The structure of the blue whale. The largest whale in the world. The biggest whale

Scientists have put forward the theory that the ancestors of whales were mammals that previously lived on land. The skeletal structure of these animals currently living in the sea confirms this hypothesis. They do not look like fish, since they do not spawn, do not breathe with gills, their cubs are born fully formed and are fed with mother's milk. What are whales? The size of some members of this order is impressive. Let's consider them.

The biggest whale

Dimensions (edit) the biggest giant according to some data they were: body length of about 34 meters with a weight of 180 tons. Blue, or, as it is also called, according to the classification belongs to mammalian vertebrates. On average, representatives of this species grow up to 30 meters. They weigh about 150 tons.

The sizes of whales (photo) of other species are more modest. For example, a toothed sperm whale has a body length of about twenty meters, and a killer whale - no more than ten. Dolphins are also cetaceans. The size of these mammals is even smaller. The largest dolphin rarely grows more than three meters in length.

Many people think of whales as big fish. In fact, this is a misconception. Only the general structure of the body and the habitat are similar in them. There are significant differences in nervous activity, blood circulation, skeletal structure, skin. The reproduction and feeding of offspring is the same as that of land mammals.

Whales: sizes and varieties

Scientists divide the representatives of these mammals into two suborders. They differ significantly in lifestyle and nutrition. One group is the other - toothed. The names already include the characteristics of their way of life.

Baleen whales are peaceful animals. They feed on plankton and molluscs, filtering them out of the water column through the whalebone plates. Most of them in adulthood have a body length of more than ten meters. The specific features of the representatives of this suborder and the way of life differ little.

Toothed whales are predators. Their food is fish and other suborders are more diverse. Most representatives have a body size of up to ten meters. The following families are distinguished: ocean and river dolphins, sperm whales, and beaked whales. They, in turn, have divisions by subfamilies and genera, depending on the characteristics of the lifestyle and habitat.

Belukha

In the suborder of toothed whales, there are representatives that differ in a special skin color. They have it white. Hence the name - beluga whale. Animals belong to the narwhal family. The size of the white whale is up to six meters. The mass of adult males reaches two tons. For comparison, a newborn blue baleen whale calf has approximately the same size.

Belukha lives up to forty years. It hunts schooling fish, crustaceans and molluscs. Lives in northern latitudes. Features of the species: a thick layer of epidermis and fat, which protects against hypothermia, "forehead" head and short oval pectoral fins.

The beluga whale has a specific color not from birth. Cubs are born in dark blue. At the age of one year, they brighten and become grayish. And only after three years (more often by five years) they acquire a characteristic white color.

Despite the fact that this is a large animal, the beluga whale can be hunted by another representative of cetaceans - the killer whale. Polar bears can also pose a threat to them. This happens when beluga whales are trapped in ice holes. They cannot stay under water for a long time, as they emerge every two minutes to breathe air.

Blue whale

It's on the planet. Scientists distinguish three types. Two of them, northern and southern, live in different latitudes. The third representative is a dwarf blue whale. Its dimensions are much more modest. An adult reaches only the weight of the cub of its normal counterpart. Dwarf ones are quite rare and are found only in the southern seas.

Big animals are big. The size of a whale's heart is comparable to a medium-sized car, it can weigh up to 700 kg. This is not surprising, because this organ constantly pumps up to 10 tons of blood. The diameter of the giant's artery is 40 cm, and a child can freely crawl through it. The tongue weighs up to three tons. With them, the whale pushes large volumes of water through its whisker from its mouth, the area of ​​which is more than twenty square meters.

Peculiarities

The color of blue whales is actually gray. But if you look at them through the water column, they seem to have a bluish tint. The sense of smell, taste and sight of these giants are poorly developed. But they hear well. Communication is carried out by transmitting ultrasonic signals, and orientation in space - using echolocation.

Is the blue whale dangerous to humans? The size of these animals is enormous by our standards. However, they cannot eat a person. They have different food preferences. The diameter of the pharynx is only 10 cm. This is enough for the passage of plankton, small fish, crustaceans and molluscs. The only harm that a blue whale can cause is to accidentally overturn the vessel, which will be in the immediate vicinity of it, when surfacing.

Cetaceans breathe atmospheric air. From time to time they should rise to the surface for the next portion of oxygen. In its normal state, the blue whale dives for 10-15 minutes. When you ascend during exhalation, a characteristic fountain of water appears.

and lifestyle

The habitat of whales is extensive. Scientists do not have sufficient capacity to track all of their movements. It has been established that, depending on the season, blue whales migrate in search of food and optimal conditions. According to other observations, some of the animals are constantly in the equatorial part of the Pacific Ocean.

It is believed that the life span of blue whales can be up to hundreds of years. They are loners. Only occasionally do they gather in small groups during seasonal migrations. The mother feeds the cubs for at least six months. A growing “baby” weighing up to ten tons can drink 600 liters of breast milk per day.

Population and catch

Scientists suggest that before the start of the active in the waters of the World Ocean, there were at least 250 thousand individuals of the largest animals on the planet. Today, according to the most optimistic forecasts, there are no more than 10 thousand of them left.

What value are whales to humans? The body sizes of these animals are large by commercial standards. From one carcass, whalers received not only meat, but also fat and whalebone. Meat is still popular in Japan, and it is not surprising that the fishery is most active there.

The blue whale population has declined significantly. Over the past decades, a large number of adults have been exterminated. Female whales reach sexual maturity at ten years of age. Once every two years, they can give birth. But the situation is such that most of the young animals become a victim of the hunt, never reaching their maturity.

Today blue whales are protected. They are listed in the Red Book. But humans and the consequences of their activities associated with environmental pollution still pose a serious threat to the entire population.

The blue whale is the largest whale, the largest modern animal, and also probably the largest animal that has ever lived on Earth. Its length reaches 33 meters, and its weight can significantly exceed 150 tons. It can eat up to 40 million small crustaceans per day.

Let's find out more about him ...

This is truly a huge animal, just a giant. Previously, its range was from Antarctica to the Arctic. Whaling nearly wiped out the blue whale. Today it is listed in the International Red Book and the Red Book of Russia.

Once upon a time, blue whales roamed all the oceans of the world; and it is estimated that there were up to 250,000 of these creatures in Antarctica alone. However, for last years ruthless fishing left less than 1% of the above figure. It is very difficult to determine the total number of these huge animals, so the size of the Antarctic blue whale population, according to modern estimates, ranges from a few hundred to 11,000. But whatever the exact figure, it in any case seems dangerously low compared to the previous number.

Want to VIRTUALLY VIEW the whale in full detail?

However, the largest whale in the world has not only huge body sizes. He just has incredibly large internal organs. And only one language weighs so much that it is difficult to imagine: 4 thousand kilograms. Well, the heart of a blue whale weighs about 700 kilograms. However, such impressive dimensions are not uncommon for the ocean. Few people know that back in 1870, the largest jellyfish was found near the coast of North America. Medusa Cyaneus was over 35 meters long. To better visualize its size, you can compare it with the height of a 9-storey building.

When a small whale is born (or rather on water), it already weighs about three tons. The cub's length is comparable to a small tree - 6-7 meters. For a person, these are already unimaginable sizes, it is difficult to imagine a living creature of such dimensions. Every year the whales only grow, and the small whale is pulled out at high speed. At the same time, whales, according to various sources, can live up to hundreds of years. However, despite the active growth and life expectancy, whales produce offspring very slowly. Females of the largest whale in the world reach sexual maturity only by the age of ten, and they give birth no more than once every two years. The fetus is mammals, unlike humans, for about 12 months. Despite such circumstances, now powerful and noble mammals are being destroyed mercilessly.

And they do it so fast that blue whales do not even have time to reach their maternal age, that is, they die in childhood. The largest whales are now less abundant in the oceans, their population is decreasing exponentially. They are now on the verge of extinction. In Japan, for example, fishing is so active that there are practically no whales left there. Initially, the number of blue whales (this is before the start of intensive fishing) was estimated at 215,000 individuals. But it is rather difficult to count the modern livestock. And the reason is pretty simple. For many decades, these mammals have not been studied very actively. According to the data for 1984, no more than 1900 whales live in the Northern Hemisphere, and more in the Southern Hemisphere - about 10 thousand heads. True, half of them are dwarf subspecies. Now, according to some sources, there are no more than 2 thousand blue whales in the entire world ocean. True, according to the calculations of other specialists, the numbers are more optimistic - at least 8 thousand individuals.

However, blue whales can die not only from human hands. The mammal can also become a victim of its marine neighbors. One might think that adult whales, due to their gigantic size, have no natural enemies. However, they can still fall into the disfavor of killer whales. The latter huddle in flocks, tear apart the blue whales and eat them. And cases of attacks have already been reported. So, in 1979, a flock of 30 killer whales attacked a young blue whale.

Killer whales rushed at their prey, tore pieces from it. Moreover, the attackers did not even understand where to bite - in the head, sides or back. And in 1990, two large whales were described that were seen in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. They had scars in the form of parallel stripes, judging by them, the teeth marks of killer whales remained on the mammals.

The color of the blue whale, surprisingly, is not blue, but mainly gray, but with a blue tint. And the blue mammal was nicknamed because when you look at a whale through the water, but it seems exactly blue, well, or blue. At the same time, the fins and belly of the animal are lighter than the rest of the body. Blue whales live in both warm and cold waters. These are polar and tropical seas. The creatures do not have teeth, but despite this, they feed on all small marine life, for example, plankton or small fish. The largest whale in the world has a "whalebone" for food. This is a device that looks more like a brush or a huge sieve. It is capable of passing elements unnecessary for nutrition through itself, and in addition, filtering water. A blue whale cannot eat a person, even if he really wants to. Therefore, the mammal is considered almost safe for humans. However, an inhabitant of the seas and oceans can easily turn over a medium-sized watercraft, and not on purpose, but simply by accidentally hitting it.

There is a theory according to which the whales came off the land. As proof of this - the structural features of the skeleton of a mammal, which does not very much resemble a fish. The blue whale even has finger tassels on its fins. Moreover, the blue whale does not lay eggs or spawn; it produces already living organisms.

It should be noted that whales have a very poor sense of smell and vision. Therefore, the largest whale in the world communicates with its fellow tribesmen exclusively with the help of sounds. And for other mammals to hear the cry, the whale has to invest up to 20 hertz in the message. And this is enough to transmit information over a huge distance - individuals are able to hear each other at a distance of up to 800 kilometers and even more. However, if the whale overdoes it, and shouts with more or less force, then the fellows will not hear it. And the whales are not able to understand someone. Most of these mammals are solitary. The blue whale usually does not form herds. But sometimes mammals still gather in groups, but they are not numerous, only 2-3 heads. Only where there is a lot of food, you can find large accumulations. However, even in such groups, blue whales keep apart from each other.

The mammal is not as agile as other large cetaceans. The movements of the whales are slow and clumsy. And they are active only during the daytime, as evidenced by the fact that, for example, off the coast of California at night, individuals stop their movements. In general, the life of blue whales at night is still poorly understood.

Blue whales swim in 2 or 3 individuals, and sometimes alone. He tries not to swim to the shores. Several groups can gather in places of accumulation of plankton. The speed of the blue whale is 9-13 km / h. If the whale is frightened or runs away, it develops a speed of 25 km / h, and releases small fountains every 30 seconds.

A blue whale dives for 10-12 minutes if the state is calm. After a long and deep immersion, it first appears on the surface of the blowhole, on the crown of the head. The small dorsal fin is visible when the front of the whale is already underwater. After the fountain, the whale arches its back. Blue whale, the caudal fin usually does not show, but strongly exposes the caudal peduncle in a semicircle

The blue whale has an elongated, slender bluish-gray, flat sided, body with gray spots of various sizes and shapes. The back and sides are light in color, lighter than the general tone. And the head and jaw are dark in color. The head has the shape of an angle of 45 °, wide from above. The pectoral fins are narrow, pointed and long. The caudal fin is wide, with pointed edges. The blue whale has about 60 submandibular throat folds.

Whales are extremely hardy. It can be in motion for many days without stopping. But despite their strength, they need constant human help to survive.

During the day, the blue whale eats about 1 ton of krill (this is about 1 million calories) which it mainly feeds on. The whale swallows krill, along with thousands of liters of water, swimming through its accumulations, and then filters it by pushing all this mass out with its tongue through the whalebone. By the way, the tongue of a blue whale weighs more than an elephant, and is more than 3 meters thick.

Pregnancy of a female blue whale lasts 11 months. The offspring are brought once every three years. One whale weighing up to 3 tons and up to 7 meters long is born in the water. It feeds on fat (42%) and thick mother's milk for about seven months. The kitten receives a portion of milk by contracting the mother's muscles. In one day, the cub drinks over 600 liters of milk. The baby is growing literally by leaps and bounds. During the day he gains up to 100 kg in weight, and the length of the kitten increases by 4 cm. Wow, baby! A loving mother is always there, touchingly takes care of her child. When the plates of the whalebone are fully developed, the grown kitten is able to swallow food on its own. This usually occurs at the age of seven months.

Blue whales are almost completely blind and have no sense of smell, so the only way they use echolocation to explore the world around them is through sound echolocation. Whales spend a huge amount of time analyzing sound signals from outside, which is facilitated by the structure of the animal's skull. In the front of the animal's head, there is a sound-reproducing system, which serves as a lens that reproduces and picks up sounds. The famous blue whale songs, reaching 188 decibels, are most often associated with the breeding season. Usually males "sing", but sometimes females also "sing" to their children (you can listen to the songs of blue whales below). With the help of echolocation, individuals can communicate with each other, even being at a distance of up to 1600 km from each other.

At the moment, it is known that the largest animal ever living on our planet is the Blue Whale. Accordingly, he is the largest whale among all the species of these giants. The blue whale belongs to mammals. How much does a whale weigh? It is hard to believe in this, but the weight of the Blue Whale reaches 180 tons, while the length of such a whale can reach 30-33 meters. By the way, the weight of the Blue Whale tongue is approximately 2.5-3 tons, this weight can be compared with the weight of an Indian elephant. The size of a whale's heart can be compared to a small car - its weight can reach 650 kilograms.

The blue whale has a gray-blue hue, with spots of various shapes and size. Thanks to the ventral folds, whales can draw huge amounts of water into their mouths.

Where live?
You can meet a blue whale in each of the oceans. Depending on the season, they tend to move to different areas of the ocean. There is evidence that some of them are located in the equator area throughout the year. But tracking their movement in reality is not easy enough.

How long do whales live?
There is evidence that the life span of blue whales is 85-95 years.

What do they eat?
Their diet is different food, depending on where they live. During the summer period, the Blue Whale is able to absorb up to 3 tons of food daily. The blue whale refers to the baleen whales, i.e. they have no teeth, but they have a mustache, with the help of which the whale filters the water taken into its mouth, delaying food.

The whale in everyday life.
The usual speed at which a blue whale moves is about 25 km / h, but in case of danger, the whale can easily develop up to 50 km / h.

They get food mainly at a depth of no more than 100 meters.
Blue whales live mainly in small flocks of two, or three whales. But there were cases when whales got lost in groups of up to 50 individuals.

Females of this species give birth to their young once every few years. To do this, they try to swim closer to the equator, in warm water. The size of a whale at the time of birth is about 5-6 meters long. At first, the cubs feed on breast milk during the first 7 months, during these months the cub is able to gain 90 kilograms daily. They are quite independent, so female whales obviously have no questions about how to make them eat and how to potty train them.

Sounds made by blue whales.
As you know, blue whales are capable of making regularly repeating sounds lasting about 25 seconds. But there were also cases when whales made sounds lasting up to 60 minutes, and for several days. Most of the sounds emitted by whales are not heard by humans without some equipment. What is the purpose of whales making sounds is not yet known to science, but it has been established that these sounds can be heard by their relatives at a distance of up to 1130 kilometers.

Do whales have enemies?
Due to its gigantic size, the blue whale has no enemies. However, there is one exception - this is a person. In the 20th century, blue whales were on the verge of extinction. Unfortunately, people, without thinking about the consequences, exterminate various animals, they also often subject animals to various bullying, such as dog fights.

What is the population of blue whales?
Scientists are very closely monitoring the data of the inhabitants of the world's oceans. There is information that at the moment in all oceans of the world the number of blue whales is about 10 thousand individuals.

By the way, speaking of the truly gigantic size of these ocean giants, one can give the following example - the largest whale is able to comfortably accommodate a football team of 11 people in its mouth.

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The blue whale (blue whale, or blue whale) is the largest animal on the planet. Since the blue whale breathes with its lungs and feeds its children with milk, it is a mammal, not a fish. There are only three species - pygmy, northern and southern blue whales, which differ slightly from each other.

Blue whale anatomy

The blue whale, like all mammals, breathes extremely lightly. Of the senses, blue whales have very developed hearing and touch. The blue whale, the largest living creature on planet Earth, has the same astounding size. internal organs- for example, one tongue of an adult can weigh more than 4 tons! The whales have a very low pulse - 5-10 beats per minute, and the heart weighs a whole ton! This is an absolute record among all living beings. The whale can be up to 33 meters long, and the weight of an adult is about 150 tons! In blue whales, females are larger than males.

Species: Blue whale

Genus: Stripes

Family: Striped

Class: Mammals

Order: Cetaceans

Type: Chordates

Kingdom: Animals

Domain: Eukaryotes

Blue whales have a very large head and a long, slender body. On the back of the head there is a blowhole, which is formed by the two nostrils of the animal. On the lower part of the head of a blue whale there are stripes that form from folds of the skin. They help the whale stretch its pharynx as it opens its mouth to absorb food. At this point, the whale's mouth can stretch 1.5 times! In total, blue whales have 55 to 90 such folds.

Where does the blue whale live?

The blue whale is a cosmopolitan. This means that its habitat extends to the entire world ocean, but somewhere because of the cold currents, the whale cannot stay all year round and migrates, and somewhere it is quite comfortable all the time - for example, in the Indian Ocean. Most often they are seen in Ceylon. A large number of people believe that there is no better place to watch blue whales than in Sri Lanka.

What does the blue whale eat?

The blue whale's favorite foods are krill (large concentrations of crustaceans) and plankton. The whale does not eat fish at all, even if it absorbs it by accident, then exclusively together with a large amount of plankton and krill. He eats simply by opening his huge mouth and swimming forward, collecting water with food, and then the water flows out through the whalebone.

Blue whale lifestyle

Unlike other whale species, the blue whale can be called a loner. Sometimes some individuals form small groups, but usually they keep one by one. The blue whale prefers to lead a diurnal lifestyle - this is evidenced by numerous studies.

Breeding blue whales

Reproduction is a sore subject for the blue whale. It reproduces its offspring extremely slowly, so slowly that some scientists are inclined to think that the increase in the birth rate of blue whales is not able to cover their mortality. The growth rate of blue whales is the slowest of all whales. The blue whale is monogamous. The male, having found his female, protects her and never moves away from her. The female can become pregnant once every two years, after which she carries a cub for another year.

The cub is born weighing about 2-3 tons and 6-9 meters long. It feeds on mother's milk for about 7 months. Sexual maturity is reached by about 10 years of age. At the age of 15, the blue whale is already fully formed physically and is gaining its weight and body length. Whales live for a long time - about 90 years.

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Where do whales live?

Blue whales live in all oceans of the world, and prefer the coastal shelf of ocean waters. Blue whales move to different regions of the ocean depending on the season.
Many whales can migrate from northern latitudes to the tropics in winter.
There is evidence that individual blue whales may remain closer to the equator throughout the year.
In practice, tracking the movement of whales is difficult because they live in the open ocean.

How long do they live?

Scientists believe blue whales live for at least 80-90 years, possibly longer.

What do they eat?

Blue whales feed mainly on krill. Whales eat different foods depending on where they live. During the summer months, whales eat about 4 tons of food every day. Blue whales that live in the waters of Baja California and Mexico are known to eat red crabs.
The blue whale is a representative of baleen whales, instead of teeth it has a mustache.
The mustache hangs down from the upper jaw. They are made of keratin, a material similar to nails, and then develop into fine hairs in the mouth next to the tongue. The whale takes a very large amount of water into its mouth and then releases it back. When water is forced out of the mouth, the whalebone plates act like a sieve and retain food.