding: 

Feeding They are gulpers, filter feeders that alternatively swim then gulp a mouthful of plankton or fish - they lunge into dense groups of small sea organisms (krill or tiny fish) with an open mouth. 50 to 70 throat pleats allow the throat to expand a great deal. The water is then forced through the baleen plates hanging from the upper jaw. http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/mammals/Balaenoptera_musculus/more_moving_images.html

Other Interesting Facts: 

Other Interesting Facts A blue whale is so immense that it couldn't survive out of water! Its skeleton would collapse under its body weight. A blue whale is the loudest animal in the world — even louder than a jet. And its sound can travel as far as 1,500 miles. The Blue Whale reaches 188 decibels with just a whistle. Blue whales don't have a sense of smell. But their hearing is excellent. Since sound travels much faster underwater, whales can hear things many miles away. Whales can't drink seawater. Experts think whales are like camels — they get all the water they need by burning fat. Stores of blubber make drinking water unnecessary. Pictures

Continued…: 

Continued… Weight of a Female Whale: 136 000 kilograms = 299 828.677 pounds Weight of a Male Whale (same age): 99 800 kilograms = 220 021.338 pounds Female Whale are bigger than Male Whales.

Pictures: 

Pictures

References: 

References http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/whales/species/Bluewhale.shtml http://school.discovery.com/schooladventures/planetocean/bluewhale.html http://www.whalesongs.org/cetacean/blue_whale/home.html