whale

whale¹

/hwayl, wayl/, n., pl. whales, (esp. collectively) whale, v., whaled, whaling.

n.

1. any of the larger marine mammals of the order Cetacea, esp. as distinguished from the smaller dolphins and porpoises, having a fishlike body, forelimbs modified into flippers, and a head that is horizontally flattened.

2. Informal. something big, great, or fine of its kind: I had a whale of a time in Europe.

3. (cap.) Astron. the constellation Cetus.

v.i.

4. to engage in whaling or whale fishing.

[bef. 900; ME; OE hwael; c. G Wal- in Walfisch, ON hvalr; perh. akin to L squalus kind of fish]

whale²

/hwayl, wayl/, v., whaled, whaling

to hit, thrash, or beat soundly.

[1780-90; orig. uncert.]

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I

Any of dozens of species of exclusively aquatic mammals found in oceans, seas, rivers, and estuaries worldwide but especially numerous in the Antarctic Ocean.

Whales are commonly distinguished from the smaller porpoises and dolphins and sometimes from narwhals, but they are all cetaceans. See also baleen whale; toothed whale.

II

(as used in expressions)

white whale

baleen whale

blue whale

fin whale

razorback whale

finback whale

humpback whale

killer whale

pilot whale

right whale

sei whale

sperm whale

toothed whale

whale shark

Whales Bay of

International Whaling Commission

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▪ mammal

 any of the larger species of aquatic mammals belonging to the order Cetacea (cetacean). The term whale can be used in reference to any cetacean, including porpoises (porpoise) and dolphins (dolphin), but in general it is applied to those more than 3 metres (10 feet) long. An exception is the 2.7-metre dwarf sperm whale (Kogia simus), so called for its otherwise striking resemblance to its larger namesake. Whales are the heaviest known animals, living or fossil, reaching a maximum size in the blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) of perhaps more than 30 metres and 200 metric tons (220 short [U.S.] tons).

 Whales are distributed throughout the world's oceans and seas, from the Equator to the polar ice, except for the landlocked Caspian and Aral seas. They are mammals (mammal), and they share the defining traits of that group: they breathe air, are warm-blooded, give live birth, suckle their young on milk, and have hair. All are entirely aquatic, with specialized adaptations such as flippers and tail flukes for living in water. Whales must surface regularly to breathe, evacuating their lungs more completely than most mammals in an almost explosive breath known as a blow. Blows are visible because water vapour in the whale's hot breath condenses when the blow is released.

      Despite living in a medium that has much greater thermal conduction (thermoregulation) characteristics than air, whales, like other mammals, must regulate their body temperature. Hair, however, is restricted to the head, appearing mainly as isolated whiskers (vibrissae) near the mouth and blowhole. Blubber serves as an insulating layer to protect small whales from hypothermia. Large whales have the opposite problem in that they can produce too much heat; they possess elaborate thermoregulation mechanisms to prevent overheating.

      Because of the restricted utility of vision underwater, whales use sound (sound reception) to perceive and interpret their environment and to communicate, sometimes over vast distances. Biologists have computed that the 10-hertz sounds of fin whales (fin whale) (Balaenoptera physalus), for example, can travel over 1,800 km (1,100 miles). Toothed whales (toothed whale) can produce sounds and interpret their reflections via active echolocation. The extent to which baleen whales (baleen whale) have this ability is unknown.

      Following internal fertilization, female whales are pregnant for about a year. The young are relatively large when born—one-third to one-half the length of the mother. They are nursed for about six months on extremely rich milk containing almost 50 percent fat. Whales have one pair of nipples located at the rear of the abdomen near the genital opening.

      The first fossil whales are known from rocks approximately 50 million years old (Early Eocene Epoch). These members of the extinct suborder Archaeoceti are the primitive whales from which modern whales are derived. They show many similarities to terrestrial mammals, including a differentiated dentition (heterodonty) consisting of incisors, canines, premolars, and molars. Archaeocetes gave rise to the living suborders: the baleen whales (suborder Mysticeti) and the toothed whales (suborder Odontoceti).

      Mysticetes have baleen plates and take small prey by the mouthful, mainly in the form of drifting (planktonic) crustaceans (crustacean) such as copepods (copepod) and krill, but they also occasionally consume small schooling fish or squid. One interesting departure from this pattern is the gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus), which commonly eats shrimp and other bottom-dwelling creatures: it scoops up mud and strains it through the baleen plates, retaining its food. Odontocetes have simple teeth (homodonty) and pursue individual squid, fish, and other prey. The largest odontocete, the sperm whale (Physeter catodon), occasionally feeds on giant squid.

      Humans have long utilized stranded whales as a food resource, and historically whales were hunted for whale oil and baleen. In the early 20th century, as demand increased and technology enabled meat to be frozen at sea, whales began to be taken in larger numbers for human consumption and for specialty products. Scientific concern over the increased catch of whales in the Southern Hemisphere in the 1930s led to the ratification of the International Whaling Convention and the founding of the International Whaling Commission in 1946. Through the years this agency has acted to moderate whaling, and it instituted a moratorium on commercial whaling in the late 1980s. Some whaling still occurs under special permit. Native peoples are also allowed to continue traditional whale hunting that has been a part of their culture.

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