What makes a cetacean a cetacean?
A cetacean is a member of the family of large aquatic mammals such as whales, dolphins, and porpoises. They have tails rather than hind limbs, and they have flippers instead of forearms. any of several whales having simple conical teeth and feeding on fish etc.
What is difference between Sirenia and Cetacea?
The key difference between ceracea and sirenia is that cetacea is an infraorder that consists of large carnivorous aquatic mammals, while sirenia is an order that consists of small herbivorous aquatic mammals. For example, river dolphins and manatees are fully aquatic, while seals are semi-aquatic.
How are cetaceans and fish different from one another?
A fish’s tail is vertical and moves side to side while a cetacean’s tail is horizontal and moves up and down. When you observe closely you will notice that cetaceans have one or no dorsal fins and two pectoral fins in addition to their caudal fin (tail), whereas fish tend to have several additional fins.
Are dolphins considered cetaceans?
Scientifically, all whales, dolphins and porpoises are classified as Cetacea. And within Cetacea are two suborders: baleen whales and toothed whales.
Is an orca a cetacean?
Orcas are classified in the Delphinidae family of dolphins and porpoises. All delphinids belong to the Cetacean order within the toothed whale (Odontoceti) suborder.
Is absent in Cetacea and Sirenia?
1. Absent, except a few bristles around the muzzle which may also be absent in many whales. …
Are fishes cetaceans?
Whales are a member of the cetacean family, and as such, despite being wholly water-resident, whales are mammals, not fish.
What do fish and cetaceans have in common?
Fish and whales are both vertebrates, which means they both have backbones. They also live in aquatic environments. Except for a couple of species, whales live only in the ocean water. Being mammals, whales are warm-blooded.
Is a shark a cetacean?
Sharks are part of the elasmobranch family, which includes sharks, rays, skates, and sawfish, while dolphins are part of the cetacean family, which includes toothed and baleen whales, as well as porpoises.
Is a seal a cetacean?
Marine mammals are classified into four different taxonomic groups: cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises), pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, and walruses), sirenians (manatees and dugongs), and marine fissipeds (polar bears and sea otters).
What makes cetaceans different from other marine mammals?
What distinguishes them from other mammals? Modern marine mammals include: Cetacea (whales, dolphins, and porpoises), Sirenia (sea cows and dugongs) and Pinnipedia (seals, sea lions, and walruses). All of these groups share limbs that are modified into flippers, and an overall streamlined body shape.
How are pinniped whales similar to modern whales?
Sirenians are similar to whales in that they have only sparse hair on the body. Also like modern whales, modern sirenians lack external hind limbs, have their forelimbs modified into flippers, and have flukes on their tails for locomotion. Pinnipeds are semi-aquatic and all pinnipeds retain hind limbs.
What’s the difference between a walrus and a pinniped?
There are three recognised families of pinniped alive today: seals, sea lions, and another that includes only the walrus. All are distinguished by having flippers instead of feet, and a lifestyle that requires them to climb out of the water in order to breed and raise their young.
How can you tell if a cetacean is male or female?
If you find that your finger is able to penetrate with a forward (cranial) position this is a female. If your finger slides more toward the tail of the animal then it is male and you should be able to feel the penis. Below you will find helpful hints on gender identification in cetaceans. CLICK on an image to see an enlarged view.