Did You Know?
Some whales can be as big as a bus!
Types of Whales
There are two main types of whales. Some have teeth, and some have big plates to eat.
Whale Songs
Whales can sing! They make sounds to talk to each other.
What whales Do
Whales swim in the deep sea.
They eat fish and krill.
Whales help keep the ocean clean.
They can dive very deep.
Whales can be very loud.
Some whales travel far each year.
More About Whales
Whales have been around for a long time. They used to live on land. Then, they went back to the sea. Now, they are great swimmers!
Whales are important for the ocean. They help keep the water clean. They also help other sea animals live.
Some whales can weigh as much as a car! They are very big. Whales are fun to watch when they jump out of the water!
How Topics Connect
graph TD
A["Whales (Cetacea)"] --> B["Diverged from Hippopotamuses (54 million years ago)"]
A --> C["Last Common Ancestor (34 million years ago)"]
C --> D["Baleen Whales (Mysticeti)"]
C --> E["Toothed Whales (Odontoceti)"]
D --> F["Families: Balaenopteridae, Balaenidae, Cetotheriidae, Eschrichtiidae"]
E --> G["Families: Monodontidae, Physeteridae, Kogiidae, Ziphiidae"]
E --> H["Dolphins and Porpoises (not considered whales informally)"]
What Do These Words Mean?
Cetacea:A group of marine animals that includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises.
placental:Referring to mammals that give birth to live young that have developed inside a womb.
cladistic:A way of classifying living things based on their evolutionary relationships.
parvorders:Subcategories within a larger group of animals.
extant:Still living or existing today.
