What is the blue whale? Everything about this whale is big. "A sort of pouch under the skin, which balloons out enormously - almost into a spherical bubble.". A blue whale's mouth cavity is so vast and stretchy that it can engulf a volume of water equivalent to its own body mass, say scientists. The tongue is then pushed toward the bottom of the mouth and, under pressure, is turned back on itself like the finger of a glove, which forms a pocket that can hold water. Its speed reaches 6.7mph when hunting but slows down when it opens its mouth. Twenty-five elephants in a row are equal to one blue whale in size. The adult blue whale faces few natural threats from predators due to its massive size. They spend the summer in polar waters, feeding on shrimplike crustaceans called krill. He and his colleagues combined direct measurements from sensors on the whales' bodies, and physics-based models, to calculate the mass that each mammal took in as it moved through the water. Due to its large size, several organs of the blue whale are the largest in the animal kingdom. A blue whale has between 80 and 100 long grooves running along the length of its throat and chest. Blue whales are blue-gray in colour with lighter gray mottling in the form of large spots, which appear as if they were dabbed on with a huge paintbrush. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). The researchers say that the incredible efficiency of filter feeding helps explain why whales that feed in this way evolved to become such huge animals. The mechanism behind modern whale migration is debated. The species has been protected from commercial whaling since the mid-1960s. In modern times, blue whales in the Southern Hemisphere reach lengths of 90-100 feet , but their Northern Hemisphere counterparts are smaller, on average 75 to 80 feet (23 to 24.5 m). The humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is a baleen whale (contains special structures in its mouth that enable it to filter food from the water) of the subfamily Balaenopteridae, and ranges in length from 12 to 16 m with a bodyweight of approximately 36 000 kg.On 12 December 2012 a humpback whale became stranded on a sandbank near Texel on the Dutch coast. Despite the size of its mouth, the dimensions of its throat are such that a blue whale cannot swallow an object wider than a beach ball. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Omissions? It then filters out tiny marine creatures through a special comb-like structure in its mouth called baleen. The whale then licks the bristles clean with its massive tongue, which allows it to swallow the plankton. The largest accurately measured blue whale was a 29.5-metre female that weighed 180 metric tons (nearly 200 short [U.S.] tons), but there are reports of 33-metre catches that may have reached 200 metric tons. 2. A blue whale aorta (the main blood vessel) alone is large enough for a human to crawl through. This ability is thanks to the whales' very unusual anatomy. Robert Shadwick, a zoologist from the University of British Columbia who was part of the team studying the whales, told BBC News: "When you see the animals in the feeding ground, they take a breath and go under. Mouth Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. - A baby blue whale is about the size of 2 minivans. In the 1930–31 season alone the worldwide kill of blue whales exceeded 29,000. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. …whales—fast-swimming species such as the blue whale (, The blue whale mainly devours small reddish shrimp called krill, while the formidable killer whale feeds on salmon, seals, and sharks. The blue whale has a wide head, a small dorsal fin located near the fluke, and 80–100 long grooves running lengthwise down the throat and chest. For many baleen whales, such as humpback and grey whales, a general migration pattern can be defined as to-and-fro migration between feeding grounds at higher latitudes and breeding habitats at lower latitudes on an annual basis… Adult blue whales grow to more than 90 ft (24.7 m) in length and may weigh more than 150 tons (136,000 kg). Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... 36 Questions from Britannica’s Most Popular Science Quizzes. A single adult blue may consume as much as eight tons of krill per day. Females are larger than males of the same age, the largest perhaps weighing as much as 150 tons (136,000 kg). The whales "balloon up" as they open their mouths to take in water, Robert Shadwick, University of British Columbia, A 6m-long blue whale skull held at the US Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, More on blue whales from BBC Wildlife Finder, Blue whales: Facts, pictures and stunning video from BBC Wildlife Finder. Their throat stretches down to their navel. The blue whale has a wide head, a small dorsal fin located near the fluke, and 80–100 long grooves running lengthwise down the throat and chest. A blue whale’s heart is the size of a Volkswagen Beetle and pumps 9 tonnes (10 US tons) of blood through the massive blue whale body. Considering its length, their penises are very thin with diameters between 30 to 36 centimeters (12 to 14 inches) and the circumference around 46 centimeters (18 inches). The heart of one blue whale was recorded at nearly 700 kg (about 1,500 pounds). During a dive, the blue whale may engage in a series of turns and 360° rolls to locate prey and rapidly reorient its body to sweep up large concentrations of krill in a single open-mouthed lunge. "But they're not under water for very long considering how big they are - it's something of a paradox.". Its mouth is large enough to hold up to 90 tonnes of food and water. Blue whales can weigh over 100 tons (99,800 kg). The longest blue whale ever recorded was a 108-foot adult female caught during whaling efforts in Antarctica! A blue whale's tongue alone weighs as much as an elephant. The Blue Whale is the largest animal of our time and the largest animal that ever lived. Only the best quizmasters will finish it. The Western Australian Museum's Blue Whale. But how large are they exactly? She wears a long white ribbed sweater that covers the majority of her upper bo… As the largest animal alive, the Blue Whale has the largest instance of several body parts: Its tongue weighs around 2.7 tons. The animals then quickly lost speed as they inflated and took on the weight of large volumes of water. The maximum weight of one blue whale is the same weight as about 40 African elephants. Whales, in accordance with their body size, have huge digestive systems, containing a number of stomach chambers which, in the case of the blue whale… Britannica Kids Holiday Bundle! The fully open mouth would be big enough for another blue whale to swim into, said Dr Shadwick. 5m long ! Despite the size of its mouth, the dimensions of its throat are such that a blue whale cannot swallow an object wider than a beach ball. Even dinosaurs didn’t reach that size – for instance, it’s nearly 20 times heavier than a T. rex ! Every major habitat has been exploited by mammals that swim, fly, run, burrow, glide, or climb.…. The largest of the blue whales can measure in at over 100 ft in length and can weigh in excess of 180 tons at its largest. Imagine a creature the size of 2 1/2 school buses laid end-to-end and you'll get a sense of the size of the blue whale. The blue whale is found alone or in small groups in all oceans, but populations in the Southern Hemisphere are much larger. The size of a blue whale is 89 feet for females and 82 feet for males. Tongue is the size of an elephant. The number of species, although still large, has declined considerably. Females are longer than males, and can be as long as 33. The blue whale is a massive creature and is the largest living animal in the world; even larger than most dinosaurs.. Are they vegetarians? Despite the size of its mouth, the dimensions of its throat are such that a Blue Whale cannot swallow an object wider than a beach ball. A blue whale's heart is the size of a car, its eye is the size of a basketball, and a small child could swim through its arteries. The whales - the largest animals on the planet - filter the krill they eat from these huge watery mouthfuls. Although the blue whale is a deep-water hunter, as a mammal, it must come to the surface of the sea to breathe. How small is it? The tongue of the blue whale is as big as an elephant. Populations of blue whales appear to be recovering and are estimated worldwide at between 10,000 and 25,000 animals. At the top of her head is a blowhole, with two fins protruding outward either side of it. Once the most important of the commercially hunted baleen whales, the blue whale was greatly reduced in numbers during the first half of the 20th century. In the Northern Hemisphere, blue whales can be seen regularly in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and off the coasts of Monterey, California, and Baja California, Mexico. Whale-watching boat alongside a blue whale (. This animation will show you. "It's equivalent to if you could shove your hand into your mouth and under the skin right down to your belly button," explained Dr Shadwick. Image Source: aquatic-human-ancestor The penises of blue whales vary between average lengths of 2.4 meters (7 feet 10 inches) and 3 meters (9 feet 10 inches). Ecology What do blue whales eat? The blue whale has been called the sulfur-bottom whale because of the yellowish underside of some individuals that is reminiscent of the pale yellow colour of that chemical element; this coloration is imparted by certain algae (diatoms) living on the whale’s body. By comparison the average blue whale penis is nearly 3 times the size of that of a sei whale. In August 1897, a young girl named Daisy Locke came across a beached blue whale near the mouth of the Vasse River. A blue whale's heart alone is about the size of a small car and weighs about 1,000 pounds. See the article whaling.…, …that has ever lived, the blue whale, which reaches a length of more than 30 metres (100 feet) and a weight of 180 metric tons (nearly 200 short [U.S.] tons). Corrections? This means that a 90 tonne blue whale could take in 90 tonnes of water. Blue Whale's most prominent feature is her hair. The lower surfaces of the flippers are lighter gray or white in some instances. What did the Copenhagen climate summit achieve. Baleen is a filter-feeding system inside the mouths of baleen whales.To use baleen, the whale first opens its mouth underwater to take in water. Young are weaned after seven to eight months, when they have reached a length of about 15 metres (about 49 feet). These magnificent marine mammals rule the oceans at up to 100 feet long and upwards of 200 tons . How about quantum mechanics? Updates? This quiz will take you through 36 of the hardest questions from Britannica’s most popular quizzes about the sciences. Blue whales have relatively small eyes for their body size – each about the size of a grapefruit – and their eyesight is thought to be weak. - Blue whale mouths are huge, too – they can swallow a volume of water larger than themselves. In fact everything about the blue whale is … Having forced the water out of its mouth, the whale licks these bristles with its fleshy tongue. Its mouth contains up to 800 plates of short, wide, black baleen, or “whalebone,” with thick, coarse bristles used for catching food. With each mouthful, the whale can hold up to 5,000 kg of water and plankton. You and 400 of your friends could fit in its mouth. As the whale forces the water out of its mouth, the bristles act to capture and trap the food. The blue whale is a cetacean and is classified scientifically within the order Cetacea as a rorqual (family Balaenopteridae) related to the gray whale (family Eschrichtiidae) and the right whales (Balaenidae and Neobalaenidae) of the baleen whale suborder, Mysticeti. Longer dives would maximise the amount of food they consumed and possibly offset the great energy cost of each dive. Blue whales are the largest animals ever known to have lived on Earth . It then filters out tiny marine creatures through a special comb-like structure in its mouth called baleen. This means that a 90 tonne blue whale could take in 90 tonnes of water. "They go from being a streamlined missile with their mouths closed, to just ballooning right up," said Dr Shadwick. Get exclusive access to content from our 1768 First Edition with your subscription. 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