Blue Whales The Blue whale is the largest creature of the sea, in fact, it is the largest creature known to man. Contrary to what most people think, even though Blue whales live in the sea, they are mammals. They breathe air, have their babies born alive and can live anywhere from 30 to 70 years. The Blue whale is a baleen whale, and instead of having teeth, Blue whales have around 300-400 baleen plates in their mouths. They fall under the category of the rorquals, which are the largest of the baleen family.
They have to move their whole body to swim rather that tail. Whale sharks grow up to 9 – 12 meters, when they are adults. The skin of the whale shark is yellow or white blotches. They weigh up to 12,500 kg. The heaviest whale shark was known to weigh 34,000 kg.
The Beluga whales are classified as follows: Kingdom Animalia, Phylum Chordata, Class Mammalia, Order Cetacea, Family Monodontidae, Genus Delphinapterus, Species leucas. ) Beluga whales are one of the prettiest whales that scientist have every seen. One thing that most people don’t know about Belugas whales are that they eat 2.5% to 3% of their own body weight. Beluga whales mainly eat octopus, squid, crabs, snails, sandworms, and fishes such as capelin, cod, herring, smelt, and flounder. Beluga whales are slow swimmers.
Great whites only have 2-12 babies at one time unlike others who have hundreds. Great whites can live up to 60 years old! Great white sharks are phenomenal animals and but still are vulnerable to extinction. Do your part to kill of the rest of them before they kill you!
The large quantities that the manatees eat is another one of its unique qualities ("Florida Manatee" 1). People use the manatees as natural "underwater lawn mowers", setting them free in lakes that have too much sea grass or plants. The manatees consequently eat up the vegetation, which frees u... ... middle of paper ... ...s that they can travel up to fifty kilometers a day, and go back to a designated location every season. Further developments in manatee research will help in preventing the accidental death of many of these animals. The research that scientists have learned from the transmitters will help in regulating boat speeds in certain areas to avoid the propeller deaths of many manatees, thus decreasing the death toll.
One of the most distinctive features of orcas is the tall, wide dorsal fin located on its back. In females, the dorsal fin can grow to about 2 feet high. It is falcate (hooked or curved). In males, the dorsal fin is triangular in shape and can grow up to about 6 feet high. Another distinctive feature of killer whales is that they possess a sleek, black and white pigmentation pattern.
2014. . "Manatee Facts." Save the Manatee. Save the Manatee Club, n.d. Web.
Mature leatherback turtles are 4-9 feet long and weigh 600-1,500 lbs. On top they are mostly black and on the head, neck, and carapace there are pink and white spots. Leatherbacks have two tooth-like horns on both sides of their upper jaw. The hatchlings are 2-3 inches in length with four flippers as long as their bodies and exceptional white striping along the creases of their backs. There are seven creases along the shell of a leatherback as it diminishes to a spot at the rear.
Sea turtles, sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines. There are seven extant species of sea turtles: the green, loggerhead, Kemp's ridley, olive ridley, hawksbill, flatback, and leatherback. The leatherback is the largest of all living sea turtles. Mature leatherbacks reach about 1.2 to 1.9 m (3.9-6.2 ft.) and 200 to 506 kg (441-1,116 lb.). The largest leatherback recorded weighed 916 kg (2,019 lb.).
Many believe the legends and folklore of the mermaid may have originated with these creatures. When you get a close up view of these slow, enormous, sea cows this may produce hilarity. The manatee can measure up to thirteen feet in length and weigh as much as 1300 pounds. They have a brownish, grey exterior, with whiskers on their snout. They resemble more of a walrus to some extent and for a while were even placed in that family.